Registering an appeal with the Tribunal

Parents and young people have two months to register an SEN appeal with the Tribunal from the date when the local authority sent out the notice containing a decision which can be appealed or one month from the date of a certificate which has been issued following mediation or the parent or young person being given the mediation information, which every is the later. In some cases parents and young people will not register the appeal within the two-month limit. Where it is fair and just to do so the Tribunal has the power to use its discretion to accept appeals outside of the two-month time limit.

The Tribunal will not take into account of the fact that mediation has taken place or has not been taken up, nor will it take into account the outcome of the mediation. Parents and young people will not be disadvantaged at the Tribunal because they have not chosen to go to mediation.

The Tribunal forms part of the First-tier Tribunal (Health, Education and Social Care Chamber). Tribunals are overseen by Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service.

The Role and function of the Tribunal is to hear appeals against decisions made by the local authorities in England in relation to children’s and young people’s EHC needs assessments and EHC plans. It also hears disability discrimination claims against schools and against the local authorities when the local authority is the responsible body for the school.

The Tribunal seeks to ensure that the process of appealing is as user friendly as possible, and to avoid hearings that are overly legalistic or technical. It is the Tribunal’s aim to ensure that a parent or young person should not need to engage legal representation when appealing a decision. Parents and young people may find it useful to have support from a voluntary organisation or friend at the hearing.

To find more information on Tribunals, check out the following link: https://www.gov.uk/courts-tribunals/first-tier-tribunal-special-educational-needs-and-disability