Plain-English guides to the SEND Tribunal process, reviewed by a solicitor.
What level of legal aid is actually available for a SEND Tribunal appeal, what it covers, and what it doesn't.
Why a formal diagnosis isn't a legal requirement for an EHC needs assessment or plan, and what actually matters instead.
The Tribunal's Practice Direction requirements for expert reports, including page limits and formatting.
The difference between Section 41 approved independent schools and other independent schools, and what that means for getting one named in an EHC plan.
When the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman can look at a SEND complaint, and how that's different from a SEND Tribunal appeal.
Who can ask a local authority for an EHC needs assessment, and what actually strengthens a request.
The general categories of evidence the SEND Tribunal considers, and where a general description like this stops being useful.
What happens to an EHC plan when a family moves to a new local authority area, and what the new council has to do.
How disability discrimination claims and EHCP appeals differ at the SEND Tribunal, and why they're not always kept entirely separate.
What a local authority has to explain when it refuses to carry out an EHC needs assessment, and how the appeal process works.
The Tribunal's requirements for witness statements, and why writing one isn't the same as building your case strategy.
What Education Otherwise Than At School actually means, and why it's legally different from Elective Home Education.
The general 'no costs' rule at the SEND Tribunal, and the rare exceptions where a costs order can be made.
What happens when an assessment goes ahead but the local authority decides a plan isn't necessary, and how to appeal that decision.
What the Tribunal can and can't do about the health and social care sections of an EHC plan, and why MM v Royal Borough of Greenwich matters.
What mediation actually involves before a SEND Tribunal appeal, and when you don't need a certificate at all.
What SEN Support is, how it's funded, and why local authorities look at it before agreeing to an EHC needs assessment.
How a personal budget can be managed, and what a local authority can and can't refuse to fund.
The exact time limits for lodging a SEND Tribunal appeal, and what mediation does to that deadline.
How long a local authority has to decide whether to carry out an EHC needs assessment, and what happens to SEN support while you wait.
Whether an EHC plan ends at 16 or 18, who makes decisions after that point, and when a plan typically ends.
What government statistics on SEND Tribunal appeals actually measure, and what they don't.
The comment and representation window before an EHC plan is finalised, and how it's different from appealing afterward.
How often an EHC plan has to be reviewed, what can be changed, and what happens if the local authority says no.
What to expect on the day of a SEND Tribunal hearing, from paper versus oral hearings to how the panel reaches its decision.
What an Education, Health and Care plan actually is, what it legally has to contain, and how it differs from SEN Support at school.
Your legal position under Section 42 when a school isn't providing what's written in Section F, and how to escalate it.
A clear list of the local authority decisions parents and young people can appeal, and which parts of an EHC plan the Tribunal can actually change.
What a council's Local Offer actually is, what it has to publish, and how it's different from an individual EHC plan.
The stages between lodging your appeal and the hearing itself, including the local authority's response and the working document.
What the SEND Tribunal actually is, how it's structured, and what kinds of cases it hears.
The free, independent support genuinely available to parents bringing a SEND Tribunal appeal without legal representation.
The trend behind rising SEND Tribunal registrations over the past decade, and what's been linked to it.