When The System Says No

UNDERSTANDING SEND TRIBUNALS, PARENTAL RIGHTS AND THE COST OF FIGHTING FOR PROVISION

There is a particular kind of exhaustion that many parents of children with SEND will recognise. It comes from attending meeting after meeting, explaining the same difficulties repeatedly, gathering professional reports and believing that you have finally reached an understanding about what your child needs, only to receive a decision that leaves you feeling as though you are back at the beginning.

For some families, the next step is an appeal to the SEND Tribunal.

Tribunal cases have become an increasingly important part of the national conversation about special educational needs and disabilities. The latest figures show that SEND Tribunal receipts reached 29,000 during 2025/26, an increase of 23% on the previous year. The number of outstanding cases also rose, reaching 17,000.

These are significant figures, but they do not tell us everything about the human experiences behind them.

A parent appealing a decision may have already spent months trying to secure an assessment. Another may have received an EHCP but believes it does not accurately describe their child's needs. Someone else may be challenging the school placement named in the plan because they believe the setting cannot provide the specialist support their child requires.

Although these circumstances are different, they share a common concern: parents want decisions to be made around their child's individual needs.

One of the most important things families should understand is that they have statutory rights when it comes to EHCP decisions. In England, parents and young people can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) in certain circumstances, including when a local authority refuses to carry out an EHC needs assessment, refuses to issue a plan following assessment, or when there is disagreement about specified parts of an existing plan.

Appeals about the content of an EHCP generally concern Sections B, F and I. These cover the child's special educational needs, the special educational provision required and the educational placement.

Before appealing, families will generally need to obtain a mediation certificate, although there are exceptions for certain types of appeal. Mediation provides an opportunity for parents and local authorities to discuss disagreements with the assistance of an independent mediator. It can lead to an agreement without the need for a tribunal hearing, but it is important to understand that mediation does not remove the right to appeal.

For parents who have never experienced this process, the language can feel complicated. There are deadlines, forms, evidence requirements and different stages to navigate. It is not surprising that families often turn to online SEND communities to ask questions and share experiences.

The importance of those communities should not be underestimated. Parents can learn from others who have already been through the process, discover organisations that offer advice and find reassurance that they are not alone. However, legal circumstances differ, so information shared online should always be checked against reliable guidance and the details of an individual case.

IPSEA and SOS!SEN are two particularly valuable sources of independent information. SENDIASS services also provide local information, advice and support for parents and young people.

There is another side to this issue that deserves attention: the emotional and financial cost of challenging a decision.

Some parents describe having to reduce their working hours, take unpaid leave or spend considerable amounts of time preparing evidence. Others experience significant stress because they are trying to manage the needs of their child while also navigating a complex legal process.

For a parent whose child is experiencing school-related anxiety or is unable to attend consistently, the pressure can be particularly intense. The family may be dealing with daily distress at home while simultaneously trying to prove that the existing provision is not sufficient.

It is also important to remember that a successful appeal does not automatically mean that everything is resolved. A tribunal decision may establish what the local authority must do, but the family still needs to see the provision delivered in practice.

This is where accountability becomes so important.

An EHCP should be a meaningful document that translates identified needs into specific support. If a plan states that a child requires specialist teaching, regular therapeutic input or a particular communication approach, those requirements need to be reflected in the provision and secured appropriately.

The wider concern is that tribunal activity can become a substitute for effective communication and collaborative decision-making. Disagreement will sometimes be unavoidable, but the system should not depend on parents having to challenge decisions before their child's needs are properly recognised.

The Government's proposed SEND reforms have made this issue even more significant. Families are watching developments closely because they want to know what will happen to existing protections and how any new arrangements will operate.

The message from parents is not that every child needs the same level of provision or that every decision should automatically be agreed. It is that decisions must be lawful, evidence-based, transparent and centred on the child.

There is also a responsibility on local authorities to make sure that families receive clear explanations when decisions are made. Parents should understand why an assessment is being refused, why particular provision is considered unnecessary or why a particular educational setting has been named.

Good communication cannot eliminate every disagreement, but it can help prevent families from feeling ignored or dismissed.

Perhaps the most important change we need is a culture in which challenging a decision is not viewed as being difficult or confrontational. Parents who question provision are often doing so because they know their child exceptionally well and have concerns that need to be taken seriously.

A tribunal should remain an important safeguard, but it should not be the expected route to getting the basics right.

The ultimate measure of a successful SEND system is not how efficiently it processes appeals. It is how many children receive appropriate support without their families having to spend years fighting for it.