“I don't know what else to do, I feel lonely and deflated — sending her to school every morning is a war.”

We hear this most. the opening post of the Mumsnet thread "EHCP declined - what next?", re-read at source 4 September 2026 — she was refused an assessment, and she appealed.

EHCP refusal rates by council (2025)

Name: EHC needs-assessment refusal rates by English council, 2025
Creator: Axion Labs
License: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

If a letter arrived this week saying your council will not assess your child, the first thing worth knowing is that it is a council decision and not a verdict on your child. The second is that there is a deadline on it, and it is shorter than it feels.

The clock on a refusal letter

Two months — to lodge an appeal with the SEND Tribunal, counted from the date on the council's decision letter — or one month from a mediation certificate, whichever is the later.

Before you can lodge — you must first contact a mediation adviser and get a certificate. You do not have to go through the mediation itself; you do have to get the certificate.

Twenty weeks — is the statutory limit for the whole EHC needs assessment process, from the request to a final plan, if the council does agree to assess.

You are very far from alone in this, and here is the measured version. Across the 152 English councils with published Department for Education figures for 2025, 43,282 requests for an EHC needs assessment were refused out of 162,564 made. Council by council, the refusal rate averages 26.4% across those 152 councils — that is the mean of the 152 individual rates, which is not the same arithmetic as dividing the two totals above, and the two numbers differ slightly because bigger councils weigh more in one and not the other. Every figure here is the DfE's own, cited and linked below.

What to do tonight

Twenty minutes, tonight, with the refusal letter in front of you.

Write the deadline on the letter itself, in pen. Two months from the date on the decision. Put it in your phone as well. Everything else can wait a day; that date cannot.
Ring a mediation adviser tomorrow and ask for the certificate. The council's letter has to tell you who they are. You are not agreeing to mediate by asking — you are collecting the piece of paper the Tribunal needs before it will take your appeal.
Start a folder tonight, on the kitchen table. The letter, the school's reports, anything a GP, paediatrician, speech therapist or educational psychologist has written, and a page in your own words about what a normal Tuesday morning is actually like. That last page is evidence too, and nobody but you can write it.

None of that costs money. Free specialist advice on all of it is available from IPSEA, an independent charity, and it is genuinely good.

Look up my council's refusal rate — free

Your council's own DfE figures against the England average, with what it does and does not tell you about your case.

26.4%

England average refusal rate

162,564

Assessment requests

43,282

Refused at the first stage

5,062

Reached the SEND Tribunal

DfE 2025 figures · 152 of 153 councils rated · verified 03/08/2026

Why this matters: a refusal is a council decision, not a legal verdict. The SEND Tribunal that hears an appeal is independent of the council and decides on the evidence in front of it — so a high local refusal rate says more about the council's threshold than about the children being refused.

By region

The England average hides the spread. These are the 9 English regions ranked by average refusal rate, with the highest and lowest council in each.

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Region	Average refusal rate	Councils rated	Highest	Lowest
North East	32%	12	Sunderland (57.9%)	Stockton-on-Tees (15.8%)
South West	29.9%	15	Devon (52.5%)	Bristol, City of (16.2%)
North West	27.6%	24	Cheshire West and Chester (40.5%)	Cheshire East (16.4%)
West Midlands	26.8%	14	Walsall (61.2%)	Wolverhampton (6%)
Yorkshire and The Humber	25.6%	15	Doncaster (45.3%)	Sheffield (9.6%)
East Midlands	25.5%	10	Derbyshire (50.4%)	Leicester (0%)
South East	25.4%	18	Bracknell Forest (60.5%)	Milton Keynes (0%)
East of England	24.5%	11	Bedford (41.8%)	Cambridgeshire (7.2%)
London	23.4%	33	Sutton (47.6%)	Waltham Forest (0%)

Every council, ranked

Search by council or region

Showing all 152 rated councils.

