10 February 2025

One of the many things the law is clear about is that parents and young people have a right to mediation whenever their local authority (LA) makes a decision that can be appealed to the SEND Tribunal, or whenever an EHC plan is made, amended or replaced.

Mediation is a free way to resolve a disagreement without going to court or to the Tribunal. A mediator is an independent person who helps both sides discuss what the problems are and how they can be resolved.

If you want mediation, your LA must arrange for it within 30 days and send a decision-maker to the mediation meeting who has the necessary authority to resolve the dispute. If the LA can’t arrange for it within this time, the LA must tell the mediation adviser, who will give you a ‘deemed mediation’ certificate which you can use to make your appeal to the Tribunal while waiting for the delayed mediation to take place.

Sounds relatively simple, doesn’t it?

Yet many LAs either don’t understand the law or choose to disregard it. We routinely see in our work that parents and young people face a postcode lottery in England when it comes to mediation about special educational needs.

Unlawful practices 

We see some LAs doing the following things:

• refusing to provide dates for mediation if they can’t arrange for it within 30 days;
• saying they can’t ‘take on’ any more mediations for the foreseeable future due to capacity issues;
• refusing to provide dates for certain types of mediation, including Section I only mediation;
• encouraging parents and young people ‘not to bother’ with mediation, because the LA is too busy or there is a backlog;
• offering internal and non-statutory ‘way forward’ or ‘next steps’ meetings but then refusing to mediate;
• refusing mediation if the parent has already submitted an appeal to the SEND Tribunal.

None of these things are lawful. Your LA can’t refuse to arrange mediation, say that it only mediates about certain things or that it is too busy, or tell you that you’ve lost your chance to mediate because you have already appealed to the Tribunal. By preventing access to mediation, LAs are denying parents and young people access to their legal rights. 

What you can do

If you live in an area where mediation is effectively available in name only, you can take action:

• Raise the issue with your LA. Consider writing to your LA’s Director of Children's Services to make them aware. You can find contact details for the Director of Children’s Services in your area in this online directory.
• Contact your MP. Write to your local MP and ask them to get involved – this is something happening in their area and they can, and should, be aware and take action.
• Take the lead on scheduling. When you speak to your mediation adviser to tell them you want mediation, offer some availability dates and ask them to tell the LA when mediation is to take place, rather than waiting for the LA to offer dates. Follow this up and ask the LA to confirm a representative is attending the mediation, and that this person has decision-making authority to resolve the dispute.
• Get support. Read our free mediation guides on our website. You can also contact us to get more support and discuss your situation.

 

About the author

As a member of the legal team, Kate provides legal support to volunteers and supervises their helpline and Tribunal Support Service work. She also writes monthly updates for the volunteers, ensuring they are kept up to date with legal and policy changes. She helps maintain IPSEA’s legal resources and briefings, and provides training to parents, carers and professionals. Kate also supports the policy team in their work. In her spare time, Kate loves to have her nose in a new book, get outside and exercise, and play with her two sons.

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