Appeals against Content of an EHCP

There are generally 2 occasions when you might consider an appeal against the content of the EHC plan, namely Sections B & F (but also C&G, D&H and I).

As each need (section B) should have a provision (section F) and vice versa it is extremely unlikely you would appeal one section without the other. Please check our website for more detailed information about what EHC plans should contain.

Before appealing Sections B&F you must have considered mediation. You will need to contact Global Mediation to discuss this within 2 months from the date on the letter from the LA refusing to amend the EHC plan or accompanying the Final or Amended Final.  

Mediation can be done instead of / or prior to going to appeal. It generally takes place quicker than a tribunal hearing (usually within 30 days of the request vs 12+ weeks) and will often be held nearer your home. It is facilitated by a trained mediator who is impartial and able to ensure that both voices are heard (yours and the LA’s). Mediation can be particularly effective and/or beneficial where:

In short, mediation is an opportunity to find out why the LA do not want to accept your proposed changes and is a safe place where you’ll have the opportunity to explain and discuss your reasons why you feel they are necessary for your child.

Be specific in what you are asking for and why, and back up these reasons by pointing to evidence where possible (see under ‘creating your appeal’ for ideas of supporting evidence). Provide copies of existing reports with highlighted sections to help you explain or clearly reference where you want the LA representative to look and why.

It is possible that following mediation, the local authority will agree to amend the plan or arrange further assessment, therefore avoiding the need to appeal. However, once mediation is complete you may still decide to go to appeal. 

After speaking with Global Mediation, if you decide not to participate in mediation or if mediation did not resolve the disagreement, you should receive a mediation certificate. This will need to be submitted with the completed Appeal Form – SEND35 or completed online. (Please note, this form was changed in July 2025.)

You have 2 months from the date of the LA’s letter or one month from the date of the mediation certificate, to submit your appeal, whichever is the later.

Whilst all the sections of an EHC Plan are important (please see our webpages for more information about what an EHC plan should contain), it is particularly important that sections B and F accurately reflect your child/young person’s Special Educational Needs and Provision, including any related health or care provision which educates or trains your child.

Your appeal needs to explain and evidence reasons why you believe it is necessary for the special educational needs and provision to be amended in the EHC plan.

You want to help make it is as easy as possible for the tribunal to understand your points and find the corresponding evidence to support these. Think carefully about the evidence you can use to support your points.

Evidence may be in the form of:

• Medical reports or assessments by a paediatrician, therapist or psychologist etc
• Documents provided by the nursery / school / college. For example, a learning support plan, notes from a meeting, emails about repeated incidents etc
• Your child or young person’s views

If your child has recently had an EHC needs assessment or a re-assessment, then most of your evidence will be from the documentation gathered and used as part of this. You can start by looking at the professional reports and cross-reference these with the EHC plan to see if there are any gaps or inaccuracies. You can find out more about this in our webpage guides on how to check your draft EHC plan.

If you are appealing after an Annual Review, you may need to find some of the supporting evidence above, yourself, although the majority of it should have been submitted as part of the Review.

If you have not been able to attain these from the school or you think the school has other evidence that you have not seen, then you can request a copy of any data the school holds about your child (their school record as well as other data). This is through what is generally known as a SAR (Subject Access Request). You may be charged for photocopying so you could request to see the records first and then choose which ones to have photocopied.

The New (as of July 2025) Appeal Form has 17 sections, but not all of them will apply or are just mainly tick boxes.

1 Child or young person’s information
2 Details of the person appealing
3 Details of another parent or carer
4 Representative’s Information
5 Advocate Information
6 Communication during the appeal
7 Anyone else with parental responsibility
8 Type of Appeal
9 School, college, or education provider
10 Reasons for the appeal
11 Health and Social Care (optional)
12 Mediation certificate
13 Appealing on time
14 Other SEND appeals
15 Other court or tribunal cases
16 Hearing preferences
17 Support during your case
Declaration
Checklist
Supporting Evidence

The main parts of the appeal, where you are asked to explain why you want to appeal and what you would like the Tribunal to consider, are Sections 9 and 10. For these sections, where more information is needed and you need to consider what you are going to write, you might want to start a Word document first. The boxes on the form do not expand, and you may need to use a continuation sheet to ensure all your points can be seen. Do remember to add your child’s name and DOB to the top of any additional pages (and make sure they are numbered).

The new form has help and pointers on the right side of the form to help you work out what the tribunal need.

Once you have completed the form, make a copy of it (for your records) and make sure you have all the relevant documents ready to send. You will need all the documents listed in the checklist as well as any evidence you have referred to.

If you have not completed the appeal form online, you can email the form and all the documents to send@justice.gov.uk. Write ‘New Appeal’ in the subject line of your email.

Although the Tribunal prefers the appeal to be completed online or sent via email, you can post this if needed. Please send photocopies rather than original documents, and send by recorded delivery to:

HM Courts & Tribunals Service, Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal, 1st Floor, Darlington Magistrates Court, Parkgate, Darlington DL1 1RU

Once the SEND Tribunal has received the appeal, they will send you a text to confirm it has been received. You should then be notified within approximately. 10-14 working days, to confirm your appeal has been accepted, or refused because something is missing or incorrect.

Along with this notification, you will receive a tribunal pack which will include your unique reference number to be used in any further correspondence as well as advice on how to make changes, submit extra evidence, etc. It will also include all the important dates, including:

• The date of the SEND Tribunal hearing. * (different for age phased hearings – see below)
• When the LA is required to respond to your appeal (usually within 30 days),
• The deadline for letting them know who will be attending with you
• The deadline for sending any further information

At the same time, the SEND Tribunal also sends a copy of your appeal to the LA. The LA should respond to the tribunal, stating whether they oppose your appeal (disagree) and why, or that they agree with the evidence and will therefore make the changes you have requested. They must also send you a copy of their response at the same time, so do notify the SEND Tribunal if you do not get this response by the date stated in the tribunal pack.

* From January 2026 the Tribunal will not issue an initial hearing date for hearings on age-phased transfer appeals. See our general appeals page for more information.

If you have had your appeal accepted and you need to ‘CC’ the LA into your emails to Tribunal please use their new email address: sentribunal@westsussex.gov.uk

Once you have submitted the form, certificate and evidence you will then have to wait a couple of weeks or so before you hear anything. Once Tribunal have looked at your submission, they will contact you (generally by email) and let you know if they are able to accept it.

Occasionally you may find that a crucial document is missing or something hasnt been completed on the form. This should be easily remedied and the appeal can then proceed.

If and once the appeal is accepted you will receive a Tribunal pack which gives you information about the appeal date, along with your unique reference number.

You should receive the decision and reasons by post within 10 working days of the appeal hearing. The decision is sent to the nominated contact as well as the local authority.

Once SEND Tribunal’s decision is issued, the local authority must carry out the order within a fixed period, beginning with that date. To amend the contents of an EHC Plan this would be 5 weeks. However, if you are also appealing Section I (placement), the school/college/institution should be amended within 2 weeks.

If after your appeal has been ‘heard,’ you feel there has been an error or have some other serious reason for thinking the decision by the SEND tribunal is wrong, you have 28 days to apply for a Tribunal review.