Overview
You can appeal against local authority decisions regarding special educational needs, including a refusal to:
- assess a child or young person’s educational, health and care (EHC) needs
- reassess their EHC needs
- issue an EHC plan
- change what’s in a child or young person’s EHC plan
- maintain the EHC plan
The First-tier Tribunal (SEND), is sometimes referred to as the SEND Tribunal,
Helen from SENDIAS tells you about the SENDIST Tribunal process as part of October 2022 Local Offer Live sessions.
Appealing a decision
If you are unhappy with a decision not to assess or issue an EHC plan, or with the special educational content or placement in the plan, you can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability). This is also known as SEND Tribunal. They can change decisions related to Education, Health, and Care (EHC) plans, including whether an EHC needs assessment is conducted, whether an EHC plan is issued, and the content of existing EHC plans. They can also make recommendations about the health and social care provisions related to the child oy young person’s special educational needs.
You can only request recommendations about the health and social care content of the plan, when there is also an appeal to the education element at the same time. The Tribunal will take a holistic, person-centred view of the needs of the child or young person.
This does not prevent you also complaining about other aspects of your disagreement through other complaint procedures.
Your decision letter will tell you what you need to appeal. You can also speak to other organisations that are listed in your letter (such as SENDIAS) or with your special educational needs coordinator (SENCO).
Parts of the EHC plan that can be appealed
You can appeal based on:
- the description of the child or young person’s special educational needs in an EHC plan
- the special educational provision specified in an EHC plan (this may include recommendations about the health and/or social care aspects of the EHC plan)
- the school or other educational institution named in an EHC plan
- a decision by the local authority not to issue an EHC plan
- a decision by the local authority not to carry out a re-assessment for a child or young person who has an EHC plan
- a decision by the local authority not to amend an EHC plan following a review or re-assessment
- a decision by the local authority to cease to maintain an EHC plan
Continuation of support during a tribunal
In the case of appeals about the contents of EHC plans, it is likely that an annual review will take place before the appeal is concluded. This is because an annual review must take place within 12 months of the last review, or of the date the EHC plan was first issued, and this is not affected by an ongoing appeal.
The annual review could be an opportunity to try and resolve some of the issues in dispute. If we issue a new amended EHC plan after the annual review, this new plan is valid and enforceable and replaces the plan that has been appealed.
Outcomes of Tribunals
Once the outcomes of a SEND Tribunal are received, the local authority must carry out the SEND Tribunal order within time limits. Find out more on IPSEA website.
If the SEND Tribunal makes a recommendation about health or social care elements of an EHC plan, this is non-binding. The local authority and/or health commissioner is generally expected to follow these recommendations, but they are not legally binding.
Health and social care commissioners must respond to the parent/young person and the LA SEND Assessment and Review team within 5 weeks of a recommendation being made, setting out the steps they have decided to take or giving reasons why they are not going to follow the recommendation.
Where they are not followed, the reasons for not following them must be explained and set out in writing to you and to the Department for Education through the evaluators. If they are not followed, you can complain to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) or Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) or seek to have the decision judicially reviewed. You can find more information on the role of an ombudsman in our resolving SEND concerns section.
Help and further information
Advice on making SEND appeals to the Tribunal and the appeal form is available on the GOV.UK website.
Government guidance on SEND tribunal: extended appeals explains
- the extended powers and duties
- how the appeal process will work,
- what happens if recommendations are not followed and
- the support available for families.
You can also find tribunal guides for parents or carers, and seek further support from SENDIAS.