WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE APPEAL IS LODGED?
After you have submitted your appeal to the First Tier SEND Tribunal (SENDIST), you will receive either an email or text to say they have received your appeal and give you a reference number. If you need to send anything else in, before the appeal is registered you must use this reference number.
Around 20 days from lodging the appeal, SENDIST will email you the registration documents, unless you have specifically asked for hard copies to be posted. Please keep an eye on your emails and check you junk folder.
In its registration letter, SENDIST will tell you about important dates. It will tell you when the LA are required to respond to your appeal and give you a deadline to send further evidence. In most appeals it will also tell you when the hearing date will be.
- It may be possible to seek a change to the hearing date. It’s not likely that a long delay will be in the interests of justice, so the Tribunal is unlikely to agree to this.
- Similarly, it may be possible in cases where a child or young person has been permanently excluded to have the hearing date brought forward.
- If you decide you want your appeal decided ‘on the papers’ and without a hearing on the basis that it might be quicker, you should contact the Tribunal first to check if that would be the case.
- A hearing date change is more likely to be agreed if you can show that it is in the interests of justice, and the LA has agreed in advance.
You should read the registration letter very carefully and write down the important dates.
It will also set out other important information, such as the deadline for the sending out of the appeal bundle and the fact you have a right to request the appeal be actively case managed by a member of the judicial team.
Once the appeal has been registered, any further communications with the SEND Tribunal (such as sending a Request for change form) must also be sent to the LA at the same time.
The Tribunal will tell you on registration if it wants you to copy it into emails that you send the LA. You should check what your registration letter says and do as it says.
On registration, you should also expect to receive a Case Review form and a copy of a Request for Change form.
KEY DATES TIMETABLE
When you receive the registration documents there will be a table with a Key Dates Timetable.
The LA must send its response to the parent(s), young person or alternative person and the Tribunal so that it is received by: LA's Response (Grounds of Response)
12 noon on ******
The parent(s), young person or alternative person and LA must send to each other and to the Tribunal any final evidence - such as further written information, including professional reports - upon which they intend to rely as soon as it is available. No further evidence will be accepted without express permission of the Tribunal from either party after: Witnesses
12 noon on
The LA and the parent(s), young person or alternative person must send a completed Case Review Form to the Tribunal and each other to be received by:
12 noon on
The LA must produce and send to the Tribunal and the parent(s), young person, or alternative person an electronic copy of the bundle and also deliver to parent(s) a paper copy of the bundle so that it is received by:
12 noon on
The date of the final The hearing
LA RESPONSE – (Grounds of Response)
The LA will need to send its response to the SEND Tribunal by the deadline in the registration letter you receive. This is usually within 30 working days of receiving your appeal documents from the SEND Tribunal.
The LA must state whether it opposes your appeal and why. They must send you a copy of its response at the same time: tell the SEND Tribunal if you are not sent this.
EVIDENCE AND THE BUNDLE
Make sure that any evidence you did not send in with your appeal form is sent to the Tribunal by the final evidence deadline set. Always send a copy to the LA at the same time. The Case Review Form will also be due by this date.
The case review form is a summary of the appeal and if there are still outstanding issues the Tribunal may decide they need to do a telephone case management call (TCMC)
At least 10 working days before the hearing, the LA will send you and the Tribunal the bundle’, a page-numbered set of the documents the Tribunal has been sent regarding the case. Guidance for producing a Bundle - SEND Form 40
HEARING DATES
The SEND Tribunal is currently receiving more appeals than ever before. As a result, hearing dates are being set extremely far in advance.
The Tribunal must reserve a number of hearings for appeals concerning children and young people who are moving to a new phase of education in September.
The SEND Tribunal will prioritise hearings for phase transfer appeals and/or for children/young people out of education. You should make the Tribunal aware and can ask for an earlier hearing date if either apply, or if there are other reasons that the child or young person needs an urgent hearing. Because the SEND Tribunal needs to prioritise hearing dates many will be rescheduled.
CASE REVIEW
The Tribunal uses a Case Review form to assist with case management, it is used to help them manage cases as efficiently as possible, by getting an update on the case and to see if there has been any progress on agreeing the disputed issues ahead of the hearing.
It will tell you if you need to use this form – if you do, you need to complete it by the bundle deadline.
