“The plan doesn't describe what my child actually needs.”
An EHC plan has been issued, but Section B doesn't reflect your child's actual needs, or Section F is too vague to hold anyone to. The Tribunal can rewrite both.
Reviewed by Tom, specialist SEND advocate. Last updated 19 August 2026.
There is no threshold test for this appeal in the way there is for refusal to assess or refuse to issue. Under section 51 of the Children and Families Act 2014 you can appeal the description of special educational needs in Section B and the special educational provision in Section F directly.
Section B is where the law defines the starting point. A child has special educational needs if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision: in practice, a significantly greater difficulty in learning than most children of the same age, or a disability that prevents or hinders them from using what a mainstream school ordinarily provides. Section B has to record every need, not just the headline diagnosis, and these appeals often begin with what Section B has left out, because provision in Section F only ever follows a need recorded in Section B.
What decides these appeals is specificity. The SEND Code of Practice requires provision to be detailed and quantified (how much, how often, delivered by whom) so that everyone can see whether it is actually happening. Wording like “access to speech and language therapy” or “support as required” does not meet that standard, and the Tribunal can rewrite it so that it does.
We work section by section: what the evidence says your child needs, and whether the current wording actually secures it or just gestures at it.
The appeal deadline
The clock starts when the plan (or the amendment notice, if this is a review rather than a first plan) containing the disputed Section B or F wording is finalised and issued with notice of your appeal rights. Before the appeal can be registered you need a mediation certificate from a mediation adviser; you do not have to mediate to get one. The deadline is two months from the notice, or one month from your certificate, whichever is later. Because there is no separate refusal letter to watch for here, it is easy to let the deadline slip while trying to resolve the wording informally, so it is worth checking the date on the front of the plan as soon as it lands.
How long it takes
Many of these appeals resolve through the working document process before a hearing is needed, once specific, quantified wording is put to the council in place of the vague original. Tribunal listing times vary widely and the system is heavily backlogged, so we tell you the realistic current picture for your case on the free call rather than quoting a generic figure.
What we do at each stage
We register the appeal and pin down exactly which lines of Section B and Section F are in dispute, rather than reopening the whole plan.
What the evidence actually says your child needs, matched against what would have to be written down to meet the Code of Practice's specificity standard.
This is where most of these appeals are actually won: negotiating specific, quantified wording in place of vague phrases like “access to” or “as required”.
Where the council offers a form of words, we test whether it is genuinely quantified or just softer vague wording, before it gets agreed.
If wording still isn't agreed, we put the specific provision case to the Tribunal directly.
What it costs
Casework for a plan contents appeal is £3,600 including VAT, covering registration through to the final evidence bundle on Sections B and F. Hearing-day advocacy, if the case gets that far, is £1,800 per hearing day for our own casework clients. Independent expert reports (educational psychology, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy) are the main cost that can sit outside this figure, commissioned separately where the evidence genuinely needs them, never as a matter of routine.
All prices include VAT, ex-VAT figures shown as small print. For the full stage-by-stage breakdown, the hearing-day representation-only rate, and the stage-billing table, see every SEND tribunal fee we charge.
From our casework
Questions parents ask first
Can the Tribunal just add a number of hours if the plan is vague?
Do I need to appeal the whole plan?
Not sure this is your appeal? Not ready to commit to casework yet? see what a written case review gives you before you decide.
Book a free 20-minute call. We will listen, and give you a straight view on whether an appeal is worth bringing.