Appeal

If 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 refuses to assess, refuses to issue a plan, or issues a plan you disagree with, you can appeal to the SEND Tribunal SEND Tribunal If the council says no, you can appeal to the SEND Tribunal. It is separate from the council, and it can order them to assess your child or to change an EHC plan. Read the full definition of SEND Tribunal . The tribunal is independent of the council, it is free, and most parents represent themselves.

Two things surprise almost everyone. First, only certain decisions can be appealed. Second, within a plan, the appeal covers the description of your child's needs (Section B Section B of an EHC plan The part of an EHC plan that lists every one of your child's special educational needs. If a need is not written here, the plan does not have to meet it. Read the full definition of Section B of an EHC plan ), the support (Section F Section F of an EHC plan The part of an EHC plan that sets out the support your child must get. It is the part the council is legally required to provide. Read the full definition of Section F of an EHC plan ) and the placement named (Section I). The other sections, including the health and social care ones, cannot be appealed in the same way, though the tribunal can make recommendations about some of them.

Before most appeals you need to contact a mediation Mediation A meeting where an independent person helps you and the council try to agree. You must think about it before most SEND appeals, but you do not have to go. Read the full definition of Mediation adviser and get a certificate, which does not commit you to mediation itself. Time limits are strict and run from the decision letter, so get the letter's date, and contact your local SENDIASS SENDIASS A free advice service for parents in every council area in England. Its advisers are on no one's side, and they help you work out what to do next. Read the full definition of SENDIASS service early. Parents win a large majority of SEND appeals that reach the tribunal, so a refusal is genuinely worth challenging.