Panel

Panel is shorthand for the unseen meeting where many decisions about a child are actually made: whether to assess for an EHC plan EHCP A legal document, used in England, that sets out a child's needs and the support they must get. It is for children who need more help than their school can give on its own. Read the full definition of EHCP , whether to agree funding, whether to accept a referral referral When a professional passes your child on to a specialist team for assessment or treatment. A GP, school or health visitor can usually make one. Read the full definition of referral . Different areas call them funding panels, resource panels or multi-agency panels, and parents usually only hear of them afterwards, in the sentence panel said no.

A panel is a way of organising a decision, not a legal body. The legal duty to decide stays with the local authority Local authority Your local council. In England, Wales and Scotland, this is the body you ask to assess what extra help your child needs. Read the full definition of Local authority or health service, so panel said no is not the end of the road. You can ask for the decision in writing, ask for the reasons behind it, and use the normal routes to challenge it. Any right of appeal Appeal A formal challenge to the SEND Tribunal about a council's EHC decision. It is free to bring, and you do not need a lawyer. Read the full definition of Appeal you have, for example about an EHC needs assessment decision, belongs to you regardless of what a panel recommended.