Appealing against decisions
If you have concerns about support for your child's special educational needs, both the school and our named officer will work to with you and your independent parental supporter to resolve them.
What you can appeal
Sometimes parents or carers don't agree with us. When we tell you about a decision we will let you know your right of appeal and how to go about it.
You can appeal:
- our decision not to issue an education, health and care (EHC) plan
- our description of your child's special education needs in an EHC plan
- the special education provision that we put in an EHC plan
- the school or other education setting that's named in an EHC plan
- our decision not to a reassess a child or young person who has an EHC plan
- our decision not to amend an EHC plan following a review or re-assessment
- our decision to end the EHC plan
You can also appeal if we:
- refuse to change the school named in your child's EHC plan if the EHC plan is at least 1 year-old
- refuse to reassess your child's special education needs
- have not made a new assessment for at least 6 months
Following a national trial period from April 2018 to August 2021, you can also now make an appeal about health and social care parts of an EHC plan. Previously you had only been able to appeal the education parts of EHC plans. You can only appeal the health and social care parts of the EHC plan if you are already making an appeal about the education part of the EHC plan, and that appeal is on-going.
How to make an appeal
Appeals must be made to an independent body called the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) – sometimes called the 'SEND Tribunal'.'
Before going to appeal you must contact a mediation adviser within 2 months of our decision. This is to find out whether mediation might be a way to resolve your disagreement. You don't have to do this if you only want to appeal about the school or other education setting named in the EHC plan.
Once you have contacted a mediation adviser, or have taken part in mediation, you will be issued with a certificate. You will need this if you wish to go ahead with an appeal to the SEND Tribunal.
An appeal to the SEND Tribunal must usually be made within 2 months of our decision, or within 1 month of the mediation certificate being issued, whichever is the later.
SEND Tribunal recommendations about health or social care parts of an EHC plan are "non-binding", which means whilst we generally follow the recommendations, it's not required by law. Any decision we make will be explained to you in writing.
If we don't follow recommendations, 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.