Kids Mediation

Mediation is an informal, voluntary process which involves an independent facilitator (the mediator).

Mediation works best when parties to the dispute come to the meeting with a real desire to resolve the disagreement and a willingness to negotiate.

Using mediation does not affect the parent /carer’s or young person’s right of appeal to the SEND Tribunal. For more information about the SEND Tribunal, please visit their website.

A parent or young person can ask for Disagreement Resolution (DR) at any time during the SEND process, even when you have already lodged a Tribunal appeal. Access to disagreement resolution covers all children and young people with SEND, whether or not they have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan).

However, the other party or parties involved in the disagreement have to agree to take part before it can take place. Otherwise Disagreement Resolution works in exactly the same way as Mediation.

Disagreement Resolution is for these types of disputes:

• How Local Authorities or education providers (early years, schools, colleges) carry out their education, health and care duties for children or young people with SEND.
• About the SEND provision made by education providers
• About health and social care provision during all the stages of the EHC plan process.

Disagreement Resolution can also be used to resolve school exclusions involving children or young people with SEND.

This service is for parents/carers, young people, local authorities, education providers (early years, schools, colleges) and health services. If referrals are made by anyone other than parents/carers or young person, they should be informed before you make contact with our service.

This service is free for families. Our telephone number is a local call rate number to ensure service users do not incur unnecessary costs.

We are open 9.00am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday, except bank holidays. You can leave a message on our answering machine outside office hours. We aim to call you back within 2 working days.

Parents/carers and young people over 16 can make referrals directly. Anybody else involved with the child or young person and who does not have parental responsibility should check with the family first before contacting us.

Requests for mediation and disagreement resolution can come from:

• Parents/Carers
• Young people over 16
• Local Authority Officers including Social Care
• Health Services representatives
• SENDIASS Officers (on behalf of the family or young person)
• Education Providers (early years, school, college, PRU etc)
• Other parties, such as voluntary agencies (on behalf of the family or young person)

You do not need to send us any paperwork. A member of staff will take your referral and explain the next steps.

Kids SEND Mediation Service has an experienced panel of independent, experienced mediators who are highly-skilled professionals. They all have an accredited qualification in SEND mediation.

The mediator:

• helps those in dispute to reach agreements that are acceptable to all parties.
• is impartial and does not take sides.
• facilitates discussions and ensures that everyone is treated fairly.
• is in control of the process but not of the outcome of the mediation. It is the parties that find solutions and decide the outcome.

When parents / carers / the young person have decided to go to mediation or disagreement resolution, we will make all the practical arrangements and help all involved to prepare for the meeting.

Dates for most mediation meetings are arranged within 30 days of the decision to go to mediation.

The mediator or case worker will help all parties involved prepare for the mediation by clarifying the issues to be discussed. A brief summary is provided in advance of the meeting, including any new information about the child / young person. This ensures that everybody is prepared and knows what needs to be discussed and resolved.

The mediator or caseworker will help establish who should be at the meeting, and when and where it should take place.

Our staff will keep everybody involved informed about progress.

Mediation is about understanding the issues of the disagreement and trying to solve them. It brings together the people who know the child or young person.

It is not about “who is right and who is wrong” and the focus is on the present and the future rather than the past. People work together to resolve problems with the help of the mediator and make the decisions. This is different to the Tribunal, where a panel hear the parties’ evidence and then make a ruling.

A Kids SEND mediator manages the mediation meeting, which usually lasts between 2 and 3 hours. The mediator makes sure everyone at the meeting can have their say and are listened to. Our mediators are impartial and they do not take sides or impose decisions.

Usually people reach an agreement, which is put in writing with the help of the mediator and a copy given to everyone.

Following mediation, we issue a certificate within 3 working days to confirm that mediation has taken place. This ensures that when families are not satisfied with the outcome of the mediation meeting, they have 1 month to make a tribunal appeal.