My sixth form asked for an EHC needs assessment for me but my local authority has said no. What can I do?

You can ask the local authority (LA) to meet with you and someone called a mediator to talk about why the LA said no. This is called mediation.  If the LA changes its mind or agrees to something else (providing more support, for example), then this should be written down in a mediation agreement. The LA must then do what it said it would do by the deadlines set out in here.

If you do not want to meet with the LA like this, you can get a mediation certificate and then ask a judge to look at all the facts and decide if the LA should have said yes to the request. This is called an appeal. If the judge thinks the LA should have said yes, then the judge can order the LA to do the EHC needs assessment. That means the LA has to do it.

On the LA’s letter refusing the EHC needs assessment request, there should be information about mediation and how to appeal its decision. You need to think about mediation before you can appeal to the SEND Tribunal.

You can find out more about mediation here.

You can find out more about how to appeal here and here.

You can find out more about getting support with your appeal here.