Raise a concern about an Education, Health and Care Plan

Although we work with parents, carers, young people and schools to prevent disagreements, there may be times when you are unhappy with the decision made about an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP). There are a number of things that you can do if you disagree with a decision.

Arrange a meeting with us

Let us know if you disagree with a decision that has been made. You will normally be invited to a meeting to talk about it.  You can bring someone with you for support. This could be a friend, family member or someone from a support group or charity. If you don't have anyone, we can help you find an independent supporter.

We also use independent disagreement resolution to help resolve disagreements in a quick, non-confrontational way.

Mediation

If you've had a meeting with us and still aren't happy, you can ask for a mediation meeting. This is a way to try to sort out disagreements about the education, health, or care parts of an EHC plan.

Mediation involves a trained, independent person who helps everyone talk through the issue and try to find a solution. It's your choice whether to take part, and it's free for parents, carers, and young people.

Appeal to the first-tier tribunal

If you're still unhappy after the meeting and your disagreement is about the education part of the EHC plan, you can appeal to a tribunal. The tribunal is an independent group that looks at appeals about our decisions. A panel made up of a judge and two experts will review your case. They can only look at the education parts of the EHC plan.

Parents, carers, and young people over 16 can appeal. But before you do, in most cases, you need to speak to a mediation adviser. You don't need to do this is if your appeal is only about:

• the name or type of school in the EHC plan, or
• if no school has been named in the plan

The mediation adviser will explain how mediation works and help you decide if you want to try it. You don't have to take part in mediation, but you must get a certificate from the adviser to show you've talked about it before you can appeal.

For more information, email: send@justice.gov.uk

You can appeal to the tribunal if we:

• refuse to carry out an education, health and care (EHC) needs assessment after a request from a parent, carer, young person, or education provider
• refuse to issue an EHC plan after doing an assessment

If we've issued or changed an EHC plan, you can appeal if you disagree with:

• the description of the special educational needs
• the support (special educational provision) in the plan
• the school named in the plan or the type of school
• if no school is named in the plan

You can also appeal if we:

• decide not to change the EHC plan after a review or reassessment
• decide to stop the EHC plan (for example, to cancel it)

Important things to know about appeals:

• appeals can be made when an EHC plan is finalised, changed, or replaced
• you must appeal within two months of our decision letter, or one month after getting a mediation certificate - whichever is later
• you can only appeal a refusal to assess if we haven't made a new EHC plan in the last six months
• if you're appealing because we want to stop the EHC plan, we must keep it in place until the tribunal makes a decision

You can find more information about tribunals on the GOV.UK website (opens new window).