Keep Talking

It is always worth raising your concerns at the earliest opportunity with your child or young person’s school or setting and if appropriate with the Local Authority. Having a constructive conversation focussed on the child or young person’s needs   can sometimes resolve matters quickly and effectively. Where possible, maintaining   a positive working relationship and keeping channels of information open with all those involved in your child or young person’s education is helpful.

1. Difficulties with your child’s school?

Have you tried talking to

• your child’s class teacher?
• the SENCo (Special Educational Needs Coordinator)?
• the Headteacher?
• the governor with responsibility for Special Educational Needs (SEND)? It is their responsibility to ensure that the funds delegated for SEN are spent on those children with identified needs. You can contact them through your child’s school.
• Your child’s school may be part of an academy trust chain, or it may be a Local Authority maintained school. The school website will indicate the status of the school. If the school is an academy trust, then you should contact the trust rather than the Local Authority.

It’s usually best to see this as a stepped approach so that you start by talking to the class teacher to discuss your concerns and if that doesn’t resolve the issue, then ask to speak to SENCo etc.

You can at any point contact SENDIASS by phone 01865 810516 or email [email protected] and they can provide you with advice, information and support which might help you resolve issues. 

Have you got a copy of your child’s Pupil profile or a highlighted provision map and support timetable?

• Are the outcomes appropriate?
• Do they cover your child’s identified SEND?
• Do you ensure that you attend termly reviews, parents’ evenings?

If you are worried, you do not have to wait until parents’ evening to discuss your concerns, you can ask for a meeting. Please remember it may be difficult for the teacher to see you during school hours.

If you feel your child is being discriminated against at school because of their disability, the Equality & Human Rights Commission may be able to help you.

Disability discrimination is when someone is treated less well or put at a disadvantage for a reason that relates to their disability in one of the situations covered by the Equality Act.

The treatment could be a one-off action, the application of a rule or policy or the existence of physical or communication barriers which make accessing something difficult or impossible.

The discrimination does not have to be intentional to be unlawful.

Contact the Equality Advisory Support Service (EASS): 0808 8000082.
You can email using the contact form on the EASS website: Contact Us – Equality Advisory and Support Service

2. Difficulties with the Local Authority(LA)?

The Local Authority has a wide remit. It is important to identify which team you need to speak to, for example if you have an admissions issue then you need to contact the admissions team.

For concerns around the Education Health and Care needs assessment (EHCna) or Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) processes then you need to contact the appropriate SEN casework team.

If your child or young person is undergoing an EHCna then you will need to contact the Assessment Officer and if your child or young person has an EHCP then you need to contact the EHCP Casework Officer.

The EHCP Casework Officer for your child is called ‘the Named Officer’. This officer’s details will be on all letters from the LA and on the portal.

You can contact them:

• to discuss any concerns you have that may not have been resolved at school
• to arrange a meeting
• to request further information
• to request an early annual review

If a statutory assessment (EHCna) of your child’s needs is taking place, you can contact the officer whose details are at the top of your letter from the LA to enquire about its progress. You can also check the progress of the assessment via the portal if this is how the request was submitted.

If a statutory assessment has been refused, or you don’t agree with the content of the proposed Education Health and Care Plan, then you can write or ask for  a meeting with the Officer to put your views. This might be called a Next Steps meeting. This is a possible route to resolving disputes informally before considering formal mediation.

3. If your differences are still not resolved

If you are unable to reach agreement, and are considering lodging an appeal to SENDIST, you must consider mediation (unless the appeal is Part I only).

Mediation is a statutory right for parents and young people in dispute with their local authorities (LAs) in certain situations.

This means that if a parent or young person wants mediation, the LA or the responsible commissioning body (for health) must arrange it – it is not optional from their perspective if the parent or young person wants to exercise that right.

If you decide not to pursue mediation obtain a certificate from the mediation service to include in your appeal paperwork

You may be able to request access to a neutral regional mediation service.

The neutral mediation service for Oxfordshire is:

Global Mediation

You can contact them via the details below:

Global Mediation Ltd (SEN)
Molteno House,
302 Regents Park Road,
Finchley,
N3 2JX
Tel: 020 8441 1355
email: [email protected]

What is mediation?

Mediation is one of a number of different ways of resolving a disagreement and tends to be used when the people involved are finding it difficult to communicate about the issue. Mediation involves an impartial third party who won’t take sides.

The mediators are interested in helping people who disagree to find solutions they can agree on. They help both parties identify the issues that need to be sorted out and what can be done to resolve them. This can lead to helpful ideas and solutions that no one had thought of before.

The process of mediation can only be started if both parties are willing to join in. It is a confidential process and either party can withdraw at any time. Taking part in mediation may not resolve all the issues but you may find areas of agreement and manage to ‘clear the air’.

Your local SENDIASS can support you with information or by providing you with  access to someone who may be able to go with you to a meeting (e.g. an Independent Parental Supporter.)

Here is a link to Global Mediation’s website which has a useful video explaining mediation: What is mediation? – Global Mediation – Process to Resolve Disputes

Taking part in mediation will not affect any rights you have in law regarding the disagreement, such as your right of appeal to the SEN and Disability tribunal.

If you do reach an agreement, full or in part, using mediation, you can ask the SEND tribunal to include this agreement as part of their judgement. This means the agreement becomes binding like any other Tribunal decision.

Taking account of your child’s views

The Code of Practice which governs the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities process says that it is important to involve a child in decisions made about their education.

Your child is more likely to achieve success in their educational goals if they understand, and are involved in, setting outcomes

It is always best to ask your child for their views during any decision making process. This might include reviews or where they would like to go to school

SENDIASS Oxfordshire can offer all year round:

• A telephone helpline, 9.30-2.30 weekdays with answerphone outside these hours: 01865 810516
• Information, advice and support on matters to do with a young person’s SEND
• Help with communication between you, the school and the Local Authority
• Trained volunteer Independent Parental Supporters and Independent Supporters
• Advice about preventing and resolving disagreements
• Training events for parents and groups
• Individual booked appointments