Form SEND20B: Apply for a SEND Tribunal Review

At a glance

• What it is: a written application asking the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) to review a decision it has already made in a special educational needs (SEN) case, on the sole ground that circumstances relevant to the decision have changed since it was made (rule 48(2), Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Health, Education and Social Care Chamber) Rules 2008, SI 2008/2699).
• Who can apply: a parent, a person with parental responsibility, or the local authority that was a party to the original appeal. A representative can complete and sign it if their role is stated on the form.
• Deadline: received by the Tribunal within 28 days of the date the Tribunal sent the decision notice (rule 48(3)). Late applications need a written request for an extension of time, or the Tribunal must not admit the application (rule 48(4)).
• Scope: rule 48 applies only to "special educational needs cases" — appeals about an EHC needs assessment or an EHC plan under sections 36 and 37 of the Children and Families Act 2014. It does not cover disability discrimination in schools claims.
• Fee: SEND Tribunal proceedings, including review applications, are generally free of charge — check GOV.UK for the current position before you apply.
• Possible outcomes: under section 9(4) of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, the Tribunal can correct an accidental error, amend its reasons, or set the decision aside. If it sets the decision aside, it must either re-decide the matter itself or refer it to the Upper Tribunal (section 9(5)), and a decision can only be reviewed once (section 9(10)).
• Not the same as: Form SEND20A (permission to appeal, on the ground the decision was wrong in law) or a fresh appeal against a new local authority decision using Form SEND35.

What Form SEND20B is for

Form SEND20B, titled "Application for the Tribunal to review its decision because of a change of circumstances", is the mechanism for asking the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) to look again at a decision it has already made. It sits within Part 5 of the Tribunal's procedure rules — the part dealing with correcting, setting aside, reviewing and appealing decisions.

The form captures who is applying, details of the original appeal, the date the decision was sent out, and — in section C — an explanation of what has changed and why the applicant believes the Tribunal should revisit its decision as a result. Because the review power is discretionary, the quality and specificity of that explanation carries real weight.

Importantly, rule 48 only applies to decisions in "special educational needs cases" as defined in rule 1(3) of the 2008 Rules — proceedings about an EHC needs assessment or an EHC plan under sections 36 and 37 of the Children and Families Act 2014. If your case is a disability discrimination in schools claim rather than an SEN case, this particular review route is not available to you; see the FAQ below on what applies instead.

Who can use Form SEND20B

Rule 48(2) allows "a party" to the original decision to apply. In practice that means:

• a parent, or a person who holds parental responsibility for the child or young person concerned;
• the local authority that was a party to the original appeal; or
• a representative — a solicitor, advocate, or organisation such as a SENDIASS caseworker — acting on behalf of either, provided the form makes clear who is acting and whether they are a legal representative.

The form also asks who should receive correspondence about the application. Only one person or party can be named to receive papers, so it is worth being deliberate about this — if you have a representative and do not say otherwise, correspondence goes to them automatically; if you do not have one, it goes to the first-named parent or person with parental responsibility.

The legal basis: rule 48 and the Tribunal's review powers

Form SEND20B implements rule 48 of the Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Health, Education and Social Care Chamber) Rules 2008. In summary, rule 48 provides that:

• the rule applies to decisions that dispose of proceedings in special educational needs cases (rule 48(1));
• a party may apply in writing for a review if circumstances relevant to the decision have changed since it was made (rule 48(2));
• the application must be received within 28 days of the date the Tribunal sent the decision notice (rule 48(3)); and
• a late application must include a request for an extension of time and the reason for the delay, and the Tribunal must not admit it unless time is extended (rule 48(4)).

The power the Tribunal is actually exercising once it agrees to review a decision comes from section 9 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007. Under section 9(4), following a review the Tribunal may correct an accidental error in the decision or the record of it, amend the reasons it gave, or set the decision aside entirely. If it sets the decision aside, section 9(5) requires it to either re-decide the matter itself or refer it to the Upper Tribunal, which must then re-decide it (section 9(6)). Section 9(10) is a hard limit: a decision cannot be reviewed more than once.

Rule 49 governs how the outcome is communicated: the Tribunal must notify the parties in writing of the outcome of the review and of any right of appeal against it. If the Tribunal takes action following a review without first giving every party a chance to make representations, that notice must tell the affected party they can apply for the action to be set aside and the decision reviewed again (rule 49(3)).

How Form SEND20B compares with the other review and appeal routes

| Route | Form | Ground | Deadline | |---|---|---|---| | Review — change of circumstances | SEND20B | Circumstances relevant to the decision have changed since it was made (rule 48) | 28 days from the decision being sent | | Permission to appeal | SEND20A | The decision was wrong in law (rule 46, considered under rule 47/49(1)(a)) | 28 days from the decision (or later triggering event) being sent | | Set aside | Written application (no dedicated SEND-numbered form) | A procedural irregularity — for example a document not received, or a party absent from the hearing (rule 45) | 28 days from the decision being sent | | Fresh appeal against a new decision | SEND35 | A new local authority decision the applicant disagrees with (not a review of the same decision) | 2 months from the decision letter, or 1 month from a mediation certificate, whichever is later |

Applying under the wrong route is one of the most common reasons an application does not achieve what the applicant intended — see the common mistakes below.