Council	Region	Refusal rate	Requests	Refused	To tribunal
Walsall	West Midlands	61.2%	995	609	30
Bracknell Forest	South East	60.5%	337	204	4
Sunderland	North East	57.9%	648	375	71
Devon	South West	52.5%	2,329	1,223	175
Derbyshire	East Midlands	50.4%	2,682	1,352	335
Gateshead	North East	49.5%	400	198	82
East Sussex	South East	49.3%	1,216	599	199
Kent	South East	48.2%	4,401	2,122	446
Sutton	London	47.6%	658	313	69
Windsor and Maidenhead	South East	45.5%	354	161	36
Doncaster	Yorkshire and The Humber	45.3%	825	374	14
Wakefield	Yorkshire and The Humber	45.2%	858	388	14
Southwark	London	43.3%	638	276	33
North Somerset	South West	42.2%	957	404	26
Bedford	East of England	41.8%	558	233	15
Derby	East Midlands	41.1%	708	291	45
East Riding of Yorkshire	Yorkshire and The Humber	40.8%	642	262	10
Cheshire West and Chester	North West	40.5%	1,029	417	12
West Northamptonshire	East Midlands	39.9%	1,575	628	57
Solihull	West Midlands	39.8%	533	212	10
Hackney	London	39.6%	674	267	0
South Gloucestershire	South West	39.5%	848	335	34
South Tyneside	North East	39.4%	353	139	15
Central Bedfordshire	East of England	39%	826	322	38
Darlington	North East	38.2%	285	109	0
Lincolnshire	East Midlands	37.4%	1,988	743	35
Northumberland	North East	37.1%	923	342	11
Cumberland	North West	36.6%	673	246	3
Halton	North West	36.1%	526	190	1
Wokingham	South East	36.1%	415	150	29
Staffordshire	West Midlands	35.9%	2,427	872	178
Kingston upon Hull, City of	Yorkshire and The Humber	35.3%	967	341	14
Liverpool	North West	35%	2,119	742	16
Kirklees	Yorkshire and The Humber	34.9%	954	333	50
Hillingdon	London	34.3%	749	257	24
County Durham	North East	34.1%	1,157	394	73
Bury	North West	33.8%	622	210	16
Isles of Scilly	South West	33.3%	6	2	0
Stockport	North West	33.3%	959	319	11
Gloucestershire	South West	32.9%	1,734	571	61
Brighton and Hove	South East	32.6%	733	239	10
Warrington	North West	32.6%	625	204	2
Hartlepool	North East	32.5%	246	80	14
Lambeth	London	32.5%	769	250	12
Thurrock	East of England	32.4%	744	241	21
Telford and Wrekin	West Midlands	32.2%	562	181	20
Knowsley	North West	31.4%	724	227	5
Cornwall	South West	31.3%	1,544	484	43
Barnsley	Yorkshire and The Humber	31%	783	243	2
Bexley	London	30.9%	786	243	13
Bolton	North West	30.8%	814	251	15
Blackpool	North West	30.6%	506	155	8
Somerset	South West	30.5%	1,437	438	62
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole	South West	30.2%	1,182	357	11
Barnet	London	30%	990	297	66
Oldham	North West	29.2%	872	255	12
Salford	North West	29.2%	1,052	307	19
Birmingham	West Midlands	28.6%	2,726	779	81
Hounslow	London	28.4%	817	232	41
Stoke-on-Trent	West Midlands	28%	860	241	12
Haringey	London	27.8%	554	154	39
Wigan	North West	27.6%	1,052	290	23
Wiltshire	South West	27.6%	1,209	334	33
West Sussex	South East	27.5%	2,834	778	108
Nottinghamshire	East Midlands	27.3%	1,762	481	26
Coventry	West Midlands	27.2%	1,156	315	26
Hertfordshire	East of England	27.2%	3,340	909	168
Middlesbrough	North East	26.9%	446	120	0
Brent	London	26.8%	757	203	24
Bromley	London	26.4%	1,122	296	63
Rotherham	Yorkshire and The Humber	26.1%	1,105	288	24
Leicestershire	East Midlands	25.9%	2,000	519	50
Swindon	South West	25.8%	761	196	13
Tameside	North West	25.7%	961	247	12
Lancashire	North West	25.3%	3,630	918	87
Luton	East of England	25%	519	130	14
Lewisham	London	24.8%	664	165	7
Kingston upon Thames	London	24.7%	356	88	6
Plymouth	South West	24.6%	1,126	277	32
Merton	London	24.2%	607	147	6
Westmorland and Furness	North West	24.2%	598	145	6
Essex	East of England	24%	4,307	1,035	172
Rochdale	North West	24%	782	188	14
Bradford	Yorkshire and The Humber	23.6%	2,070	489	29
York	Yorkshire and The Humber	23.6%	529	125	6
Richmond upon Thames	London	23.5%	345	81	7
Wandsworth	London	23.5%	597	140	27
Warwickshire	West Midlands	23.2%	2,204	512	93
St. Helens	North West	23.1%	666	154	22
Manchester	North West	22.9%	2,269	520	9
Torbay	South West	22.8%	421	96	25
Herefordshire, County of	West Midlands	22.7%	582	132	17
Newham	London	22.5%	1,000	225	6
Dudley	West Midlands	22.4%	953	213	13
Southend-on-Sea	East of England	21.9%	662	145	7
Oxfordshire	South East	21.7%	1,801	390	68
Bath and North East Somerset	South West	21.4%	527	113	0
Slough	South East	21.3%	460	98	14
Enfield	London	20.5%	1,025	210	20
Havering	London	20.5%	766	157	7
Hammersmith and Fulham	London	20.4%	339	69	6
Sefton	North West	20.2%	1,013	205	28
Hampshire	South East	20.1%	4,159	836	70
City of London	London	20%	5	1	0
Islington	London	20%	481	96	37
Harrow	London	19.9%	592	118	11
Shropshire	West Midlands	19.6%	857	168	0
Wirral	North West	19.4%	1,401	272	30
Newcastle upon Tyne	North East	19.2%	725	139	14
Medway	South East	18.9%	1,159	219	22
Redbridge	London	18.8%	698	131	13
Suffolk	East of England	18.8%	2,609	490	136
Reading	South East	18.3%	595	109	38
Tower Hamlets	London	18.1%	957	173	17
Redcar and Cleveland	North East	18%	372	67	2
Peterborough	East of England	17.9%	770	138	3
Trafford	North West	17.9%	537	96	7
Dorset	South West	17.3%	1,021	177	23
Buckinghamshire	South East	17.2%	1,754	302	50
Blackburn with Darwen	North West	17.1%	386	66	0
Kensington and Chelsea	London	17%	141	24	5
North Lincolnshire	Yorkshire and The Humber	17%	546	93	4
North Northamptonshire	East Midlands	16.9%	1,383	234	21
Portsmouth	South East	16.6%	590	98	3
Cheshire East	North West	16.4%	1,065	175	9
Surrey	South East	16.4%	3,283	537	75
Bristol, City of	South West	16.2%	1,471	239	21
North Tyneside	North East	15.8%	570	90	15
Stockton-on-Tees	North East	15.8%	685	108	1
Westminster	London	15.6%	270	42	10
Worcestershire	West Midlands	15.1%	1,973	297	14
North Yorkshire	Yorkshire and The Humber	14.9%	1,412	210	2
Ealing	London	14.7%	837	123	16
Camden	London	14.6%	315	46	3
Norfolk	East of England	14.6%	2,382	347	16
Barking and Dagenham	London	14%	636	89	18
Sandwell	West Midlands	13.9%	1,286	179	13
Croydon	London	13.3%	1,367	182	10
North East Lincolnshire	Yorkshire and The Humber	13.3%	503	67	3
Calderdale	Yorkshire and The Humber	13.2%	627	83	8
Greenwich	London	12.6%	809	102	8
Leeds	Yorkshire and The Humber	10.3%	3,424	353	2
Sheffield	Yorkshire and The Humber	9.6%	1,454	139	18
Nottingham	East Midlands	9%	788	71	22
Rutland	East Midlands	7.5%	134	10	1
Cambridgeshire	East of England	7.2%	1,978	142	33
Wolverhampton	West Midlands	6%	647	39	2
Southampton	South East	4.9%	612	30	11
West Berkshire	South East	2%	450	9	6
Leicester	East Midlands	0%	199	0	1
Milton Keynes	South East	0%	749	0	88
Waltham Forest	London	0%	703	0	12

