Tribunals

Who is the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs & Disability) Service?

The SEND Tribunal is part of the system of courts and tribunals which makes decisions in appeals and claims. They are part of the Health, Education and Social Care Chamber, which settles legal disputes and is structured around particular areas of law.

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What does the SEND Tribunal Service do?

SEND Tribunal hears cases which involve:

• appeals against local authority decisions about children and young people with special educational needs
• claims of disability discrimination against schools.

The staff at the SEND Tribunal who administer appeals are called ‘tribunal clerks.’

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SEND Tribunal handles appeals against decisions to refuse young people in custody:

• an EHC assessment
• an EHC plan after assessment
• a placement to a suitable school or other educational institution after their release.

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Who can make an appeal to the SEND Tribunal?

• A parent or someone with parental responsibility on behalf of a child under 16 years old
• A young person aged between 16 and 25 years old 
• An alternative person making an appeal in the ‘best interests’ of a young person who does not have the Mental Capacity to bring an appeal themselves or someone appointed like a Legal Representative (e.g. a lawyer or solicitor acting on behalf of a party).

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You can consider using the SEND Tribunal Service when:

• The Local Authority refuse to make an EHC needs assessment
• an assessment is completed but the LA decides not to issue a plan
• an EHC plan is finalised but you do not agree with the contents and/or school placement
• a notice to maintain an EHCP without change, cease to maintain or to amend a plan is received. This should happen following an annual review or reassessment 
• the LA refuses to reassess after being requested to do so.

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The deadline to make an appeal to the SEND Tribunal is:

Within two months of the date on your Local Authority’s decision letter. 

In most cases, placement only appeals being the exception, you will need to consider mediation before appealing.

You will then have an additional 30 days from the date of the Mediation certificate to make an appeal to SEND Tribunal, or within 2 months of the decision letter if this date falls later.

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The local authority (LA) should have told you in the decision letter that you may be able to get advice from the following:

• A local Information, Advice and Support Service (IASS), like SEND and You
• A voluntary organisation which helps people with special needs
• A parents’ or young person’s support group like Parent Carer Forums
• National Advice Organisations like CONTACT or IPSEA.

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The local authority (LA) should tell you in the decision letter, as part of giving the rights of appeal to SEND Tribunal, the named officer who can work with you to try and sort out the issues you disagree with.

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How much is an appeal at SEND Tribunal going to cost?

SEND Tribunal is FREE.

Although there are legal proceedings there are NO FEES involved.

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Do I have to attend a mediation meeting?

You do not have to attend, but you need to consider mediation when you have received one of the following decisions from the local authority: 

• • a refusal-to-assess decision after an education health and care needs assessment request
  • a refusal to issue an EHC plan after a needs assessment
  • a no changes decision or
  • amendments have been made to an EHCP and you disagree about the content of plan. This could be section B, F and I of the EHCP.

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Placement only appeals

You can make an application to appeal to SEND Tribunal against placement only (section I of the EHCP), without a mediation certificate. However, you can still request a mediation if you want one. 

In placement only appeals you cannot discuss other parts of the EHCP, for example section B about special educational needs and F about provision. 

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Disability Discrimination Appeals

Disability discrimination claims must be made within 6 months of the discrimination happening or as soon as you become aware of discrimination.

Your child or young person does NOT need to have an Education Health and Care Plan for this type of appeal.

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Issues SEND Tribunal does NOT deal with are:

• How the local authority carried out an EHC assessment, or the time that it took
• How the local authority, school or college arranges the support set out in the EHCP
• The way the school or college is meeting a child’s or young person’s needs under SEN Support
• the outcomes in Section E of the EHCP plan
• any disputes about the wording of Sections A, J and K of the EHCP
• Admissions appeals
• Exclusion appeals unless it involves an allegation of disability discrimination.

For some of these issues you could consider making a complaint instead. 

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How long does a SEND Tribunal appeal take?

Due to the current high demand for tribunal services, some appeals are taking up to a year to be heard.

Refusal to assess appeals are often ‘heard on the papers’ which means the evidence is considered without a hearing- this can be a quicker process.

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Grounds for SEND Tribunal Appeals

The ‘grounds of appeal’ are the reasons you must give for the appeal, including the issues you want the SEND Tribunal to make decisions on.

You will need to explain why you disagree and what you would like the SEND Tribunal to do.

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Handy hints about your SEND Appeal Application

• Go through the checklist towards the end the appeal form to make sure you have all the required documents so that the application can be accepted.
• Is the application form signed by ALL parties to the appeal? No signatures = no appeal. You can type your name if sending by email.
• Send photocopies rather than original documents to the SEND Tribunal service if you are posting the appeal.
• Send single sided copies of documents.

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What are the timelines for a SEND Tribunal appeal?

Your application for a SEND Tribunal appeal should be registered within 10 working days once it’s received, although there may be delays. 

SEND Tribunal will keep you informed. You will be notified when the appeal is registered and the date of the final hearing of the appeal.

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What does the local authority do once my SEND appeal is registered?

The deadline for the Local Authority (LA) response to your appeal is usually within 30 working days of receiving your appeal documents from the SEND Tribunal.

You will get a copy of the LA response and the documents they have included.

If you do receive a response is time, you can contact the SEND Tribunal service to notify them of the delay.

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Unopposed Appeals

An unopposed appeal is where the Local Authority (LA) concedes before the deadline to respond to your appeal. The LA then has to comply with the deadlines in SEND Regulation 45 for assessing, issuing or amending an EHCP, depending on the grounds of the appeal. 

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Can I request changes about my appeal case?

If you want to ask the tribunal to make an order, you should complete the ‘SEND 7- Request for changes‘ form and send a copy to the local authority and to the Tribunal.

Things you can make a request for include:

• An extension of time to comply with a direction
• A change to the final hearing date
• A witness summons
• Permission to amend grounds of appeal/response.

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Which form do I need to start an appeal?

For a refusal to assess appeal you will need to complete the SEND35A form.

For all other types of appeal, you will need to complete the SEND35 form.

Remember, unless you are just appealing a school placement/setting you will need to have a mediation certificate to submit with your appeal form.

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Witnesses at Tribunal

You can request a witness attend the tribunal hearing if they are able to give evidence relevant to your case. 

All witnesses will be asked by the SEND Tribunal about the facts of the case. 

Witnesses will only be permitted to attend the hearing if they have previously submitted a report or written witness statement. 

You have to inform the SEND Tribunal on the attendance form if you want to bring witnesses to the hearing, without which they could be prevented from attending. 

https://www.ipsea.org.uk/what-happens-after-i-submit-my-appeal-evidence-and-the-bundle 

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Who sits on the hearing panel at my SEND Tribunal Appeal?

A tribunal panel consists of:

• a legally qualified tribunal judge
• depending on the type of appeal, up to two specialist members who have been appointed because of their knowledge and experience of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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The Tribunal Appeal Decision

The decision and the reasons for this will be sent to you and the local authority 10 working days after the hearing date.

Once the decision is issued, the LA must carry it out within fixed timescales.

For more information on timescales: https://www.ipsea.org.uk/after-the-hearing

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