SEND Watchtower

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Next steps when the authority refuses to assess

Applies when: the authority refused to assess.

The entitlement

A decision not to carry out an EHC needs assessment carries a right of appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (SEND). You must contact a mediation adviser and obtain a mediation certificate first — considering mediation is a condition of appealing; taking part in it is not. The deadline is two months from the decision letter, or one month from the date of the mediation certificate, whichever is later.

Source: Refusal to assess appeals (IPSEA).

What to do

  1. Read the decision letter for the appeal deadline and the mediation adviser's details, and ask the adviser for a mediation certificate.

    Source: Refusal to assess appeals (IPSEA).

  2. Register the appeal with the First-tier Tribunal (SEND). IPSEA's refusal-to-assess pages walk through the forms and the grounds.

    Source: Refusal to assess appeals (IPSEA).

  3. Get free casework help before the hearing — your local SENDIASS, or IPSEA and SOS!SEN nationally.

    Source: Information, Advice and Support Services network — find your local SENDIASS (Council for Disabled Children); IPSEA — Independent Provider of Special Education Advice (IPSEA); SOS!SEN — helpline and tribunal support (SOS!SEN).

What the data shows

In 2024/25 the SEND Tribunal found for the family in 99.2% of the appeals it decided.

Source: Tribunal Statistics Quarterly, July to September 2025 — SEND Tribunal Tables 2024 to 2025 (Ministry of Justice / HM Courts & Tribunals Service); New figures show nearly all parents in England forced to go to SEND Tribunal win (Contact).

Refusal-to-assess appeals make up roughly 28% of all SEND Tribunal appeals.

Source: New figures show nearly all parents in England forced to go to SEND Tribunal win (Contact).

If this is you

If your child has no diagnosis

The tribunal applies the same legal test the authority should have applied: whether the child may have SEN and may need a plan. A missing diagnosis is not a lawful reason to refuse an assessment.

Source: Refusal to assess appeals (IPSEA); Asking for an EHC needs assessment (IPSEA).

This guide states entitlements and cites the source of every claim. It is not advice about an individual case — for that, contact IPSEA or your local SENDIASS.