You lodged the appeal yourself
You have lodged the appeal. Now the tribunal wants the working document, and it decides the case.
We build the working document for your appeal: the plan marked up line by line with every amendment tied to evidence, run through the agreed rounds with the council until only the disputed words remain. For families who lodged the appeal themselves or through a charity. Little Nellies is the SEND and EHCP service of Nellie Supports Ltd, a private social work practice in England.
£2,700 including VAT. Up to 30 hours on the working document, across every contested section and every round with the council.
At a glance
Stage
Content appeal lodged, working document directed
Deadline in play
The working document date in the tribunal's directions
Fee
£2,700 including VAT
Hours included
Up to 30
Who delivers
One Little Nellies practitioner, within a regulated social work team
Where
England only
£2,700
Fixed fee, including VAT
Up to 30 hours
Work included
In writing after scoping
Priced
Professional help
Qualified expert MDT
Plain English explanation
What a working document is
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 directs it in every content appeal and works from it at the hearing. Building it well is most of the case.
We take a scoping look at the plan, your appeal form and the council's position, then build the working document with every amendment tied to the evidence in the bundle: Section B needs listed against the reports, Section F provision specified and quantified, Section I placement argued from the evidence. The document goes to the council, its response is read, and the next round is drafted, for as many rounds as the case takes until the document is agreed or the hearing is listed.
It does not include lodging the appeal, gathering the evidence bundle or attending the hearing. Families who want the whole appeal run for them take the content appeal package, which includes the working document. A working document family can add hearing representation without an appeal package.
Amendments without evidence are the ones that fail
The council refuses, and the Tribunal will not order, an amendment that cannot be traced to a report or a record in the bundle. The scoping look tells you which amendments the evidence supports and which need the Evidence Pack behind them before they are argued.
Is this you
Is this you?
You lodged the appeal yourself, or a charity helped you. The tribunal's directions have arrived and they ask for a working document. Nobody has told you what one looks like, only that the council will send its version and you have a deadline to respond.
The working document is the plan marked up by both sides until only the disputed words remain. It is what the panel reads at the hearing, and a good one produces concessions long before that. This service builds it for you, tied to the evidence, and runs it through the rounds with the council. It is priced by how much of the plan is contested and how many rounds it takes, and the price is fixed in writing before we start.
The tribunal's directions ask for a working document and I do not know what one is.
The council has sent its version and every amendment says "not agreed".
A charity helped me lodge the appeal but cannot draft the document.
I have marked up the plan myself and the council has ignored it.
There are too many sections in dispute to manage on my own.
The hearing is months away and I want the case narrowed before then.
What is included
What we do for this fee
Up to 30 hours of work, one fixed fee, however many sections are contested and however many rounds it takes.
Scoping look (free)
Building the document (6 to 18 hours)
Rounds with the council (up to the 30 hours)
Preparation calls (1 to 3 hours)
Ready for the case review (1 hour)
Deliverables
How this fee is calculated
The working document is £2,700 including VAT, fixed at instruction whatever the number of contested sections or rounds with the council. That is the most you will pay for this service. If the work takes longer, we absorb it. Anything outside this scope is agreed in writing before it starts.
1
What the working document is for
In a content appeal under section 51 of the Children and Families Act 2014, the tribunal directs the parties to produce a working document: the plan with the appellant's amendments in one colour, the council's response in another, and the wording each side agrees or disputes marked. Section 37 requires provision to be specified and the Code of Practice, paragraph 9.69, requires it to be detailed, specific and normally quantified. Every amendment in the working document is measured against that.
The tribunal directs it
Provision must be specified
Evidence supporting each disputed amendment
The document narrows the case
2
What the Tribunal expects it to show
Each amendment has to be traceable to evidence the council holds or the bundle contains: a need from a report into Section B, provision from a recommendation into Section F with the hours attached, a placement into Section I with the provider information that supports it. Amendments without evidence are the ones the council refuses and the tribunal declines to order. The scoping look tells us which tier the plan needs before you commit.
Children and Families Act 2014, sections 37, 39 and 51; 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, paragraph 9.69.
The test
How the EHCP working document is used
Scoping look
Send the plan, your appeal form and the council's response. The scope is confirmed in writing, usually within two working days.
Instruction
The fee is invoiced at instruction, £2,700 including VAT, fixed.
Round one
The working document goes to the council with every amendment tied to the evidence, on or before the tribunal's date.
