Content appeal
The final plan does not say what your child needs. The tribunal can make the council rewrite it.
We run your appeal to the SEND Tribunal against the contents of the plan, Sections B, F and I, including the working document, from the appeal form to the case review, with the evidence built and every stage on record. Little Nellies is the SEND and EHCP service of Nellie Supports Ltd, a private social work practice in England.
£5,400 including VAT, paid in four stages. 70 hours of work across nine months, including the working document. Hearing fees are only charged if the hearing happens.
At a glance
Stage
Appeal against Sections B, F and I of the final plan
Deadline in play
Two months from the final plan, or one month from the mediation certificate
Fee
£5,400 including VAT, paid in stages
Hours included
70, across months 0 to 9
Who delivers
One Little Nellies practitioner, within a regulated social work team
Where
England only
£5,400
Fixed fee, including VAT
70 hours
Work included
Only if the hearing happens
Hearing fee
Professional help
Qualified expert MDT
Plain English explanation
What a content appeal is
When the council issues a final plan, you have a right of appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (SEND) against what it says: the needs in Section B, the provision in Section F, and the school or setting in Section I. The appeal uses form SEND35. It turns on the evidence and on the working document, the marked up plan both sides work on until only the disputed words remain.
We obtain the mediation certificate, lodge the appeal with a covering statement, gather and submit the evidence to the tribunal's timetable, build and run the working document through up to two rounds with the council, prepare you before each stage, and complete the case review form. Every stage ends in a written note.
It does not include representation at a hearing, which is a separate unit charged only if a hearing happens. It does not include primary assessment of your child, which is the Evidence Pack. We are not solicitors and do not give regulated legal advice.
You do not need a diagnosis for the provision to be specified
Section F has to specify what your child needs, in numbers, whether or not there is a diagnosis. The council cannot leave provision vague because a report is pending, and it cannot move provision into Section G to avoid a duty to deliver it.
Is this you
Is this you?
The final plan has been issued and it is not right. Needs from the reports are missing from Section B. Section F says "access to" and "as required". Section I names a school that cannot meet need, or names no school at all. Your response to the draft was read and, in the parts that mattered, ignored.
A content appeal asks the tribunal to order the amendments the council would not make. It turns on evidence and on the working document, the version of the plan both sides mark up until only the disputed words remain. This service takes the whole of that off you, from the appeal form to the case review, with the working document included.
The final plan came back and nothing we asked for was changed.
Section F still says "access to" and "as required".
The school named in Section I has told us it cannot meet need.
The therapy from the report has gone into Section G.
The council has named no school at all.
We responded to the draft ourselves and it made no difference.
What is included
What we do for this fee
Up to 70 hours of casework across nine months, in six stages, each invoiced at the point the work becomes certain.
The appeal form and covering statement (10 to 12 hours, month 0)
Evidence collection and submission (10 hours, month 3)
The working document (10 to 30 hours)
Preparation meetings (6 to 8 hours, throughout)
The case review form (4 to 6 hours, month 9)
Deliverables
How this fee is calculated
This appeal takes up to 70 hours of work across nine months, including the working document. The fee is £5,400 including VAT, paid in four stages. That is the most you will pay for the appeal. If the work takes longer, we absorb it. The hearing is a separate unit, invoiced only if a hearing is listed and not charged if the council concedes first.
1
What the plan has to say
Under section 51(2)(c) of the Children and Families Act 2014 you may appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (SEND) against the description of your child's needs in Section B, the special educational provision in Section F, and the school or other setting named in Section I, or the absence of one. Section 37 requires provision to be specified; section 39 sets out when the council must name the school you request; and the Code of Practice, paragraph 9.69, requires provision that is detailed, specific and normally quantified.
The right to appeal the contents
Section F must specify
Section I and your choice of school
The working document is the case
2
What the Tribunal has to see
The evidence has to show, section by section, what the plan should say and why: the need the reports identify, the provision they recommend with the hours attached, and the school that can deliver it. The tribunal decides on the evidence as it stands at the hearing, and it works from the working document, so a well built document with the disputed words isolated is most of the case.
Children and Families Act 2014, sections 37, 39, 40, 51 and 55; Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014, regulation 12; Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Health, Education and Social Care Chamber) Rules 2008; SEND Tribunal Practice Direction No. 1 of 2025; SEND Code of Practice 2015, paragraphs 9.69 and chapter 11.
The test
Challenging the contents of an EHCP
Month 0: instruction, certificate and appeal form
We confirm the fee in writing and invoice 30 per cent. The mediation certificate is obtained and the appeal is lodged against Sections B, F and I.
Month 3: evidence submitted
The evidence bundle goes in on the tribunal's date. 25 per cent invoiced on submission.
Month 4: working document delivered
The first round of the working document goes to the council. 25 per cent invoiced on delivery.
Month 9: case review
The case review form is completed with the remaining disputed sections. 20 per cent invoiced.
Months 18 to 24: hearing, if it happens
If a hearing is listed, representation is invoiced on the hearing notice as a separate unit, and not charged if the council concedes first.
What happens and when
What happens and when
Evidence we build
Evidence we build
A content appeal is won on what the plan should say. We read what the council read, and we build what it left out.
The final plan, the draft, your response and the council's covering letters
The council's advice: educational psychology, speech and language, occupational therapy, health, social care
The school's records and its view on whether it can meet need
Provider profiles and provision analysis for the setting you want named in Section I
The working document, with every amendment cross referenced to the evidence
What you receive
What you receive
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The mediation certificate and the lodged SEND35 appeal, with receipt confirmed
The covering statement setting each disputed section against the evidence
The evidence bundle, indexed to the tribunal's directions
The working document, through up to two rounds with the council
The completed case review form
A written note after each stage, so the council is on record
Free help exists
Free help exists, and we say so
Three organisations give free, independent help with EHCPs and appeals. We name them because they are good, and because you should know what we add on top.
