What do we do if a parent disagrees there is a SEND need?

Keep working with the parent: share the evidence, agree what you can, log the disagreement. You can still identify SEN and adjust teaching, but signpost the council's free disagreement resolution service and SENDIASS.

Start with the conversation, and write it down

The first move is to keep talking, not to back off. Sit down with the parent and show them what you are seeing: the progress data, the work samples, the observations that led you to think there is a special educational need. Identifying SEN is a professional judgement based on whether a child is making expected progress and needs provision that is different from or additional to their peers (SEND Code of Practice 2015, para 6.15). It is not a label the parent has to accept, and it does not depend on a medical diagnosis — a child can be on SEN Support with no diagnosis at all.

Record the discussion. Where a school decides a pupil has SEN, it has to note the decision and tell the parents that special educational provision is being made (para 6.43). If the parent disagrees, write that down too — the date, what they said, and what you agreed. A clear record protects the child and the school, and it is exactly what an inspector, the council, or a later review will want to see.

What to do next

1. Agree what you can. Most parents will accept some adjustments even if they reject the "SEN" framing. Offer quality-first teaching changes and reasonable adjustments you can make without their formal sign-off.
2. Keep the cycle going. Carry on with the assess–plan–do–review graduated approach for the provision the parent consents to, reviewing with them at least three times a year (para 6.65).
3. Do not quietly drop it. Your duty to use best endeavours to make the provision a pupil's SEN calls for continues even when a parent objects (Children and Families Act 2014, s.66). Keep recording and keep adjusting.

If you can't reach agreement

Point the parent towards independent help rather than letting the dispute stall. Every council has to run a free, voluntary disagreement resolution service, staffed by independent people, covering disagreements about the provision made for any child with SEN — not just those with an EHC plan (Children and Families Act 2014, s.57). Also signpost SENDIASS, the local SEND Information, Advice and Support Service, which gives parents free, impartial advice. Both keep the door open and take the heat out of the conversation.

Remind the parent of their own routes too. If they think the support isn't enough, they can ask the council for an EHC needs assessment themselves — they don't need the school's agreement. None of this stops you continuing to teach the child well in the meantime.

One change to watch: the Schools White Paper published in February 2026 proposes a statutory Individual Support Plan for every child with SEND, which would formalise this planning duty. It is out for consultation, and no changes take effect before September 2030, so today's rules still stand.

This page is general information for school staff, not legal advice. For a specific dispute, contact IPSEA or your local SENDIASS.

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