Most disagreements about special educational provision can be sorted out by talking with the education setting, professionals who work with the child or the local authority.

If you need any help with this you can contact the Wolverhampton Information, Advice and Support Service who offer free impartial information, advice and support on matters relating to a child or young person’s special educational needs or disability from birth to 25 years.

It can sometimes be difficult to reach agreement so local authorities must make arrangements for both disagreement resolution and mediation services. These services are available to children with SEND and their parents or carers. The services are free and confidential and are independent of the local authority and Clinical Commissioning Group.

The Department for Education have produced guidance to provide advice for young people aged 16-25 who are unhappy with their special educational needs (SEN) provision or support at school or college and need help and guidance to sort these problems out.

For more information please view When People Can't Agree - A Guide for Young People in Education.

If you are dissatisfied with an aspect of the service delivered, please raise this with your SEND officer in the first instance. The team can be contacted by emailing SENSTART@wolverhampton.gov.uk or calling 01902 555961.

If you remain dissatisfied following our response, the local authority has a team who manages our complaints.

For further information and support please visit Wolverhampton Information, Advice and Support Service.

Before you can appeal to the SEND Tribunal, you must have: 

• Contacted a mediation adviser unless your appeal is only about the school named in your child’s plan. 
• You will need a certificate from the mediation adviser to register an appeal with the SEND Tribunal. 
• You have one month from receiving the certificate or two months from the original decision (whichever is the later date) to register an appeal with the Tribunal.

The City of Wolverhampton Council has contracted two independent companies to provide a Mediation/Dispute Resolution Service for parent/carers and young people. They are Prime Resolution and KIDS.

You can also access impartial support from Wolverhampton Information, Advice and Support Service. This does not affect your right to access mediation/dispute resolution services or to appeal.

The SEND Tribunal is a legal body. It hears appeals against decisions made by local authorities about Education, Health and Care EHC needs assessments and EHC plans. 

You can appeal to the Tribunal if the LA decides:

• not to carry out an EHC needs assessment or re-assessment for your child
• not to draw up an EHC plan for your child, once an assessment has been completed
• not to amend your child’s EHC plan after the annual review or re-assessment
• to cease to maintain your child’s EHC plan

You can also appeal if you disagree with what the LA includes in your child’s EHC plan such as:

• description of your child’s Special Educational Need (SEN)
• the SEN provision for your child
• the school (or other educational establishment) the LA names,
• if changes are made to the plan without your agreement.

The SEND Tribunal also hears disability discrimination claims against schools (and against local authorities if the local authority is responsible for the school).

Please note: The Government has extended the powers of the First-tier Disagreement Resolution and Mediation Guidance for Parents/Carers Tribunal (SEND), sometimes referred to as the ‘SEND Tribunal’, to make non-binding recommendations about the health and social care aspects of Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans.

It is only possible for the Tribunal to consider the health and/or social care aspects of the EHC plan where you are already making an appeal in relation to the education aspects of the EHC plan and the education aspect must remain live throughout the appeal.

The Government has extended the powers of the First-tier Tribunal (SEND), sometimes referred to as the ‘SEND Tribunal’, to make non-binding recommendations about the health and social care aspects of Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans.

It is only possible for the Tribunal to consider the health and/or social care aspects of the EHC plan where you are already making an appeal in relation to the education aspects of the EHC plan and the education aspect must remain live throughout the appeal.

What does this mean for parents and young people?

If you are unhappy with a decision not to issue an EHC plan, or with the special educational content or placement in the plan, you can make an appeal to the SEND Tribunal.  You are now able to request recommendations about the health and social care content of the plan at the same time. This will mean the Tribunal will take a more holistic, person-centred view of the needs of the child or young person. 

This does not prevent you also complaining about other aspects of your disagreement through other complaint procedures.  You should seek advice about the different routes available, including from your local Information Advice and Support Service.

If the SEND Tribunal makes a recommendation about health or social care elements of an EHC plan, this is non-binding. The local authority and/or health commissioner is generally expected to follow such recommendations, but they are not legally binding. Where they are not followed, the reasons for not following them must be explained and set-out in writing to you and to the Department for Education through the evaluators. If they are not followed, you can complain to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) or Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) or seek to have the decision judicially reviewed. Further information on the roles of these bodies can be found on their websites.

When can a parent or young person request recommendations about the health and social care elements of an EHC plan?

You can request the Tribunal makes recommendations about the health and/or social care aspects of EHC plans as part of an appeal relating to:

• the description of the child/young person’s special educational needs in an EHC plan
• the special educational provision specified in an EHC plan
• the school or other educational institution named in an EHC plan
• a decision by the local authority not to issue an EHC plan
• a decision by the local authority not to carry out a re-assessment for a child/young person who has an EHC plan
• a decision by the local authority not to amend an EHC plan following a review or re-assessment
• a decision by the local authority to cease to maintain an EHC plan.

How can a parent or young person request a health or social care recommendation?

If you wish to appeal against a local authority decision on any of the grounds above and want to request that the Tribunal considers your concerns about the health and /or social care aspects of the EHC plan, you should follow the normal process for bringing an appeal to the Tribunal and tick the box on the form relating to a health and/or social care appeal. Advice on making SEND appeals to the Tribunal and the appeal form is available on the GOV.UK website and further guidance can be found in the trial guide of support.

As a parent or young person, do I have to consider mediation as part of the tribunal 

Before you can register an appeal with the Tribunal, you must contact a mediation adviser within two months of the Local Authority (LA) decision you wish to appeal and consider whether mediation might be a way to resolve your disagreement with the LA. If you want to appeal only about the school or other institution named in the EHC plan you do not have to contact a mediation adviser.

You can go to mediation about the health and social care elements of an EHC plan, but this is not compulsory. You can request recommendations about health and social care issues without having to receive mediation advice or attend mediation about those issues, provided there is also an education issue about which you are appealing.

Once a mediation adviser has been contacted, or once you have taken part in mediation, you will be issued with a certificate.  This will be necessary if you are still unhappy and wish to progress to an appeal with the Tribunal. An appeal to the Tribunal must usually be made within two months of the decision about which the appeal is being made or one month following the issuing of the mediation certificate, whichever is the later. 

If mediation resolves the educational issues, you will not be able to appeal to the Tribunal on any health and/or social care aspects of the EHC plan.  However, mediation provides an opportunity for us to resolve disagreements and it can be completed more quickly than an appeal.  It does not affect your right to make an educational appeal, and some aspects of the disagreement can go to appeal even when other aspects are resolved.  

Help and further information

For more information and support about appealing a decision please visit Wolverhampton Information and Support Service.