Mediation and conflict resolution

Mediation: special educational needs (SEN)

There is an independent organisation called the Dispute Avoidance and Resolutions Service (DARS). This organisation aims to resolve disagreements about SEN. If your disagreement is about disability discrimination, you should use the Equality Commission conciliation service instead.

The DARS aims to resolve disagreements where parents are in dispute with a school, board of governors or authority. The service aims to find ways forward that you and the school, governors or authority can all accept. The DARS cannot force any party to do anything: all action taken through DARS is strictly voluntary. If no agreement is reached, parents can take the dispute to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST). Trying to resolve the issues through DARS does not have any effect on your right to appeal to SENDIST, and it is possible to seek resolution through DARS while the tribunal processes your case.
The DARS will provide:

• an independent, informal forum;
• a neutral venue for meeting;
• an independent and impartial facilitator (person to help with the discussions);
• a service which is voluntary and confidential; and
• an opportunity to agree what action to take.

There is a DARS contact in each authority area, but this person is independent of the authority’s SEN section. Parents can contact DARS directly by telephoning the DARS manager on 028 3751 2383.
More information about DARS

Conflict resolution (Disability discrimination)

You can contact the Equality Commission conciliation service which will try to help resolve the dispute without having to go to a tribunal. You can consult the conciliation service at any time before deciding whether to take the claim to a tribunal, or even while you are waiting for the tribunal to deal with your case. If you consult them within six months from the act of discrimination, you have an extra two months in which you can take the complaint to a tribunal. If your disagreement is about SEN, you should use the Dispute Avoidance and Resolution Service.

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