The Additional Support Needs jurisdiction of the First-tier Tribunal (ASN Tribunal) is a way for families to resolve certain disagreements with their child's school or local authority.  
 

What is the ASN Tribunal? 

The ASN Tribunal is a panel of three people who make decisions on certain educational matters when there is a disagreement between a family and their child's school or local authority.  

The panel looks at the information that family and authority provide and decides how the disagreement might be settled. 

The ASD Tribunal is impartial and independent from local and national government.
 

What type of disagreements does the ASN Tribunal deal with? 

The ASN Tribunal hears and decides the outcome of appeals made by parents, young people and certain children on matters related to: 

• co-ordinated support plans (CSPs) 
• post-school transition 
• certain placing request refusals. 

The ASN Tribunal will hear certain appeals made by children aged 12 and over, including decisions relating to their capacity and wellbeing. 
 
There are other ways for you to resolve disagreements. 
 

When can an appeal to the ASN Tribunal be made? 

If you have any concerns about your child's educational needs, discuss them with his or her school, and if necessary, the local authority. If your concerns can't be addressed this way, you may be able to appeal to ASN Tribunal. 

The ASN Tribunal can look at the following possible grounds for disagreement between you and your child's school or local authority: 

• whether or not your child needs a co-ordinated support plan (CSP) 
• your child has a CSP but you are not happy with what it says 
• your child has a CSP but the support outlined in the plan is not being provided 
• you have asked for a CSP for your child and the authority has taken too long to reply or decide whether your child needs a CSP 
• the authority takes too long to prepare your child's CSP 
• the authority takes too long to review your child's CSP 
• you have asked for your child's CSP to be reviewed before the annual review date and the authority has turned down your request 
• your child is due to leave school and the authority has not made the necessary arrangements 
• you made a placing request for a special school and this has been refused 
• you made a placing request for a mainstream school and: your child has a CSP; a CSP is being prepared for your child; the authority is determining whether your child needs a CSP; you have already sent them an appeal about a refusal to prepare a CSP for your child. 

Children aged 12 and over now have many of the rights that parents and young people have. They can appeal on their own behalf if they are deemed to have capacity and their wellbeing would not be adversely affected.  
 
This does not apply to placing requests and children will not be able to appeal placing request decisions. Local authority decisions on a child’s capacity and wellbeing can also be appealed to the ASN Tribunal. A partnership service, My Rights, My Say, is available to support children to exercise these new rights.
 

Making an appeal 

If you make an appeal to the ASN Tribunal, this is the process: 

• You complete a form on the ASN Tribunal website, known as making a reference. 
• You have two months to return this from the date of the decision you disagree with. 
• If the Tribunal accepts your appeal, they register it, or ask you for more information. 
• The case statement period starts – you need to prepare your case and the local authority does too. At the end of the period, the Tribunal sends you a copy of the local authority’s case statement and it receives a copy of yours. 
• The Tribunal decides if there needs to be a hearing and lets you know. 
• If there is a hearing, you attend and make your case. 
• The Tribunal makes a decision and lets you and the authority know the outcome. 

The process can take several months. There is more information about the stages in the process, and timeframes for each, below.
 

How to make an appeal 

You must complete the appeal form on the ASN Tribunal website and send it back to them by post, fax or email. This is also called 'making a reference'. 

The reference will ask you for: 

• your name and address 
• your child's name and address 
• details of your disagreement and the local authority concerned 
• your views on the issue 
• a copy of any letter(s) you received from the authority that led to the disagreement, such as a letter telling you a CSP would not be prepared for your child or that your placing request had been turned down 
• copies of any other documents or information that will help to put your views across.
   

Deadline for appeals 

You have two months to fill in and send your reference to the ASN Tribunal. This starts from the date you received the letter from your education authority that led to the disagreement. 

If you are appealing about the time it has taken for a CSP to be prepared or reviewed, you have two months from the date the CSP should have been prepared or reviewed.  

If you are not happy with the content of your child's CSP and want to appeal about it, you have two months from the date you received the final CSP. 

You may have more time during the holiday period but it is important you do not miss your deadline. You can contact the ASN Tribunal directly for more details on deadlines. If you have missed your deadline you can also contact them for advice. 

There are also important deadlines involved once the appeal process has begun.  

When the ASN Tribunal receives your appeal, they should accept it unless: 

• it is not something the Tribunal can make a decision on  
• you haven't provided enough information (however, you will have ten working days to supply more information).  

Once your appeal has been accepted, the ASN Tribunal will register it and send a copy to the local authority. A case officer will talk to you and the authority about your appeal and the hearing. They can answer any questions you have. 

