Guidance

CEAS information 13c: appealing a decision

Updated 15 November 2022

© Crown copyright 2022

This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.

Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.

This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dcyp-forms-and-information-sheets/ceas-information-13c-appealing-a-decision

Insufficient evidence for SENA and how to appeal a SENA decision

The definition of Special Educational Needs for the purposes of SENA is the following taken from the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice (2015).

Applications for SENA are unlikely to be approved if insufficient or inappropriate evidence is provided. It is the duty of the parents to monitor what the school have provided and be fully conversant with the application and the military regulations surrounding it.

The application for SENA is likely to have at a minimum:

  1. Evidence of previous difficulties that require more support than a school could reasonably meet within its own resources, and what has already been done to address these.

  2. An Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)/Statement/Coordinated Plan if they exist, and/or any relevant reports evidence of attainments which are significantly below the expected levels for the child’s age (for example standardised scores of less than 84). The average range is a standardised score between 85 to 115.

Independent schools do not have to abide by the SEND Code of Practice (2015), but the Independent Schools Council state:

Independent schools should already have systems in place to identify SEN and provide SEN support. The code sets out good practice and independent schools may therefore want to look at this to help them review the systems they already have in place.

Independent schools are required to abide by the Equality Act (2010) and make ‘reasonable adjustments’ where required.

Should you wish to appeal the decision that has been made, please forward your reasons and any additional evidence. This will be considered by a member of DCYP educational staff who has not been involved in any previous decision making in this case.

Back to top