Updates - progress and new issues
As well as helping the Tribunal understand what progress the parties may have made on agreeing matters, you should also use this form to tell the SEND Tribunal all the issues or matters you want the Tribunal to resolve, including any which you did not refer to on your appeal form.
At the hearing the SEND Tribunal will only focus on the issues it has already been told about on the Case Review Form and any final working document. For example, if you also want speech and language therapy specified in a particular way in section F following a new assessment, and you had not told the SEND Tribunal about this when you made your appeal, you will need to:
- tell them about it on this form
- make sure these changes are contained in any final working document, and
- have provided evidence for the changes you want made before the final evidence deadline (or ask for permission to include late evidence.
When telling the Tribunal about all the issues you want it to resolve on this form, you should be as clear as possible on each and every issue. You should not simply refer to the working document, or simply say, for example, “issues relating to sections B and F”.
WITNESSES
You will also use case review form to update the Tribunal and LA about who is attending the hearing (instead of an Attendance Form). This will be anyone from your side, including representatives or helpers and witnesses. The LA will need to do the same for its side.
You will need to give details of any witness you want to attend. If a witness’ name and role are not provided, theTribunal will not allow them to attend the hearing unless they consider there are exceptional circumstances.
In addition, all witnesses must provide a written witness statement or report by the final evidence deadline.
Make sure you say which witnesses you want to attend, and make sure a statement or report is provided by them.
reasonable adjustments
You might need some reasonable adjustments made to help you (or a witness) fully join in with the appeal. What you should ask for will depend on what is needed. It might be:
- more time to respond to questions
- for legal points to be explained (without you having to ask each time)
- for regular screen breaks if the hearing is held online
- for a face-to-face hearing (you can also ask for an assistance dog to attend should you need that), or
- for someone to help you or one of your witnesses understand what is being said and to join in – these are called intermediaries. An intermediary won’t be on anyone’s ‘side’ but are there to stop misunderstanding and step in if needed to stop it.
It is best to tell the Tribunal about the reasonable adjustments needed on your appeal form. You can also confirm these on the Case Review form or request them on this form if you have not already done so.
The Tribunal asks to be given as much time as possible to arrange these (otherwise it might need to delay the hearing if the request is made too close to it).
Once you have made your request for reasonable adjustments, someone from the SEND Tribunal will get in touch to discuss them with you further (if you don’t hear back, you should email send@justice.gov.uk and ask for someone to contact you about it).
THE WORKING DOCUMENT
A working document is a copy of the final statement, on which both parties have worked to show the changes to the wording that they want or can agree, as well as those issues which the Tribunal must decide on the day of the final hearing.
Usually, because the LA has prepared the final statement electronically, they prepare the first draft, after they have seen the Notice of Appeal. They then send it to the parents who can consider it and decide whether they agree with it. The parents can amend it to show the changes they are prepared to agree and to highlight those which are still not agreed before sending it back to the LA for further consideration.
No time is set aside for the parties to negotiate at the hearing so the working document must be considered, prepared and distributed before the hearing.
The working document is sent to the Tribunal in advance of the hearing so that they are aware of the detailed wording in dispute. Sometimes the options preferred by the two parties are brief and immediately clear to the reader. On other occasions the issues are more complex and/or lengthy and may be confusing unless the document is carefully drafted.
If specific wording is derived from written evidence contained in the tribunal bundle, include a reference to the page or pages but avoid footnotes.
The Tribunal only needs the last copy of the working document; this need be electronic and hard copies.
These should arrive at least ten working days before the final hearing date.
If the wording changes after that deadline, the LA must:
- email the new version to the tribunal and the other party
- bring 5 paper copies of it to the hearing, so it can be added to the parties’ and tribunal’s bundles.
Working Document Guidance send23-eng.pdf
The Tribunal recommends a standard key to the document which will show each party’s position: Make sure the key is included in the working document.
Normal type
Original Final EHC Plan
Underlined type/strikethrough
Amendments/deletions agreed by both parties
Bold type
Parents’ proposed amendments
Bold strikethrough
Parents’ proposed deletions
Italic type
LA’s proposed amendments
Italic strikethrough
LA’s proposed deletion
REQUESTING A CHANGE
If you need to ask the tribunal for something, such as an extension of time, a change to a hearing date, or permission to bring another witness, you will need to use Request for change: Form SEND7 - GOV.UK.
Before submitting the SEND 7 you must have consulted the other party, this will be the LA and the LA's legal firm.
