About Us

SEND Tribunal and Mediation Manager
£57,171 - £72,186 per annum
Permanent
Full Time (36 hours)
Wandsworth, London
The role requires strong leadership, supervision and management of the end-to-end Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST) process.

Are you motivated by delivering and developing a high-quality tribunal process that makes a difference to the lives of young children with Special Educational Needs and their families? 

As a SEND Tribunal and Mediation Manager, you will develop, lead and deliver a high-quality response to all aspects of the formal dispute and Tribunal process. You will lead a dedicated team who will have the skills and expertise to explain and defend the reasoning behind decision making. You will be part of the wider SEND and Inclusion Service who provide support to children, parents and settings ensuring our approach is fair, lawful and transparent.

About the role 

You will work as a member of the SEND Assessment and Review Team who lead on all aspects of the SEND Code of Practice (2015) statutory processes linked to Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP). You will be responsible for the preparation of evidence and a key part of the role is to support families, professionals and colleagues through either the Mediation or Tribunal process. You will represent the Local Authority at Tribunal hearings and be responsible for preparing evidence and all aspects of case management. 

To fulfil this role, you will demonstrate substantial knowledge of: 

• The Children and Families Act (2014) and subsequent Regulations
• The SEND Code of Practice (2015) and subsequent legislative and statutory requirements
• Legislative and statutory requirements relating to Local Area SEND Ofsted Inspections
• The processes linked to both Mediation and First/Upper Tier Appeals.

Essential Qualifications, Skills and Experience 

• A successful track record of experience in a service for SEND Mediations and First/Upper Tier Tribunal Management.
• An ability to understand and develop appropriate and lawful systems to support parents, children and young people and practitioners involved in the tribunal process to ensure an experience that is modelled on good practice.
• Substantial experience and evidence-based practice in written and oral case presentation based on local decision making.
• Experience of ensuring Mediation and Tribunal cases are recorded and evidenced to demonstrate impact for children, young people, and their families and to aid improvement in service delivery.
• A professional qualification in a related field: A range of specific qualifications could be appropriate such as a legal qualification, SEND legal practice, substantial SEND experience/qualification.

This is a public facing post and so home working is by agreement. 

If you meet the above criteria and thrive in a challenging yet highly rewarding environment, we encourage you to apply for this opportunity. 

For an informal conversation about the role, please contact Emma Maffre by emailing Emma.Maffre@richmondandwandsworth.gov.uk

Closing Date: 26 October 2025
Shortlisting Date: w/c 27 October 2025
Interview Date: w/c 3 Nov 2025
Test/Presentation: You will be expected to demonstrate your skills in this specialist field

Richmond and Wandsworth Better Service Partnership are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions to the Councils and can improve the way we deliver services. 

We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