Expert Witness

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Elizabeth has over 15 years' experience as Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) in schools. She has direct operational experience managing disclosures, working with safeguarding partners, managing reports to the Local Area Designated Officers,  leading multi-agency processes, and making and receiving referrals to children's social care, and has since audited and evaluated safeguarding systems as an independent consultant.

In Scotland, Elizabeth is familiar with the Getting It Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) framework, the role of the Named Person, and Child's Plan obligations under the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014.

She is instructed to advise on:

• Child-on-child sexual abuse and sexual harassment: whether prevention, response, and reporting systems met the standards required by Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSiE) and Working Together to Safeguard Children
• child-on-child abuse and harassment
• Online safety: adequacy of a school's approach to online behaviours and safeguarding risks, assessed against KCSiE and the UK Council for Internet Safety framework; particular experience in day and boarding contexts
• Safeguarding systems: whether policies, procedures, and culture met the standards in KCSiE and local safeguarding partnership procedures
• Information sharing: whether information was shared appropriately between staff, settings, and agencies under the Data Protection Act 2018 and DfE guidance
• Multi-agency working: compliance with Working Together to Safeguard Children and a school's role within local safeguarding partnerships
• Staff training and supervision: whether training was appropriate to role and supervision arrangements supported sound safeguarding practice
• DSL and senior leader decision-making: reasonableness of decisions under operational pressure, assessed against the standards expected of a competent DSL

Elizabeth's SEND expertise covers the law as it applies to children with special educational needs and the practical reality of how schools and local authorities make decisions about EHC Plans: who is responsible, how provision gets agreed and funded, and where things go wrong. 

She holds the National Award in SEN Coordination, has practised as a qualified SENCo and Headteacher, and has worked directly on mediation proceedings, tribunal preparation, and EHC Plan challenges involving complex profiles of need including autism, ADHD, OCD, and Emotionally Based School Avoidance.

In Scotland, Elizabeth is familiar with the Additional Support for Learning (ASL) framework, Co-ordinated Support Plans, and the Child's Plan under GIRFEC and the SHANARRI wellbeing framework, and accepts instructions in proceedings before the Additional Support Needs Tribunals for Scotland (ASNTS).

Elizabeth is instructed to advise on:

• Placement suitability and compatibility: whether a named or proposed placement in Section I is appropriate and able to meet the child's needs, assessed against sections 33 and 39 of the Children and Families Act 2014
• Section F provision: whether special educational provision has been lawfully secured under the non-delegable duty in section 42 of the Children and Families Act 2014
• EOTAS arrangements: whether an Education Other Than At School arrangement under section 61 is appropriate, properly specified, and funded
• EHC Plan adequacy: whether the Plan accurately reflects the child's needs, whether provision is specified with sufficient clarity, and whether the Plan meets the standards in the SEND Code of Practice 2015
• Transition planning: whether moves to new settings were planned and managed in line with the child's needs and the SEND Code of Practice
• The child's voice: whether the child's views were appropriately sought, recorded, and given weight under section 19 of the Children and Families Act 2014
• Attendance and EBSA: whether non-attendance rooted in a child's SEND profile was correctly identified and addressed, rather than treated as a conduct or parental responsibility matter
• Local authority decision-making: reasonableness of decisions at each stage of the EHC process under the Children and Families Act 2014, the SEND Regulations 2014, and the SEND Code of Practice

Elizabeth does not carry out clinical or diagnostic assessments for neurodevelopmental conditions. Her opinions are educational in nature and address the adequacy of provision, institutional decision-making, and compliance with the relevant legal, statutory and regulatory framework.

As founding Headteacher of a specialist SEMH school, Deputy Headteacher in mainstream secondary, and a national consultant on behaviour policy, Elizabeth has direct experience of every level of decision-making around behaviour, sanction, and exclusion, including in settings where pupils present with complex, overlapping needs and where the line between a behaviour response and a safeguarding response is not always straightforward.

She is instructed to advise on:

• Violence and aggression: violence by pupils towards staff and other pupils; lawfulness and proportionality of physical interventions under DfE reasonable force guidance
• Bullying and harassment: adequacy of policies and response under the Education and Inspections Act 2006 and DfE statutory guidance, online and offline
• Suspensions and permanent exclusions: lawfulness and proportionality of exclusion decisions; compliance with DfE statutory guidance; whether the governing body process was sound; and whether the duty to make reasonable adjustments for pupils with SEND was met before the decision was taken
• Risk assessment and behaviour planning: adequacy of individual risk assessments and behaviour support plans, and whether these were proportionate, informed by the pupil's needs, and consistently applied, including where those needs include SEND or a neurodivergent profile
• Use of reasonable force: whether physical interventions were lawful, proportionate, and compliant with DfE guidance and any applicable restraint policy, in both mainstream and specialist settings
• Alternative provision: whether placement was appropriate, properly commissioned, and met the pupil's identified needs
• Policy and practice: whether a school's actions were consistent with its stated policies and the applicable statutory and non-statutory DfE guidance

Elizabeth holds an MSc in Psychology and works as a coach and consultant supporting neurodivergent children, young people, and adults across a full range of profiles, including autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and associated anxiety and mental health presentations. This section addresses matters arising in both educational and employment contexts.

She is instructed to advise on:

• Reasonable adjustments: whether a school or employer made the adjustments required by the Equality Act 2010, whether those adjustments were sufficient, and whether any failure caused quantifiable disadvantage
• Identification and response: whether a school or employer had adequate systems to identify neurodivergent need and whether its response met the standards in the SEND Code of Practice and DfE guidance
• Neurodivergent need and disciplinary proceedings: whether a pupil's or employee's neurodivergent profile was properly considered before conduct, attendance, or capability proceedings were initiated or pursued to a finding
• Impact: the educational, social, and emotional consequences of inadequate provision, or a failure to implement reasonable adjustments, where relevant to quantum or remedy

Elizabeth does not carry out clinical or diagnostic assessments for neurodevelopmental conditions. Her opinions address institutional decision-making, the adequacy of provision, and compliance with the relevant legal and statutory framework.