How do LAs reduce SEND Tribunal losses?

Get the first decision right: gather evidence early, word EHCPs lawfully and specifically, concede weak cases fast, and learn from rulings. Defending appeals harder fails; around 99% of 2024/25 appeals went to parents.

Why defending harder does not work

The numbers are stark. In 2024/25 the First-tier Tribunal (SEND) decided about 99% of appeals in favour of the parent or young person, and appeals keep climbing: 6,700 were lodged in the final quarter of 2025, the most in any quarter on record, with an open caseload of roughly 16,000. You cannot defend your way out of that. The only durable lever is the quality of the council's own first decision, because almost every case that reaches a hearing is one the council was always going to lose.

Step one: get the decision right first time

Most losses trace back to two faults: thin evidence and vague plans. The Administrative Justice Council's 2023 report Improving Local Authority Decision-Making found councils win more when they gather evidence early and talk to parents and schools before deciding, rather than refusing first and gathering later. Build the evidence base at the assessment stage, not after an appeal lands.

Then word the plan lawfully. An EHC plan must specify the special educational provision needed to meet each need (Children and Families Act 2014, s.37). "Access to" or "support as required" will not survive an appeal. Provision has to be specific and quantified, naming who delivers it, what they do, how often, and for how long. The specificity duty is where councils lose most often, so fix it at source.

Step two: concede weak cases and learn from the rest

1. Reconsider as soon as an appeal is registered. Have a senior officer review the case afresh against the evidence. If it is weak, concede or agree the parent's position promptly. In 2024/25, 24% of the Section I placement decision notices recorded the council agreeing with the parent at the hearing, often too late to save the cost.
2. Read the decision notices. Every written ruling tells you why you lost. Log the recurring grounds, whether specificity, evidence gaps, or placement reasoning, and feed them back into casework.
3. Learn from mediation and the Ombudsman too. The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has confirmed it sees the same decision-making faults in complaints. Treat mediation outcomes and Ombudsman findings as the same early-warning signal as a Tribunal loss.

Step three: embed it

Make SEND-law training mandatory for the officers who make and defend decisions, and write an action plan after each loss that names what changes in practice. Parents have a right of appeal against a refusal to assess, a refusal to issue, and the content of an EHC plan, and they must usually hold a mediation certificate first, so a closed learning loop from mediation through Tribunal is your cheapest improvement route. For the wider picture, see how a local authority responds to a SEND Tribunal appeal and the LA's role in mediation.

One change to watch, not to plan around yet: the Schools White Paper of February 2026 and the Education for All Bill propose Individual Support Plans and narrowing EHCPs to the most complex needs by 2035. No changes take effect before September 2030, and the s.37 specificity duty and appeal rights are unchanged for now. Today's law still decides today's appeals.

This page is general information for local authority officers, not legal advice. For statutory specifics, check the legislation and the SEND Code of Practice, or seek advice from your legal team or IPSEA on individual cases.

This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.