Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the advice his Department issued to schools on delaying answering parental complaints until schools had re-opened after covid-19 restrictions were eased, what steps his Department took to ensure that parents were informed of the effect of that advice on reducing the time available to them to subsequently make appeals to (a) the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) and (b) other bodies.

During COVID-19 restrictions, the Department published school complaint guidance on GOV.UK and provided advice on telephone helplines, and in writing, when parents or carers requested advice on appeals to the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Tribunal and other bodies.

There was no specific advice given in this guidance regarding appeals to the SEND Tribunal as this is a separate process and does not require completion of the school’s complaints procedure to proceed. The timescale for registering an appeal with the SEND Tribunal has remained unchanged throughout the COVID-19 outbreak.