The SEND Tribunal: A Parent's Complete Guide

Updated 4 July 2026 · Legal citations verified against legislation.gov.uk

If the council has refused to assess your child, refused to issue an EHC plan or produced a plan that does not describe the child you actually live with, the First-tier Tribunal (SEND) is where that decision gets independently tested. Most parents have never been near a tribunal and the word alone can feel heavy. It should not. This guide explains what the tribunal is, exactly which decisions you can appeal, the mediation certificate rule, the two forms, every deadline and what the latest official numbers really say about your chances.

What the SEND Tribunal actually is

The First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) is an independent judicial body. It is not part of your local authority and it owes the council nothing. When you appeal an EHCP decision, the tribunal looks at the same legal tests the council was supposed to apply and decides the question again, on the evidence, from scratch.

That independence is the whole point. A council refusing to assess is marking its own homework against its own budget pressures. The tribunal has no budget in the fight. It asks one question only: what does the law require for this child? It was also deliberately designed so that parents can use it without lawyers. Hearings are inquisitorial rather than adversarial, meaning the panel asks questions to reach the right answer instead of letting two sides battle it out, and there is no fee to appeal at any stage.

What you can appeal: the section 51(2) list

Section 51(2) of the Children and Families Act 2014 sets out the EHCP decisions a parent can put before the tribunal:

• Refusal to assess: the council has turned down your request for an EHC needs assessment (section 51(2)(a)).
• Refusal to issue a plan: the council carried out an assessment but then decided not to issue an EHC plan (section 51(2)(b)).
• The contents of a maintained plan (section 51(2)(c)): the description of your child's special educational needs in section B, the special educational provision in section F, the school named in section I or the fact that no school is named at all.

Between them these cover the disputes most families actually face: not being allowed through the door, being assessed and then turned away, and getting a plan that is too vague or names the wrong school. If your situation is a refusal to assess, our refusal to assess appeal guide takes you through that specific route in detail.

The mediation certificate rule (section 55)

Before registering most SEND appeals you need a mediation certificate. This trips parents up more than anything else, so here is the rule precisely. Section 55 of the Children and Families Act 2014 requires you to consider mediation before appealing. Considering means contacting a mediation adviser and receiving information about what mediation involves. That is all. You are never required to attend a mediation meeting, and once you have spoken to the adviser you receive your certificate whether you attend or not. If you do choose to attend, mediation is free.

There is one exception: if your appeal is only about the school named in section I, the type of school or the fact that no school is named, no certificate is needed at all. The moment your appeal also touches sections B or F, the certificate requirement returns. Our full guide to SEND mediation and the certificate covers when attending genuinely helps and when it simply adds weeks.

SEND35A or SEND35: the two forms

There are two appeal forms and the split is simple:

• SEND35A is for refusal to assess appeals.
• SEND35 is for appeals about a plan: a refusal to issue one after assessment, or the contents of sections B, F or I.

With either form you enclose the council's decision letter, your mediation certificate where one is required, your grounds of appeal and your evidence. Filling them in is mostly a matter of care rather than legal skill, and our SEND35 and SEND35A form guide walks through every section and the common mistakes.

The deadline: 2 months or 1 month, whichever is later

You must register your appeal within 2 months of the date on the council's decision letter or within 1 month of the date on your mediation certificate, whichever gives you more time. That second limb exists so that getting a certificate near the end of the 2 month window never costs you your appeal. If you have missed both dates, all is not automatically lost: the tribunal can accept a late appeal, but you must set out your reasons in writing and it is the tribunal's decision to make. Treat the deadline as real and move early.

Papers or a hearing?

Not every appeal ends in a hearing room. Refusal to assess appeals are normally decided on the papers: a judge reads your request, the council's refusal letter, your grounds and your evidence, and decides without anyone attending anything. That makes the quality of your written case decisive.

Appeals about the contents of a plan or a refusal to issue one are more likely to involve a hearing, usually by video or in person, before a panel of a judge and specialist members. It remains inquisitorial and parent-friendly. Our guide to what happens at a SEND tribunal hearing describes the day itself.

What the 2024/25 numbers say, and what they do not

Ministry of Justice statistics for 2024/25 show about 25,000 SEND appeals registered, with 24% of them against a refusal to assess. Of the appeals that a tribunal went on to decide, 99% went in the family's favour.

Be careful with that figure, because honest framing matters. The 99% covers appeals that reached a decision; a portion of registered appeals end before that point, for example where they are withdrawn or the council concedes. So it does not mean that filing a form wins automatically. What it does mean is stark enough: when local authority SEND decisions are actually tested by an independent tribunal, they almost never survive. Councils make these decisions under enormous budget pressure, and the pressure shows in decisions that do not hold up against the statutory tests. The system quietly relies on exhausted parents not appealing. The numbers are the strongest evidence that appealing is usually not the long shot it feels like.

Frequently asked questions