The EHC Assessment Refusal Appeal Pack
The EHC Assessment Refusal Appeal Pack
Your council refused an EHC needs assessment. This is how you challenge it. Covers the appeal deadline and how a mediation certificate can extend it, the statutory test in section 36(8) that councils routinely replace with a higher one, the six reasons refusal letters actually give and what is wrong with each, how to get your mediation certificate without going through mediation, registering the appeal on form SEND35A, model wording to build your grounds of appeal from, an evidence index to fill in, what happens after you lodge, and a section for home educated children that other guides leave out. Written from primary sources and checked on 26 July 2026. England only. Information and document preparation, not legal advice.
Your council said no. That is not the end of it.
The refusal letter used words like "insufficient" and "not yet exhausted", and it did not once mention the test it was actually supposed to apply. That is not unusual. It is the pattern.
In 2025, councils in England refused 43,300 of the 162,702 EHC needs assessment requests they received, and the refusal rate rose. When refusals reach the tribunal, 99% of decided cases go in the parent's favour, and around three in ten cases never reach a decision at all because the council withdraws or concedes first.
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What your council actually does
In 2025, councils in England refused 29% of the EHC needs assessment requests they decided, and only 45.5% of plans were issued inside the legal 20 weeks. Both vary enormously by area. See the refusal rate and waiting time for every council, or go straight to your own council.
- What the tribunal data says about appealing: 99% of decided SEND appeals go the parent’s way.
This is information, not legal advice
Darling Mellow is a parenting website. We are not solicitors, we are not regulated to give legal advice, and nothing here is advice about your particular child or situation. We write about the law in England, we date everything and we link our sources so you can check them. Deadlines and duties change, and only you know your full circumstances, so please take proper advice before making a decision that matters.
Where to get free or regulated advice
- Your local SENDIASS. Free, confidential and impartial, and every council in England must provide one. Find yours through your council’s SEND Local Offer, or via GOV.UK.
- IPSEA. A charity with legally trained advisers, giving free advice on SEND law in England. Their guidance is the best free legal explanation available.
- Legal aid, through Civil Legal Advice on 0345 345 4345 (Monday to Friday 9am to 8pm, Saturday 9am to 12.30pm). Special educational needs is one of the areas still covered. Legal aid can fund advice and help preparing a SEND Tribunal appeal, though not representation at the hearing itself. Check whether you qualify with the official legal aid checker.
- A solicitor regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Find an education law specialist through the Law Society’s Find a Solicitor, and you can confirm anyone is genuinely regulated on the SRA register.
If you are in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, the law and the services differ and you should use your own nation’s guidance.