You need to give 5 working days for a reply, the reply will need to be sent with the form.
- Name of the person the appeal is about.
- The appeal number, which will be at the top at the case directions.
- The type of appeal, for example, a Section I appeal.
- The LA, the parent, carer or young person is appealing against. (Central Bedfordshire Council)
- The final hearing date.
- The date he sent the request for change to the LA/
- You must tick the box if the hearing has been previously adjourned.
- Tick the box or boxes that are relevant to the request you are making. For example, if you would like to request an earlier hearing date, tick the ‘A change to the final hearing date’ box
- Details of the changes you are requesting. This could be something such as an extension to submit final evidence.
- Complete the date of the request and tick the box of who is making the request.
- Finally, a copy of the completed form needs to be sent to send@justice.gov.uk and copy in the LA and Pathfinders.
- Send the form using the following format in the subject line:
- Current hearing date, appeal number, the child or young person's full name, subject.
POSITION STATEMENT
Before the Hearing, the Tribunal may ask you and the LA to write a Position Statement, especially if there have been several options offered, or considerations made since the appeal was first submitted. Position statements can be a helpful way of getting your points across to the judge and the LA clearly and concisely, (and can be helpful if you are nervous about speaking at the hearing).
It helps the Judge have a clearer understanding before the hearing about the remaining issues and what has been tried to resolve them.
What to include in a position statement?
- It should be a short document of 1 to 2 sides of A4 paper.
- Put a heading at the top; case number/ Ref, yours and the other names with the date and time of the hearing.
- What has happened since the last hearing / Conversation with the Tribunal (for example, documents you have sent to the court, documents you have received from the LA and professionals, any documents the LA were supposed to send to you which you have not received)?
- If you have not complied with any tribunal directions, then provide a short explanation (a direction is when the court asks you do something such as finalise the working document)
- Any tribunal directions that the other party (the local authority for example) has failed to comply with.
- What directions do you want the court to make at the hearing? (i.e. to direct the LA to consult with a therapist of education setting)
What outcome do you want?
It helps to write a chronological list, especially where a lot of dates are involved.
Things to remember:
- Keep it short and concise
- Keep it factual
- Keep points easily identifiable
It helps to have a copy to read from for the hearing to help you explain clearly and quickly.
case review, management and JADR hearings
Case review hearings
In some instances, the Tribunal will contact you to invite you to a Case Review Hearing (CRH).
These will be cases which involve appeals against the contents of an EHCP and also extended appeals where the Tribunal is asked to decide and make recommendations on issues concerning health and social care.
The purpose of the CRH is so the Tribunal can:
- consider whether the appeal is ready to be heard and decided
- deal with any outstanding issues between the parties, and
- estimate the amount of time required at any oral hearing for parties to present any additional evidence.
The CRH will be listed to be held by video after the return of the Case Review form and evidence bundle deadline. It will usually last for up to 1 hour.
A CRH may result in the parties being asked to participate in a Judicial Alternative Dispute Resolution hearing. If the Tribunal does not ask you to attend this but you think it could be helpful, you can request it after the bundle deadline.
Telephone case management hearings
If the case is complex or there are issues which need to be sorted out before the hearing, you may be asked to have a telephone case management hearing (TCMH). This can take place by telephone or virtual video. You can also ask for the Tribunal to arrange a TCMH if you feel it is needed.
A TCMH is an opportunity for the Tribunal to consider any preliminary issues which need to be sorted out before the hearing can be held, for example:
- whether further assessments need to be carried out, or
- where one party wants to postpone the hearing and the other does not.
It may also be an opportunity to narrow down the issues in dispute.
If there is a matter which needs to be resolved before the hearing, you can make a request for a TCMH using the Request for Changes form.
Judicial Alternative Dispute Resolution (JADR)
Judicial Alternative Dispute Resolution (JADR) is a short hearing in which you and a representative from the LA can meet with the judge to discuss your appeal to see if a compromise can be made, or if the case can be agreed without having to attend a full hearing.
JADR is used in appeals about section I only. This is where an appeal concerns only the school or other setting (or type of setting) named in section I of an EHCP, or the fact that section I does not name a school or type of school.
It is usually helpful to appeal sections B (special educational needs) and F (special educational provision) at the same time as section I, therefore, JADR is not used very often at the moment.
