The service, in one line
A SEND disagreement resolution service is a free, voluntary scheme every local authority in England must commission independently to help parents and young people resolve SEN disputes without going to tribunal. The duty sits in section 57 of the Children and Families Act 2014: the authority must make arrangements aimed at avoiding or resolving disagreements about SEN provision, and those arrangements must provide for independent people to facilitate that. The detail of how it runs is set out in Chapter 11 of the SEND Code of Practice.
Who must provide it, and on what terms
Every authority has to commission the service, but cannot run it itself: it must be independent of the authority, and no-one directly employed by the authority may provide it. It is free to families, and it is voluntary, so it can only be used where everyone involved agrees to take part. It is also broader than people often assume. It covers all children and young people with SEN, or who may have SEN, aged 0 to 25, so it is not limited to those being assessed for or already holding an EHC plan. Gatekeeping access behind a diagnosis or EHC plan status would be a statutory error. Section 57 groups the disagreements it covers into three:
- disputes between parents or young people and the bodies responsible for SEN duties about how those duties are being carried out;
- disputes about the health or social care elements of an EHC needs assessment or plan, either between the authority and a body that commissions that provision, or between a commissioning body and a parent or young person;
- disputes between a parent or young person and a school or post-16 institution about the SEN provision it makes for the child or young person.
Why it is not the same as statutory mediation
This is the distinction most Local Offer and SENDIASS pages blur, and the one an officer most needs to get right. They are separate routes with different consequences for appeal deadlines.
| Disagreement resolution (s.57) | Statutory mediation (s.51-53) |
|---|---|
| Voluntary on all sides | Must be considered before appealing certain EHC plan decisions |
| Covers all SEN disputes for ages 0 to 25 | Tied to specific EHC plan and assessment decisions |
| Choosing not to use it has no effect on tribunal appeal rights or deadlines | A mediation certificate is normally needed before you can appeal, and it can extend the deadline |
| No inference drawn by the tribunal from non-use | Skipping required mediation can block the appeal |
Why the distinction matters for casework
A family who declines disagreement resolution keeps their full right to appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (SEND), and the tribunal draws no inference from the fact they chose not to use it. That is not true of statutory mediation, which a parent must usually contact a mediation adviser about, and obtain a certificate from, before appealing particular EHC plan decisions. Conflating the two in a Local Offer page or a complaint response misstates the duty and risks giving a family the wrong information about their deadline to appeal. The authority must also make the disagreement resolution service known to parents, young people and schools, so publicising it accurately is part of the duty, not an optional extra. For the parallel route, see mediation for an EHCP.
Where the law comes from
Related
This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.