SEN4You Reviews 84

Mark was amazing from beginning to end. I don't think we would have been able to win our case without his help. I would highly recommend his legal service. Thanks for everything!

Mark was brilliant. He went above and beyond to support us and take us through the whole appeal process. We can now sleep at night assured that our daughter is now going to get the right support to give her a chance to gain an education that otherwise would not have been possible without Baker Small.

We engaged Mark to help us after it became clear that we had reached an impasse with the local authority who were delaying naming a secondary school, (let alone the only suitable one) leaving our son without any Secondary School placement.

From the first discussion with Mark we knew we had made the right decision. He asked for a meeting and suggested we bring our son along to meet him. This took place expediently at his Bletchley Park office, where we were immediately impressed with Mark’s knowledge and grasp the workings of SEN law, and his obvious interest in getting to know both us and our son. His parting words were to reassure us we had a strong case and he gave us his mobile number in order to call him any time, even if just for peace of mind.
In the following months he regularly kept in touch whilst the local authority continued to delay. With this continued inaction it became clear that we were likely to go all the way to tribunal.

Mark dealt with correspondence from the LA, helped us initiate a multitude of up to date specialist reports and prepared the court papers.
On the day itself Mark made everything as stress-free as he possibly could, belaying any of our worries or nerves. We could tell he was clearly well respected within the court system, if not a little feared! In the end Mark made sure that not only did we win our case, but that the chances of the local authority wriggling out at a later date would be minimised.

Without Mark we may well have fallen victim to the local authority’s tricks and certainly would not have obtained the excellent result we did.
Mark is passionate, caring and knowledgeable - both in SEN law and in the policy and behaviour of the local authority. We would not hesitate in recommending him, indeed we have already done so!

Thankyou Mark and SEN4You team.

If you require legal assistance for anything relating to your child's educational needs, then you really need look no further than Mark Small. Mark represented us in two separate cases, one in particular was grueling and complex. We won both.

Mark is a superb solicitor. You will receive accurate advice, and he is also passionate about SEN, and it shows. Mark worked very closely with us. He supported us through some very difficult times. What is even more impressive is that he took so much time to work around us, evening phone calls, weekend meetings, and working quickly and accurately against tight deadlines.

His representation at tribunal is first class. Written work is excellent and highly effective. I really don't know where we would be without Mark Small.

Five stars!!!

Mark is an extremely thorough and competent solicitor. The way he conducted himself in our hearing was not only impressive but filled us both with a confidence we needed in such daunting circumstances. We have no hesitation in recommending Mark to any other parents that feel their provision is not right for their child and are prepared to fight for it. Mark has given our son a real chance to reach his potential and hopefully prepare him for a more fulfilled adulthood. Thank you Mark we are both eternally grateful.

We sought advice from Mark regarding an SEN appeal concerning our son. Mark worked tirelessly on our case and secured us a specialist school. Mark took all the stress out of the process and managed all dealings with our LA. He was brilliant in all respects and if you need legal advice and representation Mark is the man to go to! Thank you!

Would definitely recommend. Delighted with the outcome, you secured the school our son needed, the therapy needed and the 1-1 Support. Thank you

Decision just in... won on all grounds. Mark you are a star. I know it was a horrible case and the Local Authority did their best to intimidate us all. You maintained your professionalism in trying circumstances and protected us from their vile behaviour. Because of your support and advice you have given our son an incredible opportunity in his new school with support and therapies that he had been denied. I am so glad you were on our side. Thank you very much!

We instructed Mark in an SEN appeal. We were trying to get a specialist placement for our daughter. The whole process had been awful and stressful. Enter Mark. He put us at ease straight away and reassured us about our case. He managed the whole process expertly. The Local Authority conceded the appeal and this was due to the excellent work Mark did in preparing the case. Now our daughter is happy and this is all thanks to Mark. I cannot thank him for enough.

Absolutely tremendous support and advice from Mark. He worked so hard to get us the support our son needed and gave up so much time to us often outside working hours. He was approachable and he never gave us any jargon. He told us what we had to do, he explained weaknesses, he presented a robust case and in the end we won a specialist placement which will make a difference for our son. In fact its life changing. As a family we were in a miserable place, Mark gave us back our life and a chance for our son to do well. One word, fabulous.

