What actually happens next
Most parents who contact us have never been through a tribunal appeal before, and the process can feel opaque from the outside. It isn't complicated. Here is exactly what happens, in order.
Book a slot online. We listen, ask what has happened so far, and say whether we think an appeal is worth bringing.
We read the papers and set out your position, the council's likely case, and what we would do. Credited in full if you instruct us within 28 days.
Registration, grounds, evidence, the working document, the bundle. Billed at case milestones, not by the month.
We advocate for your child on the day, in person or by video.
Inside stage three: casework
"Casework, stage by stage" above covers a lot of ground. Here is what happens within it, in the order it usually happens.
We register the appeal with the Tribunal and set out the grounds clearly, within the deadline on your decision letter.
We handle every letter, email and directions notice from here on, so you are not fielding council correspondence alone.
We work out what the case needs, and instruct any independent expert reports required to support it.
The council's evidence gets tested and the plan wording gets negotiated, section by section. Most cases settle around this stage.
If the case reaches a hearing, we prepare the bundle and the submissions that put your case at its strongest.
Where settlement typically happens
Most SEND appeals settle before they reach a hearing, usually once the council has filed its response and the working document negotiation is underway. That is where the strength of the evidence tends to become clear to both sides.
Because casework is billed at case milestones rather than by the month, settling early has a direct effect on what you pay: the stages your case never reaches are never billed. The full stage-by-stage breakdown is on the fees page.
A settled case still gets the advocacy, evidence and negotiation it needed. Settling early is not settling for less.
Book a free 20-minute call. We will listen, and give you a straight view on whether an appeal is worth bringing.