If you appeal sections B, F and I and during the appeal the LA agrees to make all the changes you are seeking to sections B and F so the only issue left is your child’s placement, you can ask for JADR about section I though.
It will also only be used where it is considered that there is a possibility of an agreement being reached.
If you are appealing section I only, or section I is the only part of the appeal in dispute and you ask for JADR, a judge will assess your case to decide if JADR is worthwhile in the circumstances. If the judge thinks that it is, then you will be sent a letter with a date for your JADR hearing and instructions for joining it.
What to expect at a JADR hearing
JADR hearings take place virtually on the Tribunal’s virtual platform. When joining the hearing, a Tribunal clerk will welcome you and check your name and relationship to your child. You will then be placed in a waiting room until the judge and other attendees are ready.
When everyone is ready, you will be accepted into the hearing room, where the judge will introduce themselves and explain the purpose of the hearing, and what they will do. They should also confirm that the representative from the LA is a decision maker and can make decisions on behalf of the LA, and therefore can concede the appeal if appropriate. This is really important so that you know that the JADR can be a useful process and it is possible for agreements to be made on the day.
The judge will have a copy of your appeal bundle and have read through everything that has been submitted, so will understand your case and what you are asking for. At the start of the JADR hearing, they may summarise your case to make sure they understand the main points. You will be given the opportunity to confirm if this is correct and to explain your point of view.
A JADR hearing takes no longer than an hour, and is an opportunity for the judge to give their views on the strength of your case (as well as the LA’s case). One benefit of JADR is that the judge can speak in confidence to each party individually and ask questions, as well as give their views on your case without the other party there. Therefore, you may spend some time in the virtual lobby while the judge talks to the LA representative, and you may also spend time speaking to the judge alone without the LA there. This is your opportunity to explain your main points, and also to ask any questions you may have about your case.
Anything you discuss at a JADR hearing is confidential. If an agreement is not reached and you do attend a full hearing at a later date, the discussions which took place at your JADR hearing will not be passed onto the judge at the final hearing who will be making the final decision. It is therefore a really useful opportunity to understand how a judge views your case, and to ask about the strengths and weaknesses so that you can focus on these before your final hearing.
How to prepare for JADR
These steps can be helpful in ensuring that you are prepared for your JADR hearing:
Make sure that you have spent time going through your bundle and know where to find the most important information that you might need to refer to. You can use post it notes, highlighters or notes in any form that makes it easier for you to find what you need.
Try to understand the relevant legal test for your appeal. It is important to know how a judge will make a decision, and what you should focus on.
Be prepared to explain your child’s views if you have been able to obtain these, as the Tribunal will always give due weight to them.
Make sure you have somewhere quiet and comfortable to sit for the meeting, with reliable internet connection. Have the bundle in front of you, as well as a notebook and pen so that you can make notes of any important points that you want to mention, and you can make notes throughout the hearing. If you are attending the hearing with somebody else, such as your child’s other parent or a legal representative, you can also communicate with each other through notes.
What happens after JADR?
If Then an agreement is reached at the JADR hearing the judge will draft a Tribunal Order which will be sent to both you and the LA.
Once this is issued, the agreement that you reached is legally binding and the LA will have to meet specific deadlines set out in law.
If the LA is ordered to issue an amended EHCP and the only change it says the LA must make is to the setting in section I, then this must be done within two weeks of the date of the Tribunal Order (regulation 44 of The Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014).
an agreement is not reached at the JADR hearing there is still time for you to continue to work with the LA and sometimes agreements can be reached after the JADR hearing, perhaps after the LA has had time to consider its position.
If an agreement is still not reached, then the final hearing will go ahead as planned.
evidence and the bundle
After your appeal has been registered with the Tribunal and your local authority has made its response, you will want to continue to send evidence which supports your appeal. The Tribunal is evidence-based. The LA will also provide evidence. When doing so, your LA has to provide all relevant information even if it is unhelpful to its case and helps your appeal.
You should send all your evidence to the LA. Your case directions will tell you if you need to copy in the Tribunal at the same time. Previously the Tribunal always needed to be copied in, but it is changing some of its internal processes and in future it may not want to be copied in to emails that you send to the LA in the run up to the final evidence deadline – your case directions will tell you what you need to do in your appeal.
Before your appeal is heard, the LA will gather together key documents such as the evidence, key forms, orders, the appeal form, and the LA's response into an organised set of documents called the 'bundle'.