You then enter the 'case statement period', which is a chance for you to prepare a written statement of your case and possibly provide more evidence or information to back up your views. Your statement may also include your child's views. 

If you are appealing about the time the authority has taken to prepare your child's CSP you have 15 working days to send in your case statement. For all other types of appeals you have 20 working days. 
 

About the panel and appeals processes 

Will the local authority be able to present its views? 

The local authority will also prepare a written statement of its case within a set amount of time, which will include its views on: 

• the disagreement 
• the content of your reference 
• your child's views on the issues you raised in the reference 
• how it thinks the disagreement could be settled. 

At the end of the case statement period, the ASN Tribunal will send a copy of your case statement to the authority and you will receive a copy of the authority’s statement.
 

Who will the ASN Tribunal panel be? 

The ASN Tribunal is usually made up of a legal member and two ordinary members. The legal member is legally qualified and chairs the hearing. The ordinary members must have knowledge and experience of additional support needs and may help the legal member come to a decision about your disagreement. On certain occasions, the legal member alone may decide an appeal.
 

Will there be an appeal hearing? 

Not always. For some appeals, for example if your local authority has taken too long to prepare your child's CSP, the legal member or ASN Tribunal will make a decision without holding a full hearing. The ASN Tribunal will let you know if you need to attend a hearing or not.
 

What will happen at the hearing? 

If there is a hearing, it will usually take place at least ten working days after the end of the case statement period. The ASN Tribunal will speak to you and the authority to set a date that suits everyone. They will also ask you to fill out an attendance form, giving details of people you will be bringing to the hearing with you. This can be: 

• someone to support you, such as a friend, relative, befriender or professional who may be able to provide moral and practical support 
• a representative or advocate who will conduct the hearing on your behalf if you don't feel able to do this 
• two witnesses to give evidence to support your case. 

At the hearing you will be given the chance to put your views across, call witnesses, ask the authority's witnesses questions and address the Tribunal panel. 

Most hearings last a full day, although some can go on for several days, depending on the nature and complexity of the appeal. The hearing should take place at a venue within a reasonable distance of your home.
 

About ASN Tribunal decisions 

How will the ASN Tribunal reach a decision? 

The panel will look at the information you and the authority have provided - such as your reference form, case statement and, if there was a hearing, the information presented there. 

Once the panel reaches a decision, they will write to you and the authority with details of their decision. You should receive the decision within 10 working days of the hearing. If they reach a decision on the day of the hearing, they may tell you and the authority what it is. 

If your local authority refused to prepare a CSP for your child, the ASN Tribunal can either agree with its decision or overturn it and tell the authority to prepare a CSP. 

If your disagreement was about the content of your child's CSP, the ASN Tribunal can agree with what it says or they can disagree and tell the authority to change it. 

If you appealed against an authority's decision to turn down your placing request, the ASN Tribunal can agree with the refusal or  can overturn it and tell the authority to place your child in your preferred choice of school. 

The ASN Tribunal may tell the authority to carry out their decision within a certain period of time. This depends on what you were appealing about. 

What happens if I disagree with the panel's decision? 

You can't keep appealing about the same issue. If you appealed about the content of your child's CSP, you can't appeal again until the CSP has been reviewed.   

If you appealed against an authority's decision to turn down your placing request, you are unable to do so again for 12 months unless your child's CSP has been changed or reviewed. 

It may be possible to ask the ASN Tribunal to review their decision in certain circumstances. You will have 14 days from the date of the decision to make an application in writing asking for a review. If you are not able to ask for a review or you disagree with the decision reached after a review, you can make a further appeal to the Upper Tribunal. However, the grounds for appealing to the Upper Tribunal are very limited and you will need legal advice and support.   

You have 30 days from the date of the ASN Tribunal's decision to appeal to the Upper Tribunal. The education authority can also make a further appeal if it disagrees with the ASN Tribunal's decision. 

What happens if the authority doesn't follow the ASN Tribunal's decision? 

The ASN Tribunal's decision is legally binding and the local authority must follow it. If it doesn’t, you can contact the ASN Tribunal directly and ask them to investigate. If the ASN Tribunal decides the authority isn't following their decision, they can make a complaint to the Scottish Ministers.
 

Useful contacts and reading 

First-tier Tribunal Health and Education Chamber (Additional Support Needs) 
Email: HEChamberPresident@scotcourtstribunals.gov.uk 

My Rights, My Say 
help@myrightsmysay.scot 

Supporting children's learning: code of practice. Scottish Government (2017). 

Autism toolbox. A resource for Scottish schools. Scottish Government.