IPSEA
Free legally based advice on EHC needs assessments, plans and appeals, with a helpline and model letters.
SOS!SEN
A charity helpline and walk-in service giving free advice on the assessment and appeal process.
SENDIASS
Your local, free and impartial information, advice and support service, which every council must provide.
What we add
Done-for-you delivery. The evidence built and framed, the documents drafted and lodged, a regulated team, and one practitioner from the first call to the last letter.
The content appeal package
£5,400 including VAT
- 70 hours across months 0 to 9
- Form, covering statement, evidence, working document, case review
- 30 per cent at instruction, 25 per cent at evidence, 25 per cent at working document, 20 per cent at case review
- Working document included , up to 20 hours
Each stage is non-refundable once delivered.
The hearing unit
£1,080 including VAT
- Only if a hearing is listed, typically months 18 to 24 from lodging
- £1,080 including VAT, 10 hours of representation at the hearing
- Invoiced on the hearing notice
- Not charged if the council concedes before the day
You pay for the hearing only if the hearing happens.
The journey
The journey, and what it costs at each stage
The package covers the appeal to the case review, with up to 20 hours of working document included. The hearing unit is separate, invoiced only when a hearing is listed, and not charged if the council concedes first. Families who want primary assessment evidence add the Evidence Pack.
For parents
A fixed fee you know before you start, paid in stages. One practitioner who knows every line of the plan. A written note after every step so you always know what is still in dispute.
For SENCOs and professionals who refer
We work alongside the setting. The school receives the working document so it knows what provision is being sought and can say whether it can deliver it.
Why us
Why families choose Little Nellies for a content appeal
A content appeal is decided on the working document and the evidence behind it. Little Nellies builds both through a regulated team of registered social workers and a Chartered Psychologist, with the provision written in the terms the tribunal orders, one practitioner for the duration, and the hearing fee charged only if the hearing happens.
Why families choose Little Nellies
Evidence built, not collected
Every amendment referenced to the evidence
The working document included, not sold separately
One practitioner for the duration
Registered social workers and a Chartered Psychologist
Hearing fees only if the hearing happens
A family instructed us three weeks after the final plan arrived for their daughter, in Year 8. The educational psychology advice had recommended a small class, a named key adult and twice weekly speech and language therapy. Section F said she would benefit from a supportive environment. Section I named the mainstream secondary that had already told the family it could not meet her needs.
We lodged the SEND35 appeal in the first month against Sections B, F and I, with a covering statement that set every disputed line against the council's own advice. The evidence went in on the tribunal's date, with provider profiles for two specialist settings the family had visited.
The working document ran to two rounds. By the end of the second, the council had accepted the key adult, the therapy hours and a rewritten Section B. Section I was the only section still in dispute.
Five weeks before the case review the council agreed to name the family's first choice of setting. The appeal was withdrawn by consent. No hearing was listed and no hearing fee was charged.
This is an illustrative composite. It does not describe any individual family, and it is not a promise about any outcome.
In practice
Frequently asked questions
Add a Title
What is a working document?
The final plan marked up by both sides: the amendments you want in one colour, the council's response in another, until only the disputed words remain. The tribunal works from it at the hearing. Building it well is most of a content appeal.
Which sections can I appeal?
Section B, the description of needs; Section F, the special educational provision; and Section I, the school or setting named. You can appeal one, two or all three. Health and social care sections can be included alongside an education appeal.
What happens if the council concedes before the hearing?
The plan is amended by consent and the appeal is withdrawn. No hearing is listed and no hearing fee is charged. Most content appeals narrow to one or two sections before the case review.
How much does a content appeal cost with Little Nellies?
£5,400 including VAT, fixed, paid in four stages, with the working document included. Representation at a hearing is £1,080 including VAT on top, charged only if the hearing happens.
Do I need the Evidence Pack as well?
Not always. Where the council's own advice supports the amendments, the appeal runs on that. Where the evidence does not exist, or the placement case needs provider profiles and provision analysis, the Evidence Pack supplies it as separate Practice Direction compliant reports.
Are you solicitors?
No. Little Nellies is the SEND and EHCP service of Nellie Supports Ltd, a private social work practice. We do not give regulated legal advice, and where a case needs a solicitor we say so.
Section F EHCP Provision Explained
Section I EHCP Placement Explained
EHCP Appeal Guide
Read more
Related EHCP guides
Draft EHCP review
If the plan is still in draft, the review is the earlier and cheaper step.
EHCP Evidence Pack
Primary assessment and Section I placement evidence as Practice Direction compliant reports.
Tribunal hearing representation
If a hearing is listed, we prepare and attend. Charged only if the hearing happens.
Evidence review
Before you commit to a content appeal, a read of the file and an hour on the phone.
Other stages
Book a call
Book your free 15-minute call
Tell us where you are: what has been sent, what the council has said, and the date on the letter. On the call we confirm the stage, the deadline in play and whether this is the right service. We do not give advice on the call and we do not pressure you to buy.
Written by Ben Slater, Founder and Principal Social Worker, registered social worker (Social Work England). Reviewed by Ben Slater, Principal Social Worker, registered with Social Work England. Last reviewed 10 September 2026. Read our editorial policy.