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kids send mediation and disagreement
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resolution
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the acronyms used in this presentation
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are ccg which is clinical
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commissioning group c or yp
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which is child or young person
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dr disagreement resolution ehcp
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educational health care plan
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la local authority MIAS
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mediation information awareness service
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p or yp parent or carer
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or young person cendias or
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is special educational needs and
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disability
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information advice support service
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so information included in this
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presentation
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what is send mediation what does a
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mediator do
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the mediation information advice service
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MIAS disputes are they for mediation or
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disagreement
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resolution dr who is involved in
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mediation and dr
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kids mediation service step by step
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including the mediation meeting
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does kids send mediation work and we
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have some statistics relating to this
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what families and supporters say about
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us and finally
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kids contact details
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so what is send mediation mediation
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helps resolve the disagreement you have
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with the local authority or health
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services
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if you are not happy with the mediation
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outcome you can still go to tribunal
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parents carers and young people over 16
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can make a referral to kids directly for
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ages
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not to 25 year olds mediation is free of
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charge
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it is confidential informal quick
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and with a written unsigned mediation
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agreement
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at the end the mediator manages this
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process
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a mediation meeting is around two hours
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long and takes place near you
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due to covet restrictions meetings are
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online at the moment
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and the mediator helps to set this up
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what does the mediator do the specialist
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send mediator
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helps you prepare for the mediation
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meeting and make sure the child
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or young person are at the centre of
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discussions
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they are impartial and do not take sides
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or give opinions about who is right or
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wrong
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the mediator manages the meeting and
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ensures everybody is listened to
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and able to give their views so that
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people can
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understand each other and can work
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together to find good solutions
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mediation information advice you must
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have
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mediation information advice MIAS
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before going to mediation or making a
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tribunal appeal
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you need to contact kids within two
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months of the date of the
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local authority decision letter to
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arrange the mias
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my ass takes about 20 minutes and is
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usually done
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on the telephone and at a time that
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suits you
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it gives you information about mediation
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and the tribunal
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so you can choose what is right for you
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you can ask as many questions as you
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like disputes that fall
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under mediation mediation is for
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education health care process related
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issues
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such as refusal to assess or to reassess
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refusal to issue an ehc plan
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contents of the final ehc plan including
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health and social care parts of the plan
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refusal to amend the ehc plan
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ceasing the ehc plan
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a local authority officer with
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decision-making power must attend your
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mediation meeting
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whenever possible the mediation meeting
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should take place within a month
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from kids telling the local authority
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that you have asked
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for mediation
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disputes that fall under dr disagreement
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resolution
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dr is for all other send related
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disagreements
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including placement part one
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you can request dr at any time even when
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you have already lodged an
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appeal but dr is voluntary for
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all involved in the disagreements
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including
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the local authority or health care
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dr can also be used when you are in
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disagreement with the nursery
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school or college who is involved in
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mediation or dr
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the key people at mediation are
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parents carers the child or young person
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especially a young person over 16 and
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able to take part
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in their mediation the local authority
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the nursery school or college
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and of course the mediator others taking
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part might be
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professionals involved with the child or
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young person
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including social or health care parental
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and young person supporters
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family or friends advocates cendias
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signers and interpreters
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[Music]
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mediation step by step if you choose to
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go to mediation
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we will tell the local authority if you
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choose to go
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tribunal we send you the mediation
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certificate
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so you can make your appeal we sort out
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the mediation meeting
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date and time the main participants and
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appoint a mediator
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the mediator contacts everybody gets
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detailed information about the case
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confirms who should attend and helps you
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prepare for the mediation meeting
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the mediator manages the meeting and at
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the end
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writes a mediation agreement which is
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signed by
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all and forms a contract between parties
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the mediation or dr meeting slide one
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mediation meetings currently take place
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online for example through skype zoom
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microsoft teams or a telephone
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conference
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to comply with covered 19 restrictions
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when restrictions are lifted your
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meeting can be face to face
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at a nearby venue or online if you
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prefer
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before the main meeting starts you can
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have a brief confidential chat with the
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mediator
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if you have any questions or concerns
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during the meeting you can have breaks
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and private meetings
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for example with your supporter to
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discuss and consider any decisions
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or with the mediator to tell him or her
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something in private
