Definition
A working document is the version of an EHCP that parents, the local authority, and the tribunal mark up with proposed amendments during an appeal, annual review amendment process, or working-document negotiation. It is not a legally binding plan, but it is the document the tribunal will work from at hearing.
In context for parents
Key checkpoints
- The version of an EHCP marked up with proposed amendments during appeal or annual review.
- Not itself legally binding, but it is the document the tribunal works from at hearing.
- LA produces a working document after appeal is lodged; parent responds with tracked changes.
- A strong parent working document tracks specific replacement wording for every disputed part, cites the supporting advice, and keeps Section B and Section F internally consistent.
- At hearing, the tribunal works through it section by section.
Working documents appear in two main contexts. In tribunal: after an appeal is lodged, the LA produces a working document showing proposed wording, and the parent responds with their amendments shown in tracked changes. The tribunal directs an updated working document at each case management stage. By the hearing, the working document shows everything in dispute, usually highlighted in yellow for the LA's proposed wording and blue for the parent's. In annual review amendment: where the LA proposes to amend the plan after an annual review, the amendment notice (section 22 SEND Regulations 2014) is followed by a working document for parents to mark up before the amended final plan issues.
What a strong parent working document does:
- It accepts wording where wording is acceptable.
- It tracks specific replacement wording for every part the parent disputes, not "improve" or "make more specific" but actual proposed sentences.
- It cites the supporting advice (EP report paragraph 5.2, SaLT report 4.3) next to each amendment, in the right margin or as a comment.
- It is internally consistent: every need in Section B must have provision in Section F.
What a weak parent working document does:
- Marks problems without proposing wording.
- Edits in isolation without tracking.
- Omits the supporting evidence reference.
- Treats Section B and Section F as separate problems rather than a linked pair.
At hearing, the tribunal works through the working document section by section. Where the parent has proposed clear wording with evidence behind it, the panel typically directs that wording, sometimes with minor tweaks. Where the parent has only flagged a problem, the tribunal cannot redraft for them.
Related terms
The terms parents most often see alongside Working Document.
Education, Health and Care Plan(EHCP)
A legally binding document, issued by a local authority in England, that describes a child or young person's special educational needs and the provision the LA must arrange to meet them.
Annual Review
The statutory yearly meeting where an EHCP is reviewed and updated. The LA must decide within four weeks whether to maintain, amend, or cease the plan.
SEND Tribunal
An independent tribunal that hears appeals against local authority decisions on EHC needs assessments, EHCP contents, school placement, and disability discrimination by schools.
Final EHCP
The legally binding version of an EHCP issued at the end of the assessment or amendment process. Parents have a right of appeal to the SEND Tribunal from the date the final plan is issued.
Where parents ask about this
Parents usually find this page in the run-up to a SEND tribunal hearing, or after an annual review amendment notice has arrived. Searches include "working document EHCP template", "working document tracked changes tribunal", and "how to mark up working document SEND". A Beaakon SEND advocate or solicitor can draft the parent working document for you, line up every amendment against the EP/SaLT/OT advice, and run the working-document negotiation through to the final hearing.
References
The primary legislation, statutory guidance, research, and clinical tools this page draws on.
- The Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014, regulation 22 (amendment notice)
- SEND Code of Practice (DfE / DoH 2015), chapter 9
- Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Health, Education and Social Care Chamber) Rules 2008
- IPSEA: working document guidance
- [L v Clarke and Somerset CC [1998]](https://www.ipsea.org.uk/l-v-clarke-and-somerset-county-council-1998-elr-129)