Mediation and Disagreement Resolution Services in relation to children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough

Tender description

Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough City Council are inviting providers of Mediation and Disagreement Resolution services for SEND children and young people to complete this soft market testing exercise. This will help us to gauge the level of interest and experience of organisations delivering Mediation and Disagreement resolution services and will help inform how best to commission this service. 3.1. Please read this document and if your organisation is able to contribute to this exercise please complete the questionnaire at the end of this document and return, via email to CFA.AccessToResourcesAdmin@cambridgeshire.gov.uk by Monday 9th March 2018. Following receipt of the questionnaires, a decision will then be made internally on the best procurement approach which we will then share this at a Provider Briefing session. There is a requirement under Part 3, (sections 52-59) of the Children and Families Act 2014 for local authorities to provide Mediation Services for parents and carers of children and young people with additional needs and/or disabilities, and the young people themselves. This is a form of conciliation during the process of assessment, planning and decision making regarding Education, Health and Care Plans for elements that may be appealed to Tribunal. Families must have the offer of mediation before appealing to Tribunal and this contract will enable the Council to satisfy its statutory obligations in this regard. Keywords: Mediation, SEND