It is a good idea if you send as much evidence as you can when you submit your appeal, but you can continue to send in evidence after your appeal has been submitted.
You should make sure that any evidence you didn’t send in with your appeal form is sent to the Tribunal by the deadline set in the registration letter.
It is important to get and send in any evidence as soon as you can and not wait for the final evidence deadline. The Case Review form will also be due by the final evidence deadline.
Think carefully about what evidence you already have and what evidence you might need. You will want to focus on the information and evidence which shows that the relevant legal test has, or has not, been met (depending on what type of appeal you have).
Unless there is a good reason to, you should not submit:
- emails/correspondence which are not relevant to the issues on appeal
- blank forms/pages
- repeat documents
- documents already appended to the EHC plan under appeal Section K
- professional/school reports more than 3 years old by time your appeal is made (unless they are part of the EHC plan in Section K)
- versions of the working document which are not the final agreed version, or
- any draft amended plans prior to the final version on appeal.
If you feel you need to submit any of the above evidence, you should use a Request for Change form to ask the Tribunal’s permission and explain why.
If the LA writes to or sends documents to the Tribunal using a system which you cannot access, you should tell it not to do this and let the Tribunal know. The Tribunal has confirmed that the party sending the communication has to make sure it is copied to the other party in a way they can access and that LAs can use non-encrypted emails to do this.
The Tribunal will usually make a decision on the basis of the evidence that has been provided to it before the hearing in writing and orally at the final hearing, and both parties should submit evidence which supports their case. Judicial guidance says if you or the LA have not provided evidence or not provided specific evidence the Tribunal has requested, the Tribunal will want to know whether there is a good reason for it. If there is not, or if the evidence is still not likely to be available on the next occasion if it were to postpone the hearing, the Tribunal is likely to proceed without that evidence, having given an opportunity for it to be provided. So, while the Tribunal has to make sure it has information necessary to decide the appeal, if you or the LA have not provided evidence, it should not be assumed the Tribunal will adjourn or postpone the appeal hearing to allow it to be provided.
If you are having difficulty getting information which is relevant to your case from the LA, you can use the Request for Change form to write to the Tribunal, explaining what the document is and ask the Tribunal for a ‘direction’ to make the LA release the document. Unless the LA has a good reason for not providing the document the Tribunal will order the LA to release it.
If you are eligible for legal aid, this could cover the cost of getting privately instructed assessments and reports
After reviewing the LA’s response and evidence, some parents and young people want to bring the Tribunal’s attention to certain issues they have with the LA’s response or its evidence, or to explain in brief the issues as they see them.
For example, if the response contains incorrect information or the LA has used the wrong legal test sometimes parents and young people want to address this and send their thoughts on this to the Tribunal. This is what we mean by further submissions.
Not every parent and young person will write these submissions.
If you want or need to provide some further views or submissions to explain the issues as you see them, then judicial guidance explains how these should be written.
You should make sure:
- your views/submissions are focussed and to the point – only give a short overview of the issues in dispute, and not a lengthy document setting out everything in full (your appeal paperwork and evidence will contain all the detail)
- the document is no more than 2 A4 pages
- you set the information out clearly. You might find using bullet points helpful, or numbered paragraphs
- you use a heading which says your name (so the Tribunal knows who wrote it) and the appeal number
- you write a short introduction, so the Tribunal knows what you want to say, and a brief conclusion telling the Tribunal what you want it to do/be aware of
- you list any issues you want to raise and refer to evidence you have already submitted when explaining your points, and
- you send your submissions/views to the Tribunal at the same time as you return the completed Case Review Form (unless the Tribunal gives you a different date, in which case use that date instead).
The purpose of these submissions is to give you the chance to provide your thoughts on the remaining issues in dispute. This is not an opportunity to try to bring in new (late) evidence after the final evidence deadline.
If you decide to get privately instructed expert reports, you should make sure they are compliant with the SEND Tribunal guidance for expert witnesses and the below information. It’s best if this type of report complies with this guidance because this is a reason for the Tribunal to give it more weight.
| If | Then |
| You need to submit an expert report | It must:
|
| You need to submit a professional or school report | it must be no more than 3 years old at the time the appeal is made (not heard), unless they are appendices to the EHC plan. |
| You need to submit a witness statement (this is required by any person giving oral witness evidence at the hearing, if they have not provided a written report) | it must:
|
If you need to submit a report which is not compliant with the above (maybe because of its length or date) you should use the Request for Changes form to ask the Tribunal’s permission for its inclusion.
