You can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) if you disagree with your local authority’s decisions about your child’s special educational needs - for example if they refuse to:
- assess your child’s educational, health and care (EHC) needs
- make a statement of their special educational needs
- reassess their special educational needs
- create an EHC plan
- change what’s in your child’s special educational needs statement or EHC plan
You can also appeal to the tribunal if a local authority has discriminated against your child or someone else because of your child’s disability.
The tribunal must receive your appeal within 2 months of you getting the letter about the decision.
The tribunal is independent of government and will listen to both sides of the argument before making a decision.
The rules are different in Wales.
Who can appeal
You can appeal as either:
- the parent
- the young person, if you’ve finished year 11 and you’re under 25
Help you can get
Before you appeal, see if you can discuss the problem with your local authority.