How do we contribute evidence to a SEND Tribunal?

The two routes

Contribute either by submitting a written report or witness statement, or by attending the hearing to give oral evidence; statements must be signed, dated and under 10 pages of A4, filed by the evidence deadline. Most often a parent appealing the council asks the school to help; sometimes the council asks. Either way, the school is a witness to the child’s needs and the support it provides, not a party to the appeal.

The mechanic most pages miss: you do not send evidence to the Tribunal

Schools do not file evidence with the SEND Tribunal directly. The council (or, for some settings, the responsible body) compiles the single hearing bundle, so you send your report or statement to the party that asked you for it, in good time before the evidence deadline set in the case directions. That party then puts it in the bundle. The bundle must reach the Tribunal by midday on the date in the directions, and every document in it must already have been shared with the other side GOV.UK, preparing a SEND Tribunal case. If you are late, your evidence may not make the bundle, so confirm the deadline as soon as you are asked.

The witness statement format

For final hearings listed after 15 July 2025, anyone who will give oral evidence at the hearing but has not already written a report must file a witness statement. It has to be a signed, dated copy of the original, set out in numbered paragraphs in 12-point font or larger, and no more than 10 pages of A4 (excluding exhibits) unless a short note explains the good reason for going over Practice Direction No. 1 of 2025. If you have already submitted a report (for example a provision record or an evidence pack on the impact of SEN support), that report can stand as your written evidence.

Attending, witness limits and summonses

The Tribunal usually limits each party to about three witnesses; naming more needs an application giving reasons, so the requesting party should pick the people who add the most, often the SENCo or headteacher and a professional who assessed the child IPSEA on witnesses. Either party can ask the Tribunal to summon a witness, but a summons served fewer than 5 working days before the hearing cannot compel attendance. If you are summoned and have already given a written statement, you can write to the Tribunal asking not to attend, and a judge decides GOV.UK, if you’re asked to be a witness.

Stay impartial

Whoever asks you, your duty is to the Tribunal: give full, frank and honest evidence and stay fair, impartial and independent, even though the school works with the family or the council. You are there to describe what the child needs and what the school does, not to argue a side. Travel and loss-of-earnings expenses are claimable on Form SEND16A.

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