You should explain why it is relevant and should be included.
This is due to rules which set out how evidence should be set out and what it must contain.
You can submit video evidence. The Tribunal can accept video evidence on CDs and USB sticks, but you can also ask to use the Tribunal’s document upload centre if you prefer.
If so, you should email the Tribunal and ask it to create a space for your evidence there, and to email you to confirm when the files have been uploaded.
It is possible to apply for late evidence to be submitted after the final evidence deadline, using the Request for Change form. It will be up to the Tribunal whether this should be accepted, not the LA. It is always best to tell the Tribunal in advance if you think you will need to submit evidence late (maybe because you know a report will not be ready before the deadline). If you make an application for late evidence after the deadline, the Tribunal will keep the application on file and consider it at the start of the hearing. It may decide not to accept the late evidence.
You can ask for late evidence to be submitted very close to the hearing, even the day before, however any party asking to submit late evidence within 5 working days of the hearing will have their application sent back to them. You will need to explain at the hearing why it was not provided earlier and why it should now be admitted, so you should make sure you are prepared to explain this.
The Tribunal does not have to agree to late evidence being considered in the appeal. This is because it may put the other side at a disadvantage and that may be unfair. The Tribunal may also refuse to adjourn (delay) the hearing, particularly if the evidence could have been produced earlier.
If you need to make a request for the evidence deadline to be extended (when you know some evidence will only be available after it) or for permission for late evidence to be accepted, explain why:
- you cannot/could not submit the evidence any sooner
- the evidence is relevant to the issues in the appeal
- it can’t be given orally at the hearing and any other factors to persuade the Tribunal to accept it (such as the LA already has it, so won’t be disadvantaged by not having seen it), and
- it would be not be “fair and just” for it to be excluded and is needed for the Tribunal to decide the appeal fairly.
Giving evidence from abroad
Advance permission from the Tribunal will be needed if you want to participate in an oral SEND Tribunal hearing from abroad or you would like a witness to (here abroad means anywhere other than England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, or British Overseas Territories).
This guidance covers asking for permission (which should be done as soon as possible) and what the SEND Tribunal will consider.
The guidance deals with witnesses who are abroad first. If you (as in the parent or young person bringing the appeal) want to ask for permission to join the hearing from abroad, you need to follow part II of the guidance, called “making submissions from abroad”.
If the country a witness or you will be in is on this list, the Tribunal will use the information in the list to help decide if they can join the hearing.
The guidance says you are “unlikely to be permitted to join a hearing from abroad unless there are genuine and exceptional reasons”. If exceptional circumstances do not apply, other options include asking for the hearing to be moved to a date when you will be in one of the above countries or for the case to be decided "on the papers", in which case the LA would have to agree and there wouldn’t be a hearing for you to attend. It’s a good idea to take advice first if you are considering this. To ask for changes to your appeal use the SEND Tribunal’s Request for Change form and process.
Both parties will need to notify the Tribunal who will be attending the hearing using the form the Tribunal sends them (usually the Case Review form, unless the Tribunal has asked them to use an attendance form instead). Witnesses will only be permitted to attend the hearing if they have previously submitted a report or written witness statement (this is explained in judicial guidance).
You should call witnesses who will be able to give evidence relevant to your case. It will normally be helpful to have someone from the child or young person’s school or college (such as the SENCO or head teacher).
- If you want a particular school to be named in the EHCP, you will generally need someone from that school to attend.
- If there is a dispute about the level of the child or young person’s needs, it may be helpful to have a professional witness such as, for example, a speech and language therapist who has worked with the child or young person.
All witnesses will be asked by the Tribunal about the facts of the case. They are not meant to be arguing one ‘side’ or the other. You shouldn’t worry if someone from your child or young person’s school or college is asked to attend as a witness by the LA; it does not mean that they are on the LA’s side.
Parties may appoint a representative (whether a legal representative or not), who can act as a representative or otherwise assist in presenting the party’s case at the hearing. This person will not count as a witness, but you should include them on the same form (either the Case Review form or attendance form) and explain they will be representing or assisting you at the hearing.
