The Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal will deal with appeals against Local Authority decisions regarding special educational needs.
What happens at the Tribunal Hearing will depend on what you are appealing against – in particular which sections of your child’s Education Health and Care Plan you are appealing.
The Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal looks at the evidence available at the hearing and then decides whether the Local Authority’s decision followed the Law and the Code of Practice. It will make its decision based on what is right for the child or young person at the date of the hearing.
Although a Tribunal is less formal than a Court attending a Tribunal hearing can be unnerving and there are certain formalities that are still required. The Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal will have 2 or 3 people panel members. One panel member will always be a SEN Tribunal Judge (or chairperson), will be legally qualified and an expert on special educational needs related issues. The other panel members are known as specialist members of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal. They have a particular expertise and experience in special educational needs. Evidence is given to the Tribunal both oral and written and once that is done the Tribunal will provide a decision within 10 days.
In Wales the Tribunal is known as the Education Tribunal for Wales and operates in a similar way although appeals will relate to the Individual Development Plan process and in particular the Additional Learning Needs and Additional Learning Provision for the child or young person.
The Tribunals are independent of the Local Authorities and the schools and its decisions are legally binding. We can assist with all aspects of the Tribunal process from preparing and filing an appeal to representation at the final Tribunal hearing.
Education Tribunal Appeals FAQs
The Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal and the Education Tribunal in Wales deal with appeals against Local Authority decisions regarding special educational needs.
What happens at the Tribunal Hearing will depend on what you are appealing against - which sections of your child’s Education, Health and Care Plan or IDP you are appealing.
However, in general terms the procedure is very much standard practice and routine in most cases.
The Judge will explain the role of the Tribunal, the decisions it is able to make and that it is independent from the Local Authority. The Judge will then deal with the particulars of the appeal and will set out an agenda for the Hearing. The Hearing will follow that agenda and the Tribunal will hear evidence from you, as parents, and the witnesses who are present.
You will be asked questions and you or your Solicitor can ask questions of the witnesses. The panel can also ask questions. This is the process until all of the issues identified in the Tribunal Judge’s agenda have been addressed.
The Tribunal panel looks at the evidence available at the hearing and then decides whether the Local Authority’s decision followed the Law and the Code of Practice. It will make its decision based on what is right for the child or young person at the date of the hearing.
Following completion of the evidence the Tribunal will consider all the issues and provide a written response shortly after the hearing.
Once you file your appeal the Tribunal will acknowledge and register the appeal within 10 working days and send you a letter with a detailed timetable of the next stages including the Final Tribunal hearing date. The timetable will apply to both you and the Local Authority and you will both have to adhere to the timetable to avoid being unable to rely on certain evidence or having your appeal ‘struck out’.
The timetable spans around 4/5 months and during that time you will need to collate all the evidence you wish to rely on and file it with the Tribunal service if you have not already done so. During this time it is also possible to reach an agreed conclusion with the Local Authority without the need for a Final hearing.
Following the Final Tribunal hearing a written decision should be sent out within ten working days of the final hearing.
These are only general time scales and things can take longer if the Tribunal service receives a high number of appeals at the same time or there is a delay in hearing cases [Covid 19 caused a significant delay].
It is possible to request that the Final Tribunal hearing date is changed if you cannot make the original date. It is important that you apply to the Tribunal service as soon as you become aware of the need to do so. You must ask the Local Authority if they will agree to such a change and send their response to the Tribunal service with your request for change. The Tribunal may change the hearing date if both parties agree or there are exceptional circumstances requiring a change to the final hearing and it is in the interests of justice to do so.
