~24% of ~25,000
Of the roughly 25,000 SEND appeals registered with the Tribunal in 2024/25, around a quarter were appeals against a refusal to assess.
Statistic: MoJ/HMCTS Tribunal Statistics 2024/25, as reported by Special Needs Jungle
Action tool
The LA refused to assess — the appeal pack
A refusal-to-assess letter reads like the end of the road. Statistically it is closer to an opening position: these decisions carry a right of appeal, and when parents appeal them, local authorities usually back down or lose. This page gives you the test, the numbers, the mediation-certificate step, your deadline, and the grounds-of-appeal letter.
Your right of appeal — and the test the Tribunal applies
“A child's parent or a young person may appeal to the First-tier Tribunal against the matters set out in subsection (2), subject to section 55 (mediation).” The appealable matters include “a decision of a local authority not to secure an EHC needs assessment for the child or young person”.
Children and Families Act 2014, s.51(1) and (2)(a)
The Tribunal asks the same question the local authority should have asked — the two-limb test, where both limbs turn on “may”: does your child have or may they have special educational needs, and may it be necessary for provision to be made through an EHC plan? It is a deliberately low threshold — the assessment is how needs get properly identified, not a prize for having proved them already.
“The local authority must secure an EHC needs assessment for the child or young person if, after having regard to any views expressed and evidence submitted under subsection (7), the authority is of the opinion that— the child or young person has or may have special educational needs, and it may be necessary for special educational provision to be made for the child or young person in accordance with an EHC plan.”
Children and Families Act 2014, s.36(8) — the same test, myth-busts and a request letter live on /request-assessment.
The honest statistics
These are statistics, not law: they describe how refusal decisions have fared when challenged, not what will happen in your case. They come from secondary reporting of official figures and a court's examination of one authority, labelled with their vintages.
86%
In one local authority whose refusal practice was examined in court, 86% of its refusal-to-assess appeals were conceded by the authority before the hearing — and the judge observed that around 99% were conceded or lost.
Statistic: Local Government Lawyer (December 2023), reporting the judicial review of that authority
~99%
Of the SEND appeals that reached a decision in 2024/25, around 99% were decided in the parents' favour.
Statistic: MoJ/HMCTS Tribunal Statistics 2024/25, as reported by Special Needs Jungle
Read together: most refusals that are challenged do not survive the challenge. Most refusals are never challenged.
Step one: the mediation certificate — you must get one, you need not mediate
For this kind of appeal the Tribunal cannot register your case until a mediation adviser has issued you a certificate. That is the whole obligation — you do not have to actually go to mediation. Telling the adviser you do not wish to mediate entitles you to the certificate:
“The parent or young person may make the appeal only if a mediation adviser has issued a certificate to him or her under subsection (4) or (5).” … “A mediation adviser must issue a certificate under this subsection to the parent or young person if— the adviser has provided him or her with information and advice about pursuing mediation under section 53 or 54, and the parent or young person has informed the adviser that he or she does not wish to pursue mediation.”
Children and Families Act 2014, s.55(3)–(4)
The Code of Practice puts a clock on the adviser too — once you say you don't want to mediate, “the adviser will issue a certificate, within three working days of the parent or young person telling them that they do not want to go to mediation, confirming that information has been provided” (SEND Code of Practice (January 2015), para 11.23). Your refusal letter must tell you which mediation adviser to contact. Mediation itself is voluntary and free if you do want to try it — and going to mediation moves your appeal deadline rather than costing you it (one month from the certificate, where later).
Your deadline
The appeal must normally be registered within 2 months of the date the LA sent the refusal letter, or 1 month from your mediation certificate, whichever is later. Don't argue by email while the clock runs.
Work out your exact appeal deadline
The calculator quotes the rule (rule 20(1)(c), Tribunal Procedure (HESC) Rules 2008) and computes the later-of date from your letters — in your browser, nothing uploaded.
Build your grounds of appeal
The Tribunal appeal is made on form SEND35a (the form HMCTS's own guide, SEND37, names for refusal-to-assess appeals), which asks why you disagree with the decision. The builder below assembles that grounds-of-appeal text from fixed clauses: the decision appealed, the s.36(8) test, your evidence in your own words, and the answer to diagnosis/SEN-Support-cycles reasoning if the refusal leant on it.
Nothing you type here is transmitted. The letter is assembled on this page, in your browser, from fixed template wording plus what you enter — copy it or download it, then send it yourself. We never see it.
Your letter
Fill in your full name, child's full name, child's date of birth, local authority, date on the la's refusal letter and the finished letter will appear here.
NOJ publishes sourced legal information about England's SEND framework. Check the source links and review date on this page because law and guidance can change. We are not a law firm and do not provide legal advice about your individual situation. For help with your own appeal: IPSEA (ipsea.org.uk), SOS!SEN (sossen.org.uk), or your local SENDIASS via your council's Local Offer. Rules on this page verified as of 2026-07-10; statistics carry their own vintages above.