Your Rights as a SEND Family: What the Law Gives You and How to Use It
The Children and Families Act gives SEND families significant legal rights. But rights without the tools to enforce them aren't much use. Here's what you're entitled to.
## The Rights Exist. The Fight to Use Them Shouldn't.
The Children and Families Act 2014 created the most comprehensive set of legal rights for SEND families that England had ever seen. The right to an EHC needs assessment. The right to have that assessment completed within 20 weeks. The right to name a preferred school. The right to personal budgets. The right to appeal. The right to be genuinely involved in decisions about your child.
A decade later, SEND tribunal numbers are at record highs. Families are still waiting years for plans. Children are still in settings that don't meet their needs. The rights exist in statute. They are routinely not delivered.
This article is about what the law actually says — and what you can do when it isn't followed.
## The Right to a Needs Assessment
Any parent, young person, or school can request an EHC needs assessment from the local authority. The local authority must decide within six weeks whether to proceed with the assessment. If they decide not to proceed, you have the right to appeal that decision to the SEND Tribunal.
**What the law says:** The local authority must assess if it thinks the child or young person has, or may have, special educational needs, and if they might need special educational provision made through an EHC plan.
**What often happens:** Local authorities apply informal thresholds that are not in the law. They may say a child hasn't received enough interventions, or that their needs can be met from existing school resources. These can be valid considerations — but they cannot be the sole reason to refuse an assessment.
**What you can do:** Put your request in writing. Reference the legal duty explicitly. If refused, appeal to the SEND Tribunal. Keep copies of everything.
## The 20-Week Statutory Deadline
From the date the local authority agrees to carry out an EHC needs assessment, they have 20 weeks to issue the final EHC plan. This is a statutory deadline, not a target.
**What the law says:** The local authority must issue the final EHC plan within 20 weeks of receiving the request for assessment (not from when they agree to assess — from the original request).
**What often happens:** The majority of local authorities breach this deadline for a significant proportion of their assessments. Delays are routine. Explanations range from professional capacity to complexity of need. None of these are legal excuses.
**What you can do:** Track the deadline from the date of your original request. Write formally when it approaches. If breached, you can complain to the local authority, to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, and reference the breach in any subsequent appeal.
## The Right to Name a School
Once an EHC plan is issued, parents have the right to request a specific school, college, or other institution for their child. The local authority must name that institution unless it is unsuitable for the child's age, ability, or needs, or if the placement would be incompatible with the efficient education of others, or if it would be an unreasonable use of public resources.
**What often happens:** Local authorities routinely name schools that parents haven't requested, citing cost. The "unreasonable use of public resources" test is frequently misapplied — it requires the authority to compare the cost of the requested placement against the cost of a suitable alternative, not to simply prefer the cheaper option.
**What you can do:** If the named school is not your preferred placement and you've made a valid request, you have the right to appeal to the SEND Tribunal. The Tribunal can order the local authority to name your preferred school.
## Personal Budgets
Families have the right to request a personal budget for their child's special educational provision. A personal budget is an amount of money identified by the local authority to deliver the outcomes in the EHC plan, which can be managed by the family directly, by a third party, or held by the local authority and used on the family's behalf.
Personal budgets are significantly underutilised. Many families don't know they exist. Many local authorities don't proactively offer them.
**What you can do:** Request a personal budget in writing at any EHC plan review. Ask for the amount to be specified. Ask how it can be used and by whom.
## The Right to Genuine Involvement
Throughout the EHC process, families have the right to genuine involvement — not consultation as a formality, but real co-production. This means:
- Being involved in setting outcomes, not just commenting on those proposed by professionals
- Having your views, wishes, and feelings recorded accurately in the plan
- Being kept informed of decisions and timescales
- Having access to your child's records
> The law uses the word "co-production" deliberately. It means building the plan together, not asking for feedback on something already decided.
## When Things Go Wrong
If your rights are being ignored, you have several routes:
**Mediation:** Before appealing to the SEND Tribunal on most matters, you must consider mediation (though you don't have to participate). Mediation can resolve some disputes faster than a tribunal.
**SEND Tribunal:** The main route of appeal on decisions about EHC plans — whether to assess, what the plan says, where it names. Free to use. Legal representation is not required.
**Local Government Ombudsman:** For complaints about process — delays, failure to follow procedure, maladministration. Cannot overturn decisions, but can require remedy.
**Judicial Review:** In serious cases of unlawful decision-making. Requires legal advice. Expensive and slow, but sometimes the only remedy.
**SENDIASS:** Every local area has a Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information, Advice and Support Service. They provide free, impartial advice to families. Use them.
## SENDHub and Family Rights
One of SENDHub's core commitments is giving families the visibility and tools to exercise their rights effectively. When you can see your child's care records in near-real time, communicate directly with providers, and maintain a documented history of interactions with services, you are better equipped to hold those services to account.
Rights are only meaningful when they can be used. SENDHub is being built to make that possible.