SENDIASS
The SEND Tribunal is a group of independent experts.
They help when you or your family disagree with a decision made by your local authority (LA) about:
It’s free! There is no cost to make an appeal or claim.
You might get legal help (called legal aid) to prepare your case.
You may want to make an appeal for various different reasons including:
If any of these apply and you feel that the decisions are wrong, you can appeal.
If you are not happy with a decision about Special Educational Needs (SEN)
The Local Authority will send you a letter with their decision. If you wish to appeal the decision, you have 2 months from the date on the letter to lodge the appeal with SEND Tribunal.
First, you may need to consider mediation.
If you are only appealing the named setting on the EHCP, you do not need to consider mediation, and you can appeal with the SEND Tribunal straight away. Although we advise you to check that you agree with the content in Sections B and F first.
If you are appealing anything else, or if you decide to appeal B and F alongside Section I, you will need to consider mediation. If you are unsure, contact your local SENDIAS service for more bespoke advice.
Check out our information on Mediation to find out more!
If you have already considered mediation and decided not to mediate,
or
You have been to mediation, and the outcome is not what you wanted, you can appeal to the SEND Tribunal.
If you wish to lodge an appeal with the Tribunal, then you must submit the following:
For appealing the refusal to assess:
For all other appeals:
At SENDIASS, we advise all our families who are appealing to check if they are eligible for Legal aid.
There is no fee to appeal to the SEND Tribunal. Although you may wish to seek legal advice from a solicitor, which would incur fees. You may want to check if you are eligible for legal aid through this link:
Check if you can get legal aid - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
If eligible, you may then receive advice from a solicitor who can advise you on your case. The Solicitor might not represent you at the final hearing, but they may help you to build a case and prepare you for the hearing.
After sending the Appeal form and other documents required, the SEND Tribunal will send you the registration details, which you should receive within 20 working days.
The ‘Letter of Registration’ confirms that your appeal has been registered and your appeal number. It will also set out other dates, including:
You have a choice of asking for a paper hearing or an Oral hearing.
Paper hearings do not require you to attend and the Tribunal will make a decision based on the evidence submitted.
Oral hearings require you to attend, and this is normally held virtually. The Tribunal will send you details closer to the Final Hearing date with details on how to join.
Watch this video to find out more about virtual hearings at SEND Tribunal.
The hearing will be heard by a panel of two/three people, consisting of one Tribunal Judge and one/two specialist members with experience of special educational needs.
The LA representative and the parents/young person and, if requested, their representative, will be in attendance. Witnesses as specified in their Attendance Forms (mentioned above), of whom there will usually be up to three (extra witnesses can be allowed in exceptional circumstances) will also attend.
You should expect to receive a written decision regarding your case within 10 working days following the Tribunal hearing. The decision is sent to the nominated contact and the local authority.
Once SEND Tribunal’s decision is issued, the local authority must carry out the order within a fixed period, beginning with that date.
If the Local Authority tells the SEND Tribunal that they do not oppose the appeal, these deadlines also apply.
If the local authority does not keep to the order within that time, you may have to apply to the Secretary of State for Education or the High Court to enforce it. You can also make a complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman by contacting the LGO Advice Team on 0845 602 1938, or by writing to:
Local Government Ombudsman, PO Box 4771, Coventry, CV4 0EH
You can also visit their website: https://www.lgo.org.uk/make-a-complaint/fact-sheets/education/special-educational-needs
When the decision is issued, it will include a leaflet setting out in detail your right of appeal. The following is a brief outline of your options.
When you have received a decision, you may think that the decision is wrong in law or that there is another reason why SEND Tribunal should look again at the decision. If you think it is wrong in law, you can appeal to the Administrative Appeals Chamber of the Upper Tribunal but you must first ask for permission to appeal.
Guidance explaining how to make an application for permission to appeal against the decision and other applications that you can make following the decision is included with the decision.
You can get booklets, forms, or DVDs