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🧩 SEND Appeals Guide

Can I Appeal a SEN Statement Decision in Northern Ireland?

Statutory assessment, statements of special educational needs and appeals to SENDIST.

✅ Last verified: 24 September 2026 📚 Sources: listed at the end, each checked on the date shown 🇬🇧 Northern Ireland

💬 Check your own situation

Describe what has happened. The checker answers only from this guide, plus what you tell it, and says so if something is not covered.

Check a SEND Decision →

Who this guide is for

Parents and carers in Northern Ireland who disagree with an Education Authority decision about a statutory assessment or a statement of special educational needs. It explains what you can and cannot appeal to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST), and the time limit.

What this guide does not cover

⚖ At a glance

  • Northern Ireland uses statements of special educational needs, made by the Education Authority (EA).
  • The EA has 26 weeks to issue a final statement.
  • New SEN Regulations are planned, but the Department of Education says they are now expected to start in September 2027. Until then, the current rules apply.
  • You must appeal to SENDIST within 2 months of receiving the EA's decision.
  • SENDIST only deals with the educational parts of a statement: Parts 2, 3 and 4.

The questions that decide the answer

  1. Is the school in Northern Ireland? Yes: this guide. England, Wales and Scotland have different systems and their own guides.
  2. What has the EA decided? Some decisions can be appealed and some cannot (see the two lists below).
  3. When did you receive the decision? The 2 months counts from when you received it.

What you can appeal to SENDIST

What you cannot appeal

For these, talk to the school or the EA. The EA also runs a Dispute Avoidance and Resolution Service (DARS).

How to appeal

You must appeal within 2 months of receiving the decision from the EA. The EA must tell you when you have a right of appeal. Ask SENDIST for its "How to Appeal" booklet, which has the form and a checklist of documents. You can keep talking to the EA after you appeal: if you reach an agreement, you can withdraw the appeal or the tribunal can make an order that reflects it. This guide does not cover whether using DARS changes the time limit: ask SENDIST.

"I think the school is discriminating because of my child's disability"

SENDIST also deals with claims of disability discrimination about children at school. The Equality Act 2010 does not apply in Northern Ireland. This guide does not cover the law or the time limit for these claims: ask SENDIST or the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland.

Deadlines

Money figures

This guide gives no money figures.

Where to go for help

The decision letter: it tells you whether you have a right of appeal.

SENDIST: 028 9072 4847 or 028 9072 4886.

Education Authority: eani.org.uk, including DARS.

Special Educational Needs Advice Centre and Children's Law Centre: senac.co.uk and childrenslawcentre.org.

Advice NI: 0800 915 4604

Traps

📜 Sources (checked 24 September 2026)

  • Department of Justice (justice-ni.gov.uk): Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (what can and cannot be appealed, Parts 2, 3 and 4, 2 months from receiving the decision, How to Appeal booklet, 028 9072 4847 / 028 9072 4886, useful links; page updated 22 October 2024).
  • Department of Education (education-ni.gov.uk): Written Ministerial Statement on the SEN Regulations (NI), 26 June 2026, and news release: implementation planned for 1 September 2026 now expected September 2027.
  • Northern Ireland Assembly Research and Information Service: NIAR 178-15 (26 weeks to issue a final statement) and NIAR 108-2026 (draft SEN Regulations 2026 would change the timescales; SEND Act 2016 mostly needs secondary legislation). Education Authority SEND service: statutory assessment timeline (26 weeks from start to end unless exceptions apply, as set out in the SEN Regulations (NI) 2005). NI Assembly Education and Justice Committee pages: the SEN Regulations (NI) 2026 and the SENDIST (Amendment) Regulations (NI) 2026 are still proposed, with no SR number. Checked 26 September 2026.
  • National Autistic Society NI pages: Dispute Avoidance and Resolution Service (DARS) run by the EA (secondary).
  • Equality Act 2010 not applying in Northern Ireland: reused from earlier Northern Ireland guides (checked 24 September 2026).
  • Advice NI number reused from earlier guides (checked 24 September 2026).
⚠ Important disclaimer: This guide covers statements of special educational needs and SENDIST appeals in Northern Ireland as at 24 September 2026. General legal information only, not legal advice. ukworkrights.co.uk — Not a law firm.

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