The Tribunal has indicated that it will not accept parties putting “to be confirmed” on the Case Review form (or attendance form if this applies). If the LA does this, you could bring it to the Tribunal’s attention, although it should pick this up and raise it with LA.
At least 10 working days before the hearing, the LA will send you and the Tribunal the ‘bundle’. This is a page-numbered set of the documents the parties have provided in the appeal.
There are detailed rules setting out what evidence can be included in the bundle, and how it needs to be formatted and issued. These are set out in a Practice Direction dated 2025. Previous guidance was contained in the SEND40 guidance for producing a bundle. The SEND Tribunal has confirmed that the SEND40 bundle guidance no longer applies and you should not be sent it, or use it.
The bundle will include:
- all your evidence and the LA’s evidence which complies with the 2025 Bundle Practice Direction
- any extra pages or non-compliant reports/evidence if permission was asked for following a Request for Change form and agreed, and
- any forms, SEND Tribunal orders or other relevant documents.
Asking for a paper bundle
The LA must send to you an electronic bundle.
The LA must also send you a paper bundle if you reasonably ask it for one. Think about what you might need either whilst preparing for the hearing or in the hearing.
You should ask for a paper bundle if it will help you in either situation. Reasons could include:
- you will only have one screen available to you during the hearing (such as your smartphone) and will be using it to dial into the hearing. A paper bundle will allow you to quickly find what you need, rather than having to manage different tabs on one screen (which may be very small and difficult to read from if you only have use of your phone)
- you find documents easier to read on paper, rather than on a screen
- you will be able to join in better if you can make notes on a paper bundle or highlight key pages/use sticky notes to flag key sections.
If the LA refuses your reasonable request, or does not respond to you, then you should contact the Tribunal and explain the situation.
Page limits
The following applies, unless an exception is granted:
| Bundle part | What is it? | Page limit |
| Part 1 | This is the core bundle, which contains all key documents, including:
| 100 pages |
| Part 2 | This is where we find a copy of the EHC plan under appeal, if relevant | 150 pages including all the appendices |
There are also limits to how long the bundle can be depending on the type of appeal. We set out below the evidence page limits for the different types of appeal.
Each of the page limits listed is per party. That means, for example, you can submit 100 pages of evidence in a refusal to issue appeal and so can your LA, meaning a maximum of 200 pages of evidence.
They are also cumulative. This means they add up. For example, if you appeal a cease to maintain decision, and appeal Sections B, F and I at the same time, you can submit 75 pages about the decision, 100 pages about Sections B and F, and another 75 pages about Section I (so 250 pages in total).
| Appeal type | Page limit |
| Refusal to assess/re-assess | 75 pages |
| Refusal to issue | 100 pages |
| Sections B and F | 100 pages (total) |
| Section I | 75 pages |
| Cease to maintain | 75 pages |
| Health and/or social care recommendations | 75 pages |
If you want to submit evidence which is more than the bundle page limit, you must use the Request for Change form (having sought your LA’s view first), explaining why the additional pages are necessary.
It’s always worth checking the bundle before the hearing in case anything has been left out. If any evidence is missing, you should contact the LA promptly and ask why your evidence has not been included. If the LA says this is due to it not being in line with the Bundle Practice Direction, then use the Request for Change form process to ask the Tribunal for permission.
You should make sure you have the bundle at the hearing, and you should provide a copy of it to any witnesses attending for you.
Changing an appeal
After a parent or young person has had their appeal registered by the Tribunal, sometimes they feel they need to change what they said on the appeal form or widen their appeal to include other sections of an EHCP.
