How to Appeal a SEND Decision at the SEND Tribunal
Almost every parent who takes a case to the SEND tribunal and gets a hearing wins it. In 2024/25 the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) registered around 25,000 appeals, 18 per cent more than the year before, and of the appeals it went on to decide, 99 per cent were decided in the appellant's favour. That single number tells you most of what you need to know about how councils are applying the law, and why a refusal letter is worth challenging rather than accepting.
The catch is that the process runs on fixed clocks, and one missed clock ends the appeal before anyone looks at your child. This guide sets out what you can appeal, the deadline, the mediation step, what happens at a hearing, and what the council has to do once you win.
What you can actually appeal
The tribunal will only take appeals against specific decisions. You can appeal:
- a refusal to carry out an EHC needs assessment;
- a refusal to carry out a reassessment;
- a decision not to issue a plan after an assessment;
- the content of section B (your child's needs), section F (the special educational provision) or section I (the school or setting named);
- a decision to cease a plan;
- a decision not to amend a plan after an annual review.
Note what is not on that list. Delay is not appealable. If the council has blown the twenty-week deadline for issuing a plan, the answer is a complaint and then the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, not the tribunal. Our guide to what an EHCP covers and the 20-week timeline sets out where each remedy applies.
The deadline: two months, or one month from the certificate
You have two months from the date on the decision letter, or one month from the date on the mediation certificate, whichever gives you longer. In practice that means the certificate can extend your time, so there is no advantage in rushing the mediation step to get it out of the way.
The tribunal can extend the deadline, but only if you ask for it and give reasons, and it is not a formality. Treat the two months as hard. If a report you are waiting for has not arrived, register the appeal on time and file the report later: evidence can be added during the case, but a late appeal may never be registered at all.
Mediation: the step that stops appeals being registered
For most appeals you have to contact an independent mediation adviser before you can register, and send the tribunal the certificate they issue. You do not have to go through with mediation. Telling the adviser you do not want to mediate is enough to get the certificate, and that is a legitimate choice.
There is one important exception. If your appeal is only about the school or type of school named in section I, or about the fact that no school has been named, you do not need to contact a mediation adviser at all. Mix a section F point into that appeal and the exception falls away, so decide early which grounds you are running.
If you do want to mediate, the council must arrange it within 30 days of the adviser telling it you wish to proceed. Mediation is worth a look where the disagreement is narrow, for example a number of therapy sessions, and much less useful where the council disputes that your child needs a plan at all.
Registering the appeal
Appeals are made on the SEND35 form, filed online or by post to HM Courts and Tribunals Service. You will need the decision letter, the mediation certificate where one is required, the current EHC plan if there is one, and the evidence you are relying on. There is no fee.
Be specific in the grounds. "The plan is inadequate" gives the panel nothing to order. "Section F does not quantify the speech and language therapy specified in the therapist's report at page 42, and should read weekly 30-minute individual sessions" tells the panel exactly what to write. The working document, a tracked version of the plan that both sides amend as the case goes on, is where that battle is actually fought, so start yours early.
What happens next
Once the appeal is registered the tribunal sends both sides a case timetable. The council has 30 working days to file its response, setting out what it agrees with and what it opposes. Many councils concede parts of the case at that point, and a large share of appeals settle or are withdrawn before a hearing, which is why the number of appeals decided is smaller than the number registered.
Hearings are usually held remotely by video, with a judge and one or two specialist members who have SEND expertise. It is not a courtroom cross-examination. You can bring a friend, a SENDIASS adviser or a lawyer, and you can speak for yourself. Panels expect parents to be unrepresented and run hearings accordingly.
The tribunal can also make non-binding recommendations about the health and social care parts of a plan, in what are now called extended appeals, in every type of SEN appeal except refusal to assess. Councils and health bodies have to respond in writing if they do not follow a recommendation.
After you win: what the council must do
An order is not advice. Under the SEND Regulations 2014 the council has to act within fixed periods:
- Two weeks to issue the amended plan where the tribunal has ordered a change to the school named in section I.
- Five weeks to issue the amended plan where the tribunal has ordered other amendments.
- Two weeks to notify you that it will carry out the assessment or reassessment, where that is what the tribunal ordered.
If those deadlines pass, that is a compliance failure, not a further appeal point. Write to the SEN team citing the regulation, then complain, then go to the Ombudsman. Judicial review is available where the failure is flat refusal rather than delay.
Is it worth it?
The honest answer is that the odds at a hearing are extraordinary and the process is still exhausting. Cases run for months, they eat evidence-gathering time, and the emotional load falls on the same parents who are already managing the underlying need. What the 99 per cent figure should change is the calculation about whether a refusal letter is the final word. It very rarely is.
Before you start, get free advice. IPSEA runs a tribunal helpline and publishes model letters, and your local SENDIASS service is funded to support parents through exactly this process. The tribunal's own forms and guidance are on GOV.UK. Our guides to applying for an EHCP, SEN support versus an EHCP and choosing a school for a child with SEND cover the decisions either side of the appeal, and the Schools Insight homepage has the school data you may want to put in front of the panel.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to appeal to the SEND tribunal?
Two months from the date on the local authority's decision letter, or one month from the date on the mediation certificate, whichever is later. The tribunal can extend time, but only on request and with reasons, so treat the two months as the real deadline and file on time even if you are still gathering evidence.
Do I have to go to mediation before appealing?
You have to contact an independent mediation adviser and obtain a certificate for most appeals, but you do not have to go through with mediation itself. Telling the adviser you do not wish to mediate is enough to get the certificate. If your appeal is only about the school named in section I, the type of school, or the fact that no school is named, you do not need to contact an adviser at all.
What proportion of SEND tribunal appeals succeed?
Of the appeals the tribunal actually decided in 2024/25, 99 per cent were decided in the appellant's favour, according to Ministry of Justice tribunal statistics. Many more appeals never reach a decision because the council concedes or the case settles, which usually also works in the family's favour.
Can I appeal because the council has missed the 20-week deadline?
No. Delay is not an appealable decision. The route for a missed statutory deadline is a formal complaint to the council followed by a complaint to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, which regularly orders remedy payments for EHCP delay. The tribunal only takes appeals against the specific decisions listed in the Children and Families Act 2014.
Do I need a solicitor for a SEND tribunal hearing?
No. Hearings are designed to work with unrepresented parents, the panel includes specialist members, and there is no fee to appeal. Free support is available from IPSEA and from your local SENDIASS service. Legal representation can help in complex placement cases, but it is not required and legal aid is limited.
How quickly must the council act after the tribunal rules?
Two weeks to issue the amended plan if the tribunal ordered a change to the school named in section I, five weeks for other ordered amendments, and two weeks to confirm it will carry out an assessment or reassessment where that was ordered. Missing those periods is a compliance failure to complain about, not something to appeal again.