Councils Liable for Special Needs Failure

Phelps v Hillingdon LBC and Associated Cases (TLR 28 July H of L)

A local education authority may be vicariously liable for breaches by those whom it employs, including educational psychologists and teachers, of their duties of care towards pupils. Breaches could include failure to diagnose dyslexic pupils and to provide appropriate education for pupils with special educational needs. Failure to mitigate the adverse consequences of a congenital defect such as dyslexia could constitute ‘personal injuries to a person’ within s33(2) of the Supreme Court Act 1981.