We are incredibly grateful to Douglas and his team for their exceptional support throughout our recent SEN tribunal process. This was the second time we’ve used their services and the second time we’ve had a successful outcome.
Douglas is highly knowledgeable, honest in his advice, and brings a calm professionalism that’s both reassuring and effective. He genuinely understands what families go through and always made us feel heard and supported. His amazing support team; Adam and Sam, have been fantastic—always professional, prompt in their responses, and meticulous with follow-ups and deadlines.
The tribunal process is incredibly stressful, but their legal expertise and unbelievable support in stressful times made a world of difference. We cannot recommend them highly enough to any parent needing expert guidance and trusted support in SEN matters.

Douglas and his team, Adam and Sam are absolutely fantastic. Skilled, knowledgeable, prompt and empathetic. We were trying to get our child placed in a specialist school as it was very clear that mainstream setting will be impossible to attend. We decided to engage Douglas’ services and this was the best possible decision.

They guided and supported us and we managed to get a placement for our child in that school. This wouldn’t have been possible without Douglas and his team.
They don’t over promise to parents, remain calm, firm and polite in interactions with LA.

Their payment plan is clear and you get detailed invoices on what their time has been spent on.

We recommend them whole heartedly and are so very grateful to them for giving us hope for the future. Thank you Douglas, Adam and Sam.

Douglas and the team were able to take our case through two appeals: one for appealing the decision not to issue an EHCP and one to appeal the EHCP's contents and the LA's failure to name the preferred independent school for our son. Although the appeals took time, Douglas and his team had extensive knowledge that could be applied to the case, which resulted in both appeals being successful and the full support needed in the EHCP being given. It was always positive dealing with Douglas and his team, and they always have the child's best interests at the centre of what they do, offering good, accurate advice throughout.

Douglas provided clear advice and was totally honest about our chances of success. I am happy to thoroughly recommend his services.

We are not sure where to start this review of Douglas and his team of Adam & Sam other than to say they are extraordinarily good!!

We had a complex (and at times daunting) case to try and secure a residential placement for our son Archie following leaving his school in June this year. We engaged Douglas in Summer 2023 and right from the outset he filled us with confidence. His considerable experience, obsessive attention to detail and cost effective fee solutions made us feel confident in our case. He took the time to really get to know us as a family and assembled a team of excellent experts to support our case. Douglas’s advice was spot on throughout in relation to both the strengths and weaknesses of our case. The tribunal was a success and the outcomes beyond our expectations and always at the centre of his advice, care and thoughts was our son Archie and achieving the best outcomes for him.

We would not hesitate to recommend Douglas - a truly exceptional and gifted SEN solicitor.

We contacted Douglas Silas after we lodged an appeal re our 4 year old son’s EHCP. The LA had stated he could go to mainstream, which we knew wasn’t the right place for him. We had such little knowledge about what to do, but Douglas stepped in and took over our appeal in the most friendly and professional manner. Not only is he extremely knowledgable, he is very personable, and put us at ease during every twist and turn of the appeals process. This process can be overwhelming for a parent, but Douglas was continuously reassuring us, as well as thorough with his work. There was never a time when we couldn’t contact him. We attended a tribunal hearing with Douglas in our corner, and within 5 minutes we had the school of our choice! The hard work that Douglas and his colleagues put in throughout the process meant the hearing was very quickly concluded. Our son’s EHCP now states the specialist school of our choice and has so much more provision to help him with his education. We would give 6 stars if we could!

My experience with the firm was exceptional. The team was very professional and reliable. I must commend Douglas, Adam and also Sam for always responding to my every query. Simply put, the met all my needs and exceeded my expectations. I would have no reservation in recommending their service to anyone in need of their services

I was immediately put at ease and felt less stressed about our case simply from the initial contact and discussion with Sam.
Douglas and his team worked diligently and efficiently on our case, ensuring that we were fully informed of the process and all updates without us being ‘bogged down’ by it.
Douglas always made himself available to answer questions via email or video call and all members of this small team were professional and easy to talk to.
Douglas was good at cutting to the chase, focusing on what he knew would make a difference in our case, and swiftly putting to the side any other ‘noise’. He was always very good humoured, often with a sharp and witty analogy to explain a point.
We were served an unbelievable curve ball by the opposing side at the 11th hour and Douglas handled it expertly.

Thanks to the help from DSS Team, my son is a thriving pre-teen looking forward to a fulfilling future.

DSS have been instrumental in getting my son the much needed help to access education and to navigate the wider world by learning to communicate and manage his emotions. He was struggling to cope in mainstream school and was lost, anxious with limited communication skills. He was being offered no support at the time. The team at DSS helped us get him the timely support in primary school and find him the right secondary school provision which is he is looking forward to joining in September.

Most of all, he is very a happy and settled child now, something not every Neurodivergent child gets to experience. We wouldn't have managed any of this without the team's support.

The team was very forthcoming with the right advice and transparent about the costs. They also proactively followed through on reminding us of any deadlines or getting additional documents/evidence for the case.

As a parent, they gave me hope and were a pillar of strength through out. I won't be exaggerating when I say DSS have played a major role in my child's wellbeing and our optimism for his future.

Dear Douglas, Adam and Sam, We wanted to thank you for everything that you have done for us over the years and for your reassuring advice and expertise in helping us to get to where we are now. It has been a long journey and at times, an emotional rollercoaster but you have always been there to steady the ship and keep us on course. We are delighted and still pinching ourselves about the decision from the LEA to pay for the school fees and name the school in the EHCP. I think it has only really been these last 2 months that it has properly sunk in. Our son is doing so well, and it was absolutely the best decision we ever made to fight for him to get support to go to this school. He is happy, thriving, and indeed excelling there. He has a great bunch of friends and his confidence has soared, plus he is pushing himself to be more independent which is a total joy to witness. The school is nurturing and calm and is absolutely the right fit for him. The right environment and approach is vital for our kids to stand a chance. This is the first time we have felt optimistic that he will survive in the system which is often so tough for children with SENs. The work that you do is invaluable, we are so grateful to you, it's made a life changing difference. I know that your role and experience will become even more necessary with further budget cuts and restrictions impacting families. I think one of the biggest gifts you gave us throughout was knowing we weren’t alone and giving us the resilience to keep going and reminding us to think in a legal way not just rely on common sense. Thank you so much for being such a integral part of this journey.