Report for East Ayrshire Council, March 2010

Morag Steven — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 16:38:30 +0000

Consultation report March 2010

East Ayrshire Council Educational & Social Services asked Common Ground Mediation to find out what children and young people with additional support needs think about their education. We spoke to over fifty children and young people at six schools and their opinions are detailed in this report. We intend to continue this work in some other East Ayrshire schools in the new school session.

Is mediation in need of promotion? Article for Tribunals Journal

Morag Steven — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:05:05 +0000

Is mediation in need of promotion? (PDF)

Professors Neville Harris and Sheila Riddell share their views following research into dispute resolution in education in England and Scotland.

From The Scottish Educational Journal, October 2009

Morag Steven — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 11:34:29 +0000

Communication is the Key
Reflections of Additional Support Needs (ASN) Mediators
Meeting the needs of children who have additional support needs is complex. This area of the education world has its own language, processes, deadlines and systems. Legislation and other guidance contains some terms with no objective definitions. The same child in two different schools could be assessed and supported in different ways. The very nature of the matter in hand invests the process with a level of emotion and potential for tension that is often absent in other professional and parental contact.
The Additional Support for Learning (ASL) Act is intended to be a helpful vehicle for managing these complexities. It aims to strengthen the education system for children, parents and professionals. At first sight, the Act and its accompanying Code of Practice may appear complex. But in their intentions and main themes, they are no more complex or unusual than other education legislation.
One of the main themes of the Act is to bring services together in order to meet the needs of children and young people in education. Another main theme is to give parents and young people an equal part in that process. In fact, these two are a single theme: that is, to establish practices and ways of thinking so that it comes to be taken for granted that all those with a part to play will work together and talk together. The ASL Act is clear on this matter: the obligation to work together – and that includes parents – means giving from your own area of expertise (including parents’ expertise) to a wider process intended to meet the child’s needs in education.
In these matters there are no absolute definitions of the right way to do things. Every child is different, every child’s circumstances differ, the schools they attend and the teachers who work in them are different, local authorities differ in how they do things. Parents differ in their approaches and priorities, and so do professionals. Yet these are the people who must arrive at joint decisions, not just over matters such as assessment and intervention, but also over what terms like “significant” and “complex” might mean in the case of an individual child. It is because of this uncertainty that working together, talking together and trying to understand each contributor is so important.
It is inevitable that differences of opinion will arise. Differences of opinion are drivers for change and are not to be feared or avoided. What is to be feared and avoided is allowing them to become entrenched disagreements or even personal grievances.
Two effective ways of working through differences of opinion can be for an opinion to change – possibly in the light of new information and/or a compromise to be reached. Neither of these comes about of its own accord. Both require people to talk, and to be able to understand the other opinion and reasons behind it.
A good starting point for such open discussion is the assumption that whatever differences of opinion there might be, all the contributors have in mind what they believe to be the interests of the child. That is, they are all on the same side.

One of the keys to success is working to explore and understand why someone has the opinion they have. A school/education authority’s opinions will probably be informed by the fact that they must take account of what resources they have or can get, and the fact that they have the needs of other children to meet at the same time. Parents want what they believe to be the best for their child. This can cause many education disputes. Some are resolved by the courts. Some are resolved by forced compromises that leave one side feeling permanently hard-done-by. Some are never resolved, and drag on bitterly for years until the child reaches school leaving age. Many feel these situations are battles which are won or lost. Although there will always be differences of opinion like this, the ASL Act offers access now to address situations at different levels.
Communication and establishing mutual trust is important. The more we trust someone, the less formal and detailed our agreements need to be. We trust that plans will be carried out, and we trust that our ability to communicate with the other party will address problems that may arise. If we can communicate with and respect each other, we can create more effective and mutually satisfactory outcomes.
Conflict, or potential conflict, can be a vehicle for positive change. When we disagree, it helps define what the important issues are for us. The solution to conflict is not to win it, or to avoid it. Rather, it is to engage as effectively as possible with other people while keeping the child at the centre. The rewards can be considerable.
Sandra Mitchell
Mediation Manager
RESOLVE:ASL Mediation Service

Morag Steven
Director
Common Ground Mediation