You might want to change your appeal in these situations:
| If: | But: |
When you made your appeal about an EHCP, you had not found a particular placement you wanted the Tribunal to name and:
| The school you would like the Tribunal to name is not the same type as given on the appeal form. For example, you said on the appeal form you wanted mainstream as the type, but the school you would like to have named is a special school. You will need to ask the Tribunal if you can change your appeal grounds. You do not need to do this if the school you have now found is the same type as the type given on your appeal form |
| You made your appeal only about Section I (placement) of the EHCP | You now realise that placement decisions are made based on what Sections B (special educational needs) and F (special educational provision) say and:
For example, you want your child to attend an independent school because your child needs on-site speech and language therapy, small class sizes of between 8-10 pupils, and to be taught by specialist teachers and could only receive this in the independent school you want named. However Section F does not specify these pieces of provision and Section B does not specify the needs for which this provision is called for. You will need to ask the Tribunal if you can widen your appeal to include Sections B and F. |
| You made your appeal about Section F only of an EHCP | Since making your appeal your child’s needs have changed or been fully identified and:
For example, after you made your appeal, your child received an autism diagnosis. Section B of their EHC plan does not specify the special educational needs identified in the assessment, nor the provision required to meet these newly identified needs. You will need to ask the Tribunal if you can widen your appeal to include Section B (and maybe Section I if a different placement is required). |
| The LA made a decision to cease to maintain (stop) your child’s EHCP, and you appealed this decision only. | You now think that should the Tribunal order the LA to continue to maintain the EHC plan, the current plan is not up to date and Sections B, F and/or I need changing. You may also think these Sections as they are currently written do not show why the EHCP is still necessary, because they have not been properly specified. You will need to ask the Tribunal if you can widen your appeal to include Sections B, F and/or I as appropriate. |
There may be other reasons why you think you need to change your appeal.
If you need to change your appeal (either the appeal grounds or widen the appeal), then you need the Tribunal’s permission.
You ask for this using a form, called a Request for Change form. If the Request for Change form concerns widening the appeal, you should also give the LA plenty of warning of your intention.
First, complete a Request for Change form and send this to the LA together with your reasons and any evidence you have which shows why you want to change your appeal. You need to give the LA time to respond, at least 5 working days.
Next, send your completed form to the SEND Tribunal together with the LA’s response. If the request is urgent, and you are still waiting for a response from the LA, you should make clear on the form that you have asked the LA for its views and include a copy of your email to the LA if possible. You can later send the LA’s views if provided after you have sent your Request for Change form to the Tribunal.
settlement or withdrawal of appeals
Most appeals don’t actually get to a hearing, because the parties come to an agreement or the LA agrees to what you are asking for.
What happens where the parties come to agreement will depend on whether the LA has already sent in its response.
The LA response is due within 30 working days of the appeal being sent to it by the SEND Tribunal. Where the LA agrees to what you are asking for (known as conceding the case) before it has put in a response to the appeal:
- The LA will notify the Tribunal in writing that it agrees to what you are asking for and you will be sent a copy of this notification.
- You do not need to do anything – the notification to the Tribunal automatically ends the appeal.
- The LA must comply with the deadlines in regulation 45 of The SEND Regulations 2014 for assessing, issuing or amending an EHCP. If the LA fails to comply with these deadlines, this is the same as it being in breach of an order of the Tribunal.
Once the LA response has been submitted, the parties will need the Tribunal’s permission to end the appeal process.
Where the LA has already put in a response to the appeal, the parties should write up a document setting out what has been agreed and then both sign it. This is called a draft or proposed ‘consent order’. The Tribunal has a template consent order you can use, and we recommend that you do.
The consent order should be sent to the SEND Tribunal with:
- an explanation that the parties have agreed that the appeal can be resolved by consent, and
- all sections filled out, detailing exactly what has been agreed. The deadlines in regulation 44 of The SEND Regulations 2014 will apply unless the parties tell the Tribunal they have agreed a shorter timescale.
In urgent cases, the parties could ask the Tribunal to keep the hearing date if it won’t be able to issue the consent order before it (and give any reasons as to why delay would not be in the interests of the child or young person or fairness). Because the Tribunal has a limited number of hearing slots, it is unlikely it will agree to having a hearing in these circumstances, but it may prioritise the request for a consent order over other, less urgent, requests.
Whilst the Tribunal is considering the request for the consent order, there should be no further delay, and the LA should start to carry out the agreed actions. For example, if the LA has agreed to your choice of placement, it should not wait for the Tribunal to issue the consent order before naming that institution in the EHC plan or reviewing home-school transport eligibility.
Permission to end the appeal by consent is not guaranteed – the Tribunal may refuse to allow the appeal to be ended, for example if the proposal by the parties fails to deal with all the issues in dispute, or it is very close to the hearing. The Tribunal will not generally agree to issue consent orders that are requested within five working days of the hearing date. The parties should still send the request to the SEND Tribunal so the panel is aware that they have reached agreement, but the Tribunal will ask the parties to attend the hearing, usually simply to explain why it took a long time to reach agreement and to discuss the request.
If the Tribunal agrees to end the appeal, it will send the parties an order to confirm this. At this point the appeal ends.