What counts as a "change of circumstances"

Rule 48(2) sets a narrow test: the circumstances relevant to the decision must have changed since the decision was made. It is not a general invitation to re-argue the case on the evidence the Tribunal already had, and it is not the route for saying the decision was legally wrong — that is what Form SEND20A and the permission-to-appeal process are for.

Examples of what might qualify, depending on the facts, include a new professional assessment or diagnosis obtained after the hearing, a school placement named in the decision breaking down or becoming unavailable, or a significant deterioration or change in the child's needs that the Tribunal could not have taken into account at the time. What will not normally qualify is disagreement with how the Tribunal weighed evidence it already had in front of it, or new evidence that could and should have been produced before the original decision was made.

Worked example (illustrative only). A fictional parent, Priya, secures an EHC plan for her son naming a specific specialist placement. Six weeks after the decision is sent, the named school confirms it can no longer offer a place because of an unexpected capacity issue. That is a change of circumstances relevant to the decision — the placement the Tribunal relied on no longer exists — and could support a Form SEND20B application asking the Tribunal to review the plan in light of the new position. By contrast, if Priya simply believed, on reflection, that the Tribunal underweighted evidence from the original hearing, that would not be a change of circumstances and Form SEND20B would not be the right form.

How to complete and send Form SEND20B

1. Identify the applicant. Tick whether the applicant is a parent or person with parental responsibility, or a local authority, and give full contact details. Where there is a second parent involved, add their details too.
2. Add representative and correspondence details. If a solicitor, advocate or other representative is acting, give their details and confirm whether they are a legal representative. State who should receive correspondence about the application.
3. Identify the decision. Give the appeal or claim number, the child's name, the local authority that was party to the appeal, the hearing date, and the date the written decision was sent to you. If you are applying more than 28 days after that date, use the space provided to explain the reason for the delay.
4. Explain the change of circumstances (section C). Set out clearly what has changed since the decision was made and why you believe the Tribunal should review it as a result. Attach a continuation sheet if needed, marked with the appeal number, and keep this section focused on the change itself rather than re-arguing the original case.
5. Sign and date the form. If a representative is authorised to act on your behalf, confirm this in section D; delete the authorisation wording if you have no representative or are a legal representative completing the form for a client.
6. Send it with supporting documents. Attach a copy of the decision you are asking the Tribunal to review, together with any documents supporting the change of circumstances. Keep a full copy for yourself and obtain proof of posting. Use the current sending address and method shown on the GOV.UK form page, since submission details can change.

Working out the 28-day deadline — and what if you're late

The 28 days run from the date the Tribunal sent the written decision to you, not the date you received it. There is a genuinely useful timing rule that is easy to miss: rule 12(3)(b) of the 2008 Rules provides that, in a special educational needs case, the days from 25 December to 1 January inclusive, and any day in August, do not count when calculating a deadline other than the time for starting the original proceedings — which includes the 28-day period for a rule 48 review application. If part of your 28-day window falls over Christmas or in August, those days are excluded from the count, effectively extending the practical deadline.

If you are applying outside the 28-day window even after that exclusion is applied, you must still apply — but rule 48(4) requires you to include a request for an extension of time under rule 5(3)(a) and explain the reason for the delay. Unless the Tribunal grants that extension, it must not admit the late application, so the explanation matters as much as the substantive reasons for review.

What happens after the Tribunal receives your application

A judge considers the application, generally on the papers. Under section 9(4) of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, the possible outcomes are that the Tribunal:

• declines to review the decision or reviews it and decides to take no action;
• corrects an accidental error in the decision or the record of it;
• amends the reasons it gave for the decision; or
• sets the decision aside — in which case it must either re-decide the matter itself or refer it to the Upper Tribunal to re-decide (section 9(5)–(6)).

You and the other party will be notified of the outcome in writing under rule 49(2), with reasons and information about any right of appeal. Because a decision can only be reviewed once under section 9(10), it is worth making sure the application is complete and well-evidenced the first time.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Using SEND20B for the wrong ground. If you think the Tribunal got the law wrong, rather than that something has changed, you likely need Form SEND20A (permission to appeal) instead.
• Missing the 28-day window without explaining why. A late application without a clear, honest reason for the delay risks simply not being admitted.
• Re-arguing the original case. Section C should focus on what has changed since the decision, not on disagreement with findings the Tribunal already made on the evidence it had.
• Applying under rule 48 for a disability discrimination claim. This review route is only available for special educational needs case decisions as defined in the 2008 Rules.
• Not keeping proof of sending. Given the strict 28-day rule, proof of posting or an equivalent record protects you if there is any dispute about when the Tribunal received your application.

This guide provides general information about Form SEND20B and the SEND Tribunal's review process in England. It is not legal advice and does not take account of your specific circumstances. The law and procedure described were accurate as at July 2026 and are subject to change — always check GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk for the current position, and confirm current form versions, addresses and fees before you apply.

Last reviewed: July 2026 · Next review due: July 2027 or on legislative change.