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Gloucestershire County Council
Data availableSouth West
267
appeals registered, 2024 (official DfE figure)
364
appeals registered, 2025 (official DfE figure)
Data available. At least one Freedom of Information response gives real, extractable figures on tribunal appeals or outcomes for this council.
Thinking about appealing, or partway through it? These are free, independent sources of advice — not run by this site, and not run by any council.
- SENDIASS Gloucestershire — this council's own free SEND information, advice and support service. Every council is legally required to fund one, at arm's length from itself · Freephone: 0800 158 3603.
- IPSEA — Free, independent legal advice on SEN law — including EHC plans and tribunal appeals.
- SOS!SEN — Free helpline and 1:1 advice specifically on preparing a SEND tribunal appeal.
- Coram Children's Legal Centre — Free education law advice line, including SEN appeals and EHC plan reviews.
- GOV.UK: appeal an EHC plan decision — The official government guide to the appeals process itself — who can appeal, mediation, costs.
Estimated outcome breakdown
Estimated, not reported
Resolved before hearing — 264 (72.3%)
Contested, council lost — 67 (18.4%)
Contested, council won — 18 (4.9%)
Partially split — 16 (4.4%)
This council's own answer doesn't give a usable outcome breakdown. This estimate applies the pooled England-wide outcome rate (no regional sample was large enough to trust on its own) to this council's own real, officially-published appeal volume for 2025 (364 appeals) — see how estimates work.
By decision type
By decision type — 2023
| Category (council's own wording) | Appeals | Overturned |
|---|---|---|
| challenged via appeal to First-tier Tribunal (SEND) [Section 1(b)] | 61 | 57 |
By decision type — 2024
| Category (council's own wording) | Appeals | Overturned |
|---|---|---|
| challenged via appeal to First-tier Tribunal (SEND) [Section 1(b)] | 32 | 25 |
By decision type — 2025
| Category (council's own wording) | Appeals | Overturned |
|---|---|---|
| challenged via appeal to First-tier Tribunal (SEND) [Section 1(b)] | 49 | 33 |
Freedom of Information responses
Awaiting classification
Response dated 12 May 2026 (ref 45610025) to Andrew Hall's 'National FOI Request — SEND Performance Comparative Study' template. Section 1 'Outcomes of challenges to refusal-to-assess decisions' (figures based on mediations/appeals lodged during each year on the specific ground of 'refusal to assess'): (a) challenged via statutory mediation: 2023: 92; 2024: 147; 2025: 244. (b) challenged via appeal to First-tier Tribunal (SEND): 2023: 61; 2024: 32; 2025: 49. (c) of (a)+(b), where the LA changed position and agreed to assess — for (a) mediation: 2023: 69; 2024: 115; 2025: 86. For (b) tribunal: 2023: 57; 2024: 25; 2025: 33. (d) average time from refusal to proceeding with assessment after successful challenge: 'Gloucestershire County Council do not currently report this information in the format requested.' Section 6 'SEND Tribunal appeals and concessions' (all grounds, not limited to refusal-to-assess): (a) total appeals registered at First-tier Tribunal (SEND), 'figures include all appeals lodged during each year regardless of the grounds': 2023: 242; 2024: 263; 2025: 356. (b) number of those appeals conceded by the authority before final hearing ('Outcomes of contested hearings are not sought under this question'): 2023: 191; 2024: 190; 2025: 141.
Caveat: As with other responses to this same national template, Section 1(b)'s 'refusal-to-assess' tribunal appeal counts (61/32/49) are a narrower subset of Section 6(a)'s all-grounds tribunal appeal totals (242/263/356) for the same years — the two figures measure different populations and should not be conflated or summed. The letter notes figures are based on appeals/mediations 'lodged during' each year, so outcomes for later-lodged 2025 cases may still be pending/incomplete as of the 12 May 2026 response date.