On this page we explain how you can prepare for mediation once you have decided mediation is right for you.

Remember, if you want to mediate you need to tell the mediation adviser and your local authority (LA). We have more information on our mediation: what you need to do page.

Once you tell the mediation adviser and the LA that you want to mediate, you should start preparing for it.

Know what the law says

You have a right to mediation because your LA made a decision you can appeal under the Children and Families Act 2014.

This Act, together with The SEND Regulations 2014 and case law, sets out the law LAs and other bodies (such as schools) must follow.

The mediator must have sufficient knowledge of the law relating to special educational needs, health and social care to be able to conduct the mediation. Their role is to help the parties discuss matters and see if agreement can be reached. Their role is not to advise you best or ensure your child or young person’s legal rights are protected.

This means you need to know what your child or young person is legally entitled to. That way, you can best decide whether to agree to any proposals or offers from your LA or health body in the mediation, or whether you should appeal to the SEND Tribunal.

Check what the law says about the issues you want to mediate:

If you are mediating about:	Then:
Your LA’s decision not to carry out an EHC needs assessment	Read our information on when EHC needs assessments must be carried out.  You might also like to see our downloadable pack on these types of appeals for more information.  You can consider the points we make in these resources and raise those that are relevant in your mediation.
Your LA’s decision not to carry out a re-assessment following your request	Read our information on when LAs must agree to a re-assessment request.  You will want to explain why a re-assessment is necessary for your child or young person in the mediation.
A refusal to issue an EHC plan	Read our information on when EHC plans must be issued. The legal test is when they are ‘necessary’ and you should explain why an EHC plan is necessary in your mediation.  You can also review our downloadable pack on refusal to issue appeals, as this will help you make your points for the mediation.
The contents of an EHC plan	Read our what an EHC plan contains advice and checklist so you understand what the LA must include in an EHC plan. Explain to the LA in the mediation what the LA has not included in the plan and why it is required.  You can also see what previous cases have said about provision that can or must be included in Section F of EHC plans, including various therapies.
The school or other setting (or type) named in the EHC plan	Read our information on your conditional right to have a particular setting named in the EHC plan, and the lawful reasons your LA can use to refuse your request. This will help you understand whether such a reason exists, and if not how to show it does not.  If you wanted an independent setting named in the EHC plan but your LA refused this, you should read our information on when independent settings can and should be named.  If you think it would be inappropriate for your child to be educated in a nursery, school or college due to the special educational provision they need, but your LA has named a school, then please read our information on education otherwise than in a school.
A decision by your LA to cease to maintain (stop) an EHC plan	Read our information on the process your LA must follow. Check whether your LA followed this. If it did not, it might have made an invalid decision and you can point this out in mediation.  Please also see our information on when LAs can cease to maintain EHC plans, to help you understand if your LA did not follow the law in your child or young person’s case.  If your LA did not follow the law, refer to this in the mediation. You should explain why an EHC plan is still necessary/ the LA is still responsible (as relevant).
Health care	Read our information on health care.  You can also read our information on health care and EHC plans.
Social care	Read our information about social care, and how social care needs and provision relate to EHC plans.

Get support

You can get in touch with us to speak through any concerns you have before mediation.

You can also contact your local IASS team for advice.

You can also take a supporter with you to mediation. This could be a solicitor, or someone from your local IASS team if you ask for this and they can attend. It could also be a friend or family member.

You do not need your LA or health body’s agreement to take a supporter with you, and they cannot refuse to join the mediation if you bring a supporter (whether a solicitor or not). Think about who best can support you in mediation and ask them to join. Once you have done this, ask the mediator to send them an invitation so your supporter knows when the mediation will be held and can dial in (if it is being held remotely).

You can also ask another person to join the mediation. This might be, for example, a therapist working with your child, a social worker, or someone from school or college. Mediators tell us that mediation is often effective when someone from the school or college attend the mediation as well. Consider if this would be appropriate in your situation, and who would be the right person from school or college to attend – this might be the SENCO or maybe your child’s class teacher.  

If you want another person to attend mediation (and not as your advocate or supporter), you will need the LA (and health, if relevant) to agree, although the mediator may consent to it if there is disagreement between the parties. Your LA may also ask for others to attend, and again you can say if you do not agree (although the mediator may give consent even if you do not).

Consider whether it would be appropriate for your child to attend for some or all of the mediation. They can join the mediation if you and the mediator both agree. If you think your child should attend for some or all of the mediation, ask the mediator in advance and consider how best they should be supported and prepared.

Prepare some notes

Go through the information and evidence you have which support your case and make a note of the key things you want to say in the mediation.

If you like, you can send your list of key points in advance of the mediation and ask for everyone attending to receive a copy.

However, you may prefer to keep your notes just for you and use them to help guide you in the mediation – do what works best for you. If you think you might feel a little nervous or emotional in the mediation, your notes might help you feel more confident or jog your memory of what you planned to say.

You might want to start by giving some information about your child or young person. The mediator is likely to ask you a few questions about your child. You know your child best, so give everyone at the mediation a sense of your child’s strengths, challenges, and world.

If things have changed since the LA or health body made its decision, then provide an update.

If your child or young person isn’t going to attend the mediation, the mediator must take reasonable steps to get their views - you can share these too. You might also want to have a photo of them next to you in the mediation, so everyone remembers why they are meeting and that your child or young person is at the heart of it.

You might also want to prepare some closing remarks or a short statement, so that the final statement is about your child and what they need.

Remember your options

When you are preparing for mediation, keep in mind what it is you want to achieve for your child or young person, and what is best for them.

Also remember what the SEND Tribunal can order, if you decide to appeal the matter after mediation. The SEND Tribunal will always look at the evidence it has in front of it and apply the law, not the LA or heath body’s local policies.

For example, during the mediation your LA might offer to provide some extra funding to your child’s school but does not agree to issue the EHC plan you want for your child. Consider if some extra funding will resolve the issues your child is facing, or whether an EHC plan is necessary. The SEND Tribunal cannot order an LA to provide one-off funding, but it can order the LA to issue an EHC plan which brings with it important legal rights and protections.

Another example is the LA might agree to send one of its educational psychologists to visit your child at school for an assessment but does not agree to carry out a full EHC needs assessment. The educational psychologist’s report may be very helpful in identifying some of your child’s needs, but it won’t identify all their challenges. This also won’t result in an EHC plan being issued, as an EHC needs assessment must be carried out first. The SEND Tribunal can order the LA to carry out an EHC needs assessment, which requires an educational psychologist’s input (amongst others) and can lead to an EHC plan being issued.

If agreement is reached in mediation, but afterwards you change your mind or your LA doesn’t do what it agreed to do, you can still appeal to the SEND Tribunal if you are in time. You will receive a mediation certificate within 3 working days after the mediation and you can use that when you make your appeal (unless it is a section I only appeal, for which you do not need such a certificate).

You cannot refer to matters discussed in mediation should you go on to appeal, as they are private (confidential).

If you need more information on mediation, please see our mediation pages and FAQs.  

 

Previous Mediation: what you need to do

Next The mediation process