Resolving Disagreements
If you disagree with a decision about your child’s support.
Making Complaints
You may not always agree with a decision your child’s early years setting, school or college has made about your child’s support. You should first raise this with them and try to reach agreement. If you can’t reach agreement, they can advise you on their procedures for making complaints. You could also approach your local authority’s Information, advice and support service for help. These services are independent of your local authority and can provide you with a quick and informal way of resolving disagreements.
If you do not agree with a decision that is made about your child’s EHC needs assessment or their EHC plan, you can say so. You might be able to ask for the decision to be changed. This is called an appeal. A special court will decide whether a decision should be changed. This is called the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Tribunal. Before you ask the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Tribunal to change a decision, you can talk to the local council to see whether you can work out something that everyone is happy with. This is called mediation. Someone will help you and your child to try and work out something that everyone is happy with. This person is called a mediator. If you do not want to try mediation, you do not have to.
You can talk to Barking & Dagenham SENDIASS carers@carerscentre.org.uk if you want more information or support about disagreeing with decisions about your child.
Disagreement resolution
Disagreement resolution services are for all parents of children and young people with SEN, and young people themselves with SEN. Using the service is voluntary and covers SEN provision as well as disagreements about health and social care.
Mediation
Mediation is also a voluntary process for parents and young people, which you can use if you cannot reach an agreement with your local authority or CCG in matters relating to EHC plans.
Appealing to the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Tribunal
Before you can appeal to the SEND Tribunal, you must have contacted a mediation adviser (unless your appeal is only about the school your local authority has named in your child’s plan or if they have not named a school in it).
You will need a certificate from the mediation adviser to register an appeal with the SEND Tribunal. You have one month from receiving the certificate or two months from the original decision (whichever is the later date) to register an appeal with the Tribunal.
The SEND Tribunal is a legal body. It hears appeals against decisions made by local authorities about EHC needs assessments and EHC plans. The SEND Tribunal also hears disability discrimination claims against schools (and against local authorities if the local authority is responsible for the school).