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Bracknell Forest Council
Data availableSouth East
106
appeals registered, 2024 (official DfE figure)
129
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.
Estimated outcome breakdown
Estimated, not reported
Resolved before hearing — 94 (72.3%)
Contested, council lost — 24 (18.5%)
Contested, council won — 6 (4.6%)
Partially split — 6 (4.6%)
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 (129 appeals) — see how estimates work.
By decision type
By decision type — 2024 (partial, Apr-Dec)-2025
| Category (council's own wording) | Appeals | Overturned |
|---|---|---|
| Refusal-to-assess decisions challenged via appeal to First-tier Tribunal (SEND) | 55 | 51 |
Freedom of Information responses
Response (xlsx attachment 'FOI 025 response.xlsx') to Andrew Hall's 'National FOI Request — SEND Performance Comparative Study' batch template (sent to 150 authorities). Section 2 'Outcomes of challenges to refusal-to-assess decisions': (a) challenged via statutory mediation — 'There is limited data prior to 01/04/2024. The Local Authority is unable to provide reliable data for the calendar year 2023 and January-March 2024.' 2023: not held; 2024 (01/04/2024-31/12/2024): 55; 2025: 76. (b) challenged via appeal to First-tier Tribunal (SEND): 2024 (01/04/2024-31/12/2024): 25 appeals; 2025: 30 appeals. (c) of (a)+(b), number where the LA changed position and agreed to assess (by mediation agreement, conceding appeal before hearing, or Tribunal order) — Mediation: 2024 (01/04/2024-31/12/2024): 27; 2025: 51. Tribunal: source text reads 'Tribunals: 2024: held from 01/04/2024 to 31/12/2024 – 25 appeals'; 2025: 26 appeals. Source note: 'This data is help[sic] separately for mediation and tribunal appeals.' (d) average time from original refusal to decision to proceed with assessment after a successful challenge: 'This data is held for tribunal appeals only. The average time between original refusal and outcome of challenge was 5 months for calendar years 2024 and 2025.' Section 8 'SEND Tribunal appeals and concessions' (all grounds, not just refusal-to-assess): (a) total appeals registered at First-tier Tribunal (SEND) against the authority: 2023: 46 appeals; 2024: 106 appeals; 2025: 133 appeals — note: 'many appeals from 2024 and 2025 calendar years are still ongoing.' (b) number of those appeals conceded by the authority before final hearing: 2023: 'The LA do not hold this data'; 2024 (01/04/2024-31/12/2024): 80 appeals; 2025: 56 appeals.
Caveat: Figures for 2024 are consistently given as a 9-month partial year (01/04/2024-31/12/2024) rather than the full 2024 calendar year the template's own definitions section specifies, so are not directly comparable to the full-year 2023/2025 figures without adjustment. The Section 2(c) 'Tribunal 2024: 25 appeals' figure is ambiguously worded in the source and could be read either as 'all 25 tribunal challenges from that period resulted in the LA agreeing to assess' or as a restatement of the 2(b) total — transcribed verbatim rather than interpreted. Section 8(a) (all grounds of SEND tribunal appeal, 46/106/133) is a broader population than Section 2(b) (refusal-to-assess grounds only, 25/30 for 2024/2025) — the two should not be added together or confused as covering the same cases.