These pages only apply to England and Wales.

Phelps v Hillingdon Council

The case of Phelps v Hillingdon Council involved a child had dyslexia. An educational psychologist failed to diagnose the dyslexia. Accordingly the child was not given education appropriate to her condition. The House of Lords upheld a decision that the educational psychologist owed a duty of care to the child and had been negligent in failing to diagnose the dyslexia. The authority was vicariously liable for this, and accordingly was liable to pay damages.

The House of Lords judgment also deals with various other cases, and discusses issues such as possible liability of teachers for negligence in certain circumstances. The House of Lords judgment is available at www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199900/ldjudgmt/jd000727/phelp-1.htm.

The IPSEA website has an article discussing the Phelps case (external link).

Schools page.

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