Home 9 Appealing a decision 9 Tribunals and appeals 9 The Tribunal Hearing

The Tribunal Hearing

Appeals will be heard by a panel consisting of a legally qualified Tribunal Judge who will chair the hearing and up to two specialist Panel members who have knowledge and experience of children with SEND.

Hearings take place either:

Paper hearings →

Oral hearings →

The SEND Tribunal is currently receiving more appeals than ever before. As a result, hearing dates are being set very far in advance. In some cases, over 40 weeks away.

Paper hearings

This means the SEND Tribunal will decide the appeal by looking at and considering all the written evidence you and the Council have submitted. Unlike an oral hearing, neither you or the Council will attend a hearing.

One benefit of this type of hearing is that the timescale for the SEND Tribunal to decide a case without a physical hearing is much quicker (nearer 12-16 weeks). If you decide you want your appeal heard this way on the basis that it might be quicker, you should contact the SEND Tribunal first to check if that would be the case.

For refusal to assess appeals, there will often be no physical hearing and these appeals are often heard this way.

However, both parties need to agree to the appeal being heard ‘on the papers’. If one party does not agree to it, an oral hearing must be held.

What happens next

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Oral hearings

These can take place face-to-face but are much more routinely offered remotely. If you require an in-person hearing or a hybrid remote/ in-person hearing as part of any reasonable adjustments you need, let the SEND Tribunal know as soon as you can.

You should bring the bundle of paperwork you received from the Council to your hearing. The panel will have read the bundle and have spent time reviewing the case together before you arrive/join online. They will have identified the key issues and decided which panel member is going to ask the questions about which issue.

During the hearing

  • The Tribunal Judge will provide an introduction, explain the procedures and list the issues to be considered.
  • The panel will consider the appeal on an issue by issue basis.
  • You and the Council will be invited to give your views and present your evidence on each issue.
  • You will have the opportunity to ask questions of the council, witnesses and also have the chance to add anything additional you feel is important and has not been previously mentioned. The Council will be given the same opportunity.
  • You may be invited to make a brief closing comment to summarise your position.

You do not need to have a lawyer to go to the SEND Tribunal and the vast majority of parents do not have any representative at their appeals.

What happens next

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Further help and support

You may also find the following websites useful:

Bromley Council – How to appeal to the SEND independent tribunal →

IPSEA – The hearing →

Child Law Advice – Legal aid for educational law matters →

GOV.UK – Appeal an education, health and care (EHC) plan decision →