Tribunal Self-Referral form

SENDIASS can offer advice, information and support with a tribunal appeal:-

Free online Tribunal Workshops about the appeal process. Find out more on Training
Senior Support Workers offers support with appeal paperwork completion and gathering of evidence for a tribunal hearing, subject to capacity
At Tribunals we can attend in a supporter role. Attendance as a supporter must be agreed with your Support Worker
Our helpline team can offer advice and guidance on the appeal process.

If you would like to help with lodging an appeal

Information required for Tribunal Referral

If you would like support with lodging an appeal, we will need to check our team's capacity to assist you alongside the appeals we are currently supporting. We will ask you to provide the date of the local authority decision letter. This letter is important as it explains your right of appeal and confirms the timescale within which an appeal must be lodged.

In most cases, correspondence from the local authority's SEND Operations Service is sent by email. These emails are often encrypted and password protected. It is important that any correspondence received from SEND Operations is downloaded and saved to your own computer or device as soon as possible, as access to encrypted emails may be time-limited. Retaining copies of these documents will help ensure that important information is available should you require support with an appeal or any future SEND-related matters.

If you do not have a copy of this important letter, you may not yet have received your formal right of appeal. If you are unsure, please contact your SEND Operations Co-ordinator, who will be able to confirm this and provide you with a copy of the relevant correspondence. Having a copy of the decision letter is essential, as it sets out your appeal rights and the applicable appeal timescales.

Here the contact details for SEND Operations Team | Essex Local Offer

What happens next

If our Tribunal Team are in a position to help you, we will request from you further information:-

a copy of the final EHCP
any appendices or attachments (eg. professional reports from health, education or social care services)
a copy of the local authority decision letter
a copy of the Annual Review report (if appeal is following an annual review)

If you do not have copies of these documents, you can contact your SEND Operations Co-ordinator and they will send the paperwork to you.

Please ensure the documents are not password protected or ask SEND Operations to remove any passwords as this will prevent us from accessing the documents and also the courts do not accept password protected documents. Here the contact details for SEND Operations Team | Essex Local Offer

We ask that you...

In requesting support from our Tribunal caseworkers we ask that you agree:

To give consent for SEND IASS to notify the LA Tribunal Team that SEND IASS are supporting you with your appeal and that you give permission for the LA team to copy our tribunal caseworkers into future correspondence they may send to you.

To forward any emails you have received from the courts and LA (where we are not copied in) to the Tribunal Support Worker.

To notify caseworkers of any changes that may affect your appeal.

To let us know if you are receiving support from a solicitor, other advocate or voluntary organisation. SEND IASS will not be able to support you with an appeal so as to avoid conflicting advice and to ensure we direct support to those parent/carers who are not receiving any other support.

To engage and respond to emails and calls regarding your appeal case in a timely manner. If you consistently fail to respond to emails and calls from our caseworkers, then the tribunal support from our service will be withdrawn.

You must give the reasons for the appeal including the issues that you want the Tribunal to decide. These are the ‘grounds of appeal’. The reasons don’t have to be lengthy or written in legal language, but need to say more than just, ‘I disagree‘. Explain why you disagree with the decision and what you would like SEND Tribunal to do.

Parents remain in control of the Tribunal process at all times, and are responsible for making decisions about what they want the Tribunal to know about their child’s needs, the support their child requires and the most appropriate educational placement for their child

Tribunal Hearings

SENDIASS Tribunal Support Workers can:-

attend Tribunal Hearings with you if they are available
attend in a supporter role. Attendance as a supporter must be agreed with your Support Worker
offer support with appeal paperwork completion and gathering of evidence for a tribunal hearing

If we are unable to offer Tribunal support with your appeal

There may be occasions when our Tribunal Support Team is unable to offer direct support with an appeal due to the volume of appeals already being managed. Although we strive to assist as many parent/carers and young people as possible, our capacity is limited.

We are sorry if you have been informed that we are unable to support you on this occasion. Please be assured that this decision is based solely on our current capacity and is not a reflection of the merits of your appeal. Where possible, we will provide information, advice, or signposting to help you access alternative sources of support.

You may find it helpful to attend our free online Tribunal workshops which take place monthly:-

Types of appeals and points to consider

Lodging an appeal on the online portal

Further information links

Resources

Appeal Fact Sheets, Flow Charts and Resources

Guidance for parents on Using AI in relation to your child's SEND

Recently Essex SEND IASS has noticed that more parents/carers are using Artificial Intelligence (AI) for SEND information and advice, or to help with creating documents relating to their child’s SEND. Please read our information on Guidance on using AI in relation to your child's SEND

Also in this section:

Helpline

Our helpline team provide a wide range of information, advice, and support on all areas of SEND

Parent/Carer & Young Person Self-Referral Form

For a self-referral to our service complete our contact form here