SEN Conciliation: Is there a pattern to referrals?

Abstract

There has been growing interest in conciliation and mediation as a method of resolving disputes in Special Educational Needs in the UK. The Queen's Speech (1999) promised a new Special Educational Bill. This, among other things, would require local education authorities (LEAs) to establish conciliation arrangements for resolving disputes with parents. While there have been some studies of models of conciliation practice, and indeed many are currently under development and construction, there has been little published on patterns of referrals for conciliation. This paper explores such patterns in one LEA.