The national evaluation of disagreement resolution services foundparents, schools and council staff remain in the dark about theexistence and function of mediation services.
Local authorities have been obliged to provide and promote independentadvisers for parents since the SEN and Disability Act 2001.
But the report said parents find accessing SEN services "frustrating andlengthy" and mediation ineffective. In some cases, mediation workersfailed to recognise the importance of independent advice.
Brian Lamb, chair of the SEN Consortium, said parents have always hadproblems accessing mediation services. He said: "There is a big lack ofawareness. The whole point of these services was to get away fromadversarial relationships between parents and local authorities."
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