SEND Mediation and Disagreement Resolution Services

Description

The London Borough of Hillingdon is seeking engagement with experienced providers of SEND Mediation and Disagreement Resolution Services to participate in provider engagement prior to tendering for a new contract award. Mediation and Disagreement Resolution Services must be in place to allow children and young people with SEND and their families to seek unbiased advice and support with regards to any concerns and/or issues they have with regards to their health and/or education provision or elements of their Education and Health Care (EHC) plan. Mediation advice must be received before a family can approach the first-tier tribunal with an appeal. Mediation and disagreement resolution services are provided to help children and young people with SEND and their families resolve issues outside of the appeals process. Following Covid, the provision of mediation and disagreement resolution services moved largely to a virtual platform, this allowed the services to continue without the need for face-to-face meetings. This has proven to be successful and will be the preferred model going forward. In line with the requirements of the Children and Families Act 2014, The Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 and the SEN and Disability Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years, May 2015, an independent disagreement resolution and mediation service is required for parents/carers (until their child is 18 years of age) and young people (beyond compulsory school age and up to the age of 25 years) The Council is seeking provision for the statutory Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Mediation and Disagreement Resolution Service. This service provides impartial mediation to resolve disputes between families and the local authority or education providers, in accordance with Chapter 11 of the SEND Code of Practice. The future contract will be let for 7 years with an annual review built into contract management. The approximate contract value for the 7 year period is £1.24million The service will need to be designed to provide an agile and responsive approach to legislative change in light of the recent 'Schools White Paper 2026: Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Reform', and any subsequent changes.