Not separately published in this release: Isle of Wight.

Source: DfE, Education, health and care plans (requests for an EHC needs assessment), published 25 June 2026. Open Government Licence v3.0.

Where these numbers come from

Every council figure, the 26.4% England average, the 43,282 refusals out of 162,564 requests, the 5,062 that reached the Tribunal and the 152-of-153 coverage: DfE, Education, health and care plans (requests for an EHC needs assessment), published 25 June 2026 — DfE, Explore Education Statistics, Open Government Licence v3.0.
The two-month appeal deadline and the one-month-from-mediation-certificate alternative, quoted verbatim: “An SEN appeal has to be received by the SEND Tribunal within two months from the date on the decision letter/ letter enclosing the final EHC plan or one month from the date on the mediation certificate, whichever is the later.” — IPSEA, fetched and read 4 September 2026. The mediation-certificate requirement is on IPSEA's refusal-to-assess page.
The twenty-week statutory limit, quoted verbatim: “Your local authority has 20 weeks from the date they receive the request for the assessment to give you the final EHC plan.” — GOV.UK, fetched and read 4 September 2026.

The line at the top of this page is a real one, from a parent whose council had just refused to assess her daughter. She wrote that she did not have the energy to appeal. Strangers on that thread told her to appeal anyway, and they were right — a refusal to assess is one of the easier things to overturn, because the legal threshold for assessing is deliberately low.

The table below is here so you can see your own council's number rather than wonder about it. The paid pack is optional, it is at the bottom, and everything it draws on is published free on this page.

— Andrew at Axion Labs. Write to me at hello@getaxionlabs.com if a page here is wrong, or a step does not work.

If you would rather not build the pack yourself

Everything above this line is free and stays free — the rates, the deadlines, the mediation step, the evidence list. The paid pack only assembles your grounds into the Tribunal's own format. If it does not fit your decision letter, reply to the receipt and a person — me — will either fix it or refund you. Expect a reply within a few days.

Build my SEND appeal pack — £11.99

Answer plain-English questions about the decision and your child, and get Tribunal-ready grounds in minutes — matched to the right HMCTS form, SEND35 or SEND35A.

General information, not legal advice. Free specialist SEND advice is available from IPSEA (ipsea.org.uk), an independent charity, and from your local SENDIASS service. One thing worth knowing about SENDIASS: most are funded by the council and staffed by council employees, required only to work "at arm's length" — Coventry's own impartiality policy states the service "is funded by the Local Authority and service staff are Local Authority employees", and commits to signposting families to IPSEA and others so they can "verify the impartiality of the information and advice provided". They are genuinely useful; they are not independent of the body you are appealing. The paid pack is optional and everything it draws on is published free here.