Here's what that tells you about the “no” you've just received — and what actually changes the outcome.
If your council has just refused to assess your child, refused to issue an EHCP, or issued a plan that doesn't reflect what your child actually needs, there's a number worth knowing before you decide what to do next. Of the EHCP appeals that reached a tribunal decision in 2024/25, 99% were decided in favour of the family. Not a slim majority. Not most. Almost all of them.
That figure doesn't mean an appeal is a formality — and we'll come to what it genuinely does and doesn't tell you. But it does mean something uncomfortable and important: when these disagreements are actually tested by an independent panel, the council's original decision is very often found to be wrong.
The proportion of EHCP appeals decided at the SEND Tribunal in 2024/25 that went in favour of the appellant — almost always the parent or young person. The same proportion as the year before. Source: Ministry of Justice, Tribunal Statistics Quarterly, SEN appeals, academic year 2024/25.
This isn't a one-year blip, and it isn't getting better. The Institute for Fiscal Studies tracked the same measure back through the decade: the success rate has climbed from 93.9% in 2016/17 to 99.2% in 2024/25.
Meanwhile the volume has exploded. Appeals registered with the tribunal reached 25,000 in 2024/25 — up 18% in a single year, and the ninth consecutive annual increase. In 2018/19 the figure was 7,000. Appeals are now being lodged faster than they can be resolved, and the open caseload hit a record 15,000.
This is where it's worth being precise, because the figure is easy to over-read.
Read carefully, the 99% isn't really a statistic about tribunals. It's a statistic about the quality of the decisions being appealed.
The obvious question: if local authorities lose almost every time, why do they keep saying no?
Part of the answer is straightforward financial pressure. High needs budgets are under severe strain, and every assessment agreed, every plan issued, and every specialist placement named carries cost. Part of it is process — refusals at the assessment stage are cheaper and faster to issue than assessments are to carry out.
And part of it, honestly, is that most refusals are never challenged. Only a fraction of families appeal. A refusal that goes unappealed is, from a purely budgetary standpoint, a refusal that worked. The 99% figure only describes the families who pushed back.
Here's the part that matters practically, and it's consistent across everything the data shows.
Tribunals don't decide these cases on how strongly a parent feels, or on how well they present on the day. They decide on whether there is clear, credible, current evidence of what a child needs — and whether the provision on offer meets it. Where councils do successfully defend placement decisions, it's because they've been able to justify them with evidence about suitability, cost-effectiveness and how the provision meets the needs set out in the plan.
The same logic runs in reverse. A family arriving with an up-to-date, independent, specific picture of their child — the academic gaps, the cognitive profile, the processing difficulties, the barriers to learning — is in a completely different position to a family arriving with a diagnosis letter and a strong conviction.
Been refused an assessment or issued a plan that doesn't match your child? A free 15-minute call is a calm place to talk through what evidence would strengthen your position.
Book a Free 15-Minute CallWe don't run appeals and we don't represent families at tribunal — for that, IPSEA and Kent SENDIASS both offer free, independent advice and support, and we'd always point you there first.
What we do is the part that comes before: building the independent, evidenced picture of your child that an appeal, an application, or a conversation with school actually turns on.
“The detail and advice that Lauren provides in her report goes above and beyond.”
“Not only did she spot things that were constantly being brushed off as ‘normal’ — she listened to me as a parent. My child is struggling and Lauren sees straight through the mask.”
A refusal letter tells you what one council decided under budget pressure. It doesn't tell you what your child needs. Only evidence does that.
What percentage of EHCP appeals are successful?
Of the EHCP appeals decided by the SEND Tribunal in 2024/25, 99% were decided in favour of the appellant, almost always the parent or young person. This is the same proportion as the previous year, and the figure has risen from 93.9% in 2016/17.
Does that mean my appeal will definitely succeed?
No. The figure describes appeals that reached a tribunal decision, and 'in the family's favour' means winning the majority of an appeal rather than every point. Placement-specific disputes are harder, with around 13% of those decisions going to the local authority's preferred option. Appeals still turn on the quality of the evidence.
How many EHCP appeals are there each year?
Around 25,000 appeals were registered in 2024/25, an 18% rise on the previous year and the ninth consecutive annual increase, up from 7,000 in 2018/19.
What can I appeal?
Decisions carrying a right of appeal include a refusal to carry out an EHC needs assessment, a refusal to issue a plan, the content of a plan (which can be appealed section by section), and a decision to cease maintaining a plan.
Who can help me with an EHCP appeal?
IPSEA and your local SEND Information, Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS) offer free, independent advice. Education With Lauren provides independent assessment evidence but does not run appeals or represent families at SEND Tribunal.
This article is general information about published tribunal statistics, not legal advice. Education With Lauren does not run appeals or represent families at SEND Tribunal. For advice on your own situation, contact IPSEA or your local SENDIASS.
“A refusal letter tells you what one council decided. It doesn't tell you what your child needs.”