We first contacted Mark to chase up our LA to issue our daughter’s final EHCP plan and since then we had upmost faith in him securing more than satisfactory provision for our daughter. After a long, difficult process, full of stress and confusion we won the tribunal last year and Mark secured full-time ABA support for our daughter in a mainstream school.
Even though we won the tribunal, some aspects of the EHC plan were not being implemented by the school, so Mark was about to take them to judicial review but eventually things went in the right direction.
Today we can’t be grateful enough to Mark as our daughter is starting next week in the ABA school that we wanted for her without needing to go to tribunal. Without Mark we would have never get the ABA provision in the mainstream school which made it easier to request the ABA school for our daughter. We will definitely recommend Mark to anyone who needs the best SEN legal advice. Thank you

Mark has been amazing from the day I got in touch with him from the day we got our help for our little boy. The LA have messed me around for 4 years trying to get my little boy a EHC plan. As soon as I contacted Mark everything changed. He knew all the in’s and out’s of an EHC plan and what it should have in it. Mark really was the backbone for my sons case and the burden was lifted of my shoulders. I would highly recommend Mark as like many parents it can get very confusing, but with Mark on side he just lifts that’s burden and does everything for you. Down to talking to the LA to reading all the paperwork and replying to it all. Mark was a dream come true who I really needed to push this case forward. I finally got the help for my little son on Friday and I know I would have been still waiting from the LA if mark didn’t intervene. I would ask all parents if you need help please contact Mark he’s a blessing and will really help you get what you need for you child.

Outstanding solicitor
We are happy to have found Mark at the time we needed strong intervention for our son, after the previous solicitor had ruined our case.
Mark was very supportive
Excellent job done
Parents friendly
Thank you Mark, you put smile in my family. Apart from your outstanding professional expert knowledge, you are also encouraging and caring.
You have made it possible for our son to have what he needed in his EHC plan to get the right support.

We found Mark following a friend recommendation originally we asked for his help to check through our sons EHCP which he did willingly unfortunately we found ourself in an awful position of our son being out of school and having to go to tribunal with the LA I knew there was only one person I would trust to help me and Mark did that he took care of everything at a point I thought we couldn't carry on. He took away so much stress and handled everything professionally and efficiently. Mark was brilliant in court he really knows his stuff and finds out everything about your child so he can out forward the best case. We will be eternally grateful for everything now our son has a chance of a better future we couldn't of done this without you.

Where do I start, at a point in time I was very lost in what to do and where to go and from the moment I found mark he was a godsend, he is professional straight to the point, gives you true advice and does exactly what he says he’s going to do!
He’s been there at times when I had lost hope and ready to give up and pulled through on his word every time.
I can’t thank him enough for his time and his efforts with out him my son wouldn’t be getting a ehcp and words can’t express how greatful we are for all his help and advise
Thank you again mark

I was recommended Mark by another parent and it was such a positive experience. Mark represented us in the SEND tribunal for an independent therapeutic school following 3 failed secondary schools in 12 months. We won and my son now has a fantastic future ahead of him and a chance to repair the damage from previous school experiences.
During the tribunal Mark used fantastic questioning to the LA and old school which made it so obvious that the old school couldn’t meet my sons needs. Quite a few of Marks questions were repeated by the judge as the LA were avoiding answering.
We couldn’t have got this outcome on our own and can’t thank Mark enough. My son has an amazing future ahead of him and we have some family normality back.

Mark has been fantastic in my daughters case against our local authority.
I can’t thank him enough for all that he has done.
My little girl now has a school that she is thriving in and a fantastic robust EHCP that will now mean she gets all the support she needs.
I always knew we would get Florence what she needed with Mark on the case.
Even when the local authority instructed a solicitor to fight us I didn’t feel worried at all because I knew we had the best!!!
Thank you so much.

We were recommended Mark Small by another parent at my son's school. My son was struggling significantly at school and although the Senco helped us to apply for an EHCP, the Local Authority refused to assess him for an EHCP even though he was only attending school part time by this time. We were at the stage where we desperately needed to identify his needs and find a suitable school that could meet them.Contacting Mark was a huge relief. Here was someone who understood our son's difficulties and potential and was clear about the processes and procedures to follow. He is an expert in this area and with dealing with the LA's but also realistic with his expectations. He was able to recommend suitable experts for assessment reports and rapidly persuaded the Local Authority to assess our son for an EHCP without having to go to appeal. Mark has been a great support, always keeping us informed and ready with sound advice. Through his efforts, we now have our EHCP and a placement for our son at a specialist school. He also appealed to have the EHCP enhanced to make it more robust for the future.He was very clear about the fees for different services but in fact the Local Authority backed down before Appeals and Tribunals were needed and so we found the fees more than reasonable. I cannot thank Mark and his team enough for what they have done and I would instantly recommend him.

Finding SEN4You and Mark was truly a godsend in a time of real need. We had never received the correct education provision for our son and were continually being given the “run around” by the authorities who said they were trying to help
us. Mark has helped us make sure our child has the right provision for his next stage education. We will be forever grateful his hard work and dedication to this area of law and appreciate that he is ethical in making his pricing clear unlike other firms in this area. Thanks so much Mark.

What a superb experience we have had with Mark and his team. Whilst it's always going to be pleasing to win a case, and we are of course delighted with the result we got, we must say that we were hugely impressed with how Mark handled the process and the tribunal hearing itself. We recommend BakerSmall without reservation and can't begin to express how happy we are!