Stage 1 · If they say no
The Local Authority said no to issuing an EHCP
After assessing, the Local Authority can still decide not to issue an EHCP. It's a decision you can appeal.
The assessment answers the same two questions as the request, but more firmly: not "may", but "does".
1. Does your child have SEN?
2. Does your child need more support than the school is normally expected to provide — ?
Read the reports that came out of the assessment closely — they're usually the strongest evidence either way, because the Local Authority commissioned them. If they describe needs that would take more support than the school is normally expected to provide, that is strong ground for an appeal.
The deadline: you have two months from the date on the Local Authority's letter to appeal to the tribunal — or one month from your mediation certificate, if that is later.
Before you can appeal, you must contact the mediation adviser named in the Local Authority's letter. You don't have to go to , but the tribunal won't accept your appeal without the certificate the adviser gives you — and you get one whether or not you go ahead with mediation.
Do these two things first
Write the appeal deadline on the calendar — two months from the letter's date.
Get copies of every report the assessment produced, if you don't already have them. You're entitled to see them, and you'll need them either way.