After lodging an EHC Content Appeal

The appeal will usually be registered by SEND Tribunal within 10 working days. This may be longer when they are busy.

They will:

• Write to you with a hearing date and your deadlines for submitting further documents or evidence;
• Provide you with an appeal reference number which you must use in any further correspondence with SEND Tribunal;
• Send the local authority a copy of what you have sent. The local authority will be given 30 working days (6 weeks) to respond.

They will issue you Case directions – these are key dates by which you and the local authority must take action.  (The dates are also set out in a table, usually on the last page before the appendices).  For example:-

• The date the local authority must send their response by;
• Final evidence deadline;
• Completion of the Case Review Form;
• The date by which the local authority must send a copy of the final bundle to parents.

Please keep a note of these important deadlines as you can be barred from the hearing for failing to comply.  It also gives the date of the final hearing. 

You will be asked to complete a Case Review form.  The Case Review Form assists the Tribunal with the case management of your appeal.  The Tribunal will tell you if you need to use this and send it to you to complete by a set date.  Its purpose is to help the Tribunal manage cases as efficiently as possible, by getting an update on the case and to see if there has been any progress on agreeing issues that were in dispute ahead of the hearing.

You can download our Flow Chart on What Happens After Lodging an Appeal