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the mediation or dr meeting slide two
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at the start of the joint meeting the
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mediator
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introduces everybody and explains the
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ground rules
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the mediator also sets out the agenda on
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what is to be resolved
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the parties in mediation usually the
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parents
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or young person and the local authority
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explain their views and decisions in
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turn
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followed by the other participants
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the mediator ensures everybody can speak
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freely
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and is heard without interruptions the
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mediator helps
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everybody fully understand the issues to
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be resolved
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the mediator then manages discussions
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until solutions are found
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and agreed and he or she will put them
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in writing
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and the mediation agreement is formed
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here are some kids mediation statistics
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more families an average of 70 opt for
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mediation rather than tribunal
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most referrals are for refusal to assess
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refusal to issue a plan and contents
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of the final ehc plan
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75 of mediations take place
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within 30 days of notifying the local
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authority
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and they are around two hours long
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over 85 percent of mediations result
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in agreements and 99 of agreements
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are adhered to over the last 12 months
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97 of mediation participants
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were satisfied or highly satisfied with
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kids service
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some examples of comments received about
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our service
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this is a parent's email to one of our
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mediators
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just wanted to pass on our thanks again
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for all your advice during this process
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i know that for you it is just part and
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parcel of your day job
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but honestly you explain the whole
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process so clearly
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and calmly and with such warmth that you
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took some of our uncertainty and fear
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away
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this is what a parent said about
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participation of her 16 year old
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daughter
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i wanted to say thank you for helping my
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daughter
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take part in her mediation this was the
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first time she has been able to
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articulate her needs
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and participate in a meeting about
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herself
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she was anxious but everybody at the
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meeting and especially the mediator
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gave her a lot of confidence and she is
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very proud about it all
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parents comments we gained the outcome
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we wanted
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however even if that had not happened i
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feel the mediation
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really helped us explain the problems
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our child had at school
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i believe that mediation would have
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produced a good and helpful outcome
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even if the local authority had not
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changed their decision
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as actions were also agreed with the
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school
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parents emailed to a kids mediator
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we just wanted to thank you again so
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very much for all your help
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both before today's meeting and at the
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meeting itself
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i was terrified about the whole thing
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especially the opening statement
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because it was so important to us not to
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let our son down
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and to get him the help he so
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desperately needs
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and wants thank you for putting us both
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at ease
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and for guiding us through everything
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and in particular
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helping to tie everything together with
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the written agreement
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action plans and dates
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comments from a parental supporter
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having experienced mediation in other
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local authorities
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the kids process was much more
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accessible
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and much less stressful for the parent
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and the young person involved
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the written agreement at the end was
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clear specific
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and precise
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comments from a foster parent the
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mediator was able to understand me and
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what i wanted from the meeting
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and was able to ensure my feelings and
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views were heard
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she kept me informed about the process
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and next steps
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so i was always aware of what was going
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on
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thank you for what you have done and to
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help get the
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outcome my child needs
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so if there are any questions please do
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get in touch
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you don't have to make a referral and we
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are always happy to explain our service
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you can contact us on zero treble three
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zero zero six two eight three five
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or you can email us sen mediation
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at kids.org dot uk
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or you can visit our website
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www.kids.org
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dot u k forward slash mediation
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hyphen info
Mediation
Mediation is a type of disagreement resolution for disagreements that can be appealed to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal.
Mediation is a way for you to discuss things with local authority staff which are led and supported by someone independent. Discussions happen at a meeting, either in person or online and you can take someone along to support you. Sometimes people from other organisations also go along, such as staff from your child’s school or college.
It’s less formal than going to a tribunal to appeal. It doesn’t cost anything for you to use and you don’t need to be represented by a lawyer.
Mediation is different from disagreement resolution because it’s specifically for parents and young people who are considering appealing about parts of the Education Health and Care (EHC) plan process. It’s not used to resolve disagreements about general SEN support.
In Southend, mediation services are provided by KIDS SEND Mediation Service .
If parents and young people want it to, mediation can take place following decisions by a local authority:
- not to carry out an EHC needs assessment
- not to draw up an EHC plan
- after receiving a final EHC plan or amended plan
- not to amend an EHC plan
- to cease to maintain an EHC plan
If you decide that you want to appeal one of the decisions above, you must contact a mediation advisor. This is to see whether mediation could help you to resolve your disagreement without going to appeal. If you decide to use mediation, a meeting will be set up between you and the local authority. If you decide not to use mediation, you’ll be given a certificate which allows you to start your appeal with the First Tier Tribunal (SEN and disability).
If you decide not to go into mediation and tell the mediation adviser, they will send you a certificate within three working days and you can then register your appeal. You do not have to use mediation if you do not want to, you only must consider whether to or not.
The local authority must tell you about mediation and who to contact for the initial advice when they send you their decision.
The deadline for appealing is
- two months from the date of the letter you were sent by the local authority about their decision, or
- one month from the date a mediation certificate is issued
whichever is the later.
You can register an appeal without considering mediation first if the appeal is only about:
- the name of the school or college named on the plan
- the type of school or college specified in the plan
- the fact that no school or other institution is named
If you choose mediation the local authority must take part. The meeting will be arranged within 30 days.
When the meeting has finished the mediator issues you with a certificate. You need this certificate if you still want to register an appeal with the First Tier Tribunal.
Mediators must be trained and accredited and are independent of the local authority and Clinical Commissioning Group.
If you go over the two-month deadline for considering mediation, or want to appeal without a certificate, the law says you can still approach the Tribunal to see if you can register your appeal.
Why Choose Mediation?
A helpful video from KIDS SEND Mediation explaining mediation and disagreement resolution..
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