Further rounds
The council's response is read and the next round drafted, for as many rounds as the case takes.
Case review and hearing
The finalised document goes into the case review. If a hearing is listed, representation can be added for £1,080 including VAT.
What happens and when
What happens and when
Evidence we build
Evidence we work from
We do not gather the bundle at this stage; we build the document from it. Where evidence is missing, we tell you.
The final plan, the draft and your response to it
Your appeal form and the council's response to the appeal
The council's advice: educational psychology, speech and language, occupational therapy, health, social care
The school's records and any independent reports in the bundle
Provider information for the setting you want named in Section I
What you receive
What you receive
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The scope confirmed in writing after the scoping look
The working document, built with every amendment tied to the evidence
The evidence cross reference, section by section
The document run through the agreed rounds with the council
A written note after each round
The finalised document, ready for the case review and the hearing
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 working document
£2,700 including VAT
- Up to 30 hours of work
- Every contested section, across Sections B, F and I
- Every round with the council until the document is agreed or listed
- Written note after each round
Invoiced at instruction.
If it goes to a hearing
£1,080 including VAT
- Tribunal hearing representation: £1,080 including VAT, 10 hours of representation at the hearing
- Invoiced on the hearing notice
- Not charged if the council concedes first
- Available to working document families without an appeal package
Most cases resolve before the hearing.
The journey
Three tiers, fixed in writing after scoping
One fee for the working document, however many sections are contested and however many rounds it takes. A working document family can add hearing representation without buying an appeal package.
For parents
A free scoping look so you know the scope before you pay. One fixed price, whatever the number of rounds. A practitioner who knows every line of your plan through every one of them.
For SENCOs and professionals who refer
Where the school is asked to comment on provision, we share the working document so the setting's view and the family's amendments are aligned before the council responds.
Why us
Why families choose Little Nellies for the working document
Anyone can mark up a plan. What produces concessions is an amendment the council cannot refuse without contradicting its own advice. Little Nellies builds the document through a regulated team of registered social workers and a Chartered Psychologist, priced by scope and fixed in writing before you commit.
Why families choose Little Nellies
Priced by scope, fixed in writing
Every amendment referenced to the bundle
Provision written in the words the tribunal orders
One practitioner through every round
Registered social workers and a Chartered Psychologist
Hearing representation available without an appeal package
A father had lodged a content appeal himself with help from a charity helpline. The tribunal's directions asked for a working document within six weeks. He sent us the final plan, his appeal form and the council's response.
The scoping look showed five contested sections across B, F and I, and a council that had already refused one round of amendments by letter. That placed the work in the Extended tier, and the price was confirmed in writing the same day.
The first round went to the council with every amendment cross referenced to its own educational psychology and speech and language advice. The council accepted the Section B amendments and two of the four provision lines in Section F. The second round narrowed the case to the therapy hours and the placement.
When the hearing was listed, the family bought representation for the day. Two sections went before the panel instead of five, and the working document the panel read was the one we had built.
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
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What is a working document in a SEND Tribunal appeal?
The final plan marked up by both sides: your amendments in one colour, the council's response in another, until only the disputed words remain. The tribunal directs it in every content appeal and reads it at the hearing.
How much does a working document cost with Little Nellies?
£2,700 including VAT, fixed at instruction. That covers up to 30 hours across every contested section and every round with the council. If the work takes longer, we absorb it.
Can I buy the working document if a charity helped me lodge the appeal?
Yes. That is exactly who it is for. Families who lodged the appeal themselves or through a charity can buy the working document, and can add hearing representation without an appeal package.
What if the council refuses every amendment?
That is what the rounds are for. An amendment tied to the council's own advice is hard to refuse in writing to a tribunal. What is still refused after the rounds is what goes to the hearing, and the document shows the panel why.
What happens if the case needs more rounds than expected?
Nothing changes. The fee is fixed for the working document however many rounds it takes. Work outside the working document itself, such as new evidence or hearing attendance, is agreed with you in writing before it starts.
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
EHCP Appeal Guide
How EHCP Appeals Work
Read more
Related EHCP guides
Content appeal
If you would rather we ran the whole appeal, the package includes the working document.
Tribunal hearing representation
If a hearing is listed, we prepare and attend. Charged only if the hearing happens.
EHCP Evidence Pack
Where the bundle lacks the evidence the amendments need, primary assessment as compliant reports.
Evidence review
If you lodged the appeal yourself, a professional check of the evidence behind it.
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.