This is for final EHCP’s that you are appealing and the child is EBSA.
A child must never be left without education because a local authority has named a school in an EHC plan that the child cannot safely or reasonably attend. A child’s mental health can fray while they wait. Parents carry exhaustion guilt and relentless stress. The law gives you tools to stop the waiting and secure education now!
The legal duties you need to know
The Children and Families Act 2014 creates a duty on the governing body proprietor or principal of a named institution to admit the child named in an EHC plan once the school is specified. The local authority also has a duty to secure the special educational provision set out in Section F from the date the plan is issued. Section F is legally enforceable so the local authority must provide what is specified and when it is specified.
Appealing Sections B F and I and why you might do it
Section B records the child’s special educational needs. Section F must specify the special educational provision required to meet those needs. Section I names the school or type of provision. Errors omissions or vagueness in Section B or Section F make the placement in Section I unsafe or inappropriate. Appealing B F and I together lets the tribunal examine needs provision and placement and make orders that secure education now rather than later
Interim enforcement and securing education while disputes continue
Where admission to a named school is not possible or safe use enforcement routes. Where necessary apply to the SEND Tribunal for interim directions to require timely education while the appeal is considered. Pursue enforcement of Section F via S19 where specified provision is not being delivered from the date the plan was issued if the child is unable to start at the non parental preference named school.
The emotional realities that law must fix
A delayed or unsafe placement is more than lost learning. Anxiety school avoidance and deterioration in mental health can escalate rapidly when routines are removed and help is delayed. Parents feel moral injury and exhaustion as they fight to keep their child seen and safe. The legal message must be simple and human. No child should be without education even when a local authority has named a school in the plan. Rights are not consolation. They are the safety net that must hold children and families while decisions are corrected.
Practical next steps you can use today
- Check Sections B and F for gaps and vague wording. Specific named roles hours frequency and measurable outcomes are easier to enforce than general phrases and be ready for your appeal
- Never appeal section I alone: B + F = I
- Gather evidence that the named school cannot meet the needs in Section B or cannot deliver the provision in Section F. Include professional reports and contemporaneous notes of incidents and communications.
- File appeals on Sections B F and I where needs provision or placement are inadequate. Ask the tribunal for interim directions if education is not being provided.
- Use formal enforcement to insist the local authority provides the Section F provision from the date the plan is issued.
- Document mental health impact with notes from CAMHS education psychologists therapists or other professionals and record changes in behaviour routines and wellbeing.
Each hyperlink contains ready to use wording templates evidence lists and practical notes to help you escalate faster and hold the system to account.
No child or young person should be left in limbo while bureaucracy sorts itself out. Use the law and use community. Secure education now. Fight for the protection the law promises and for the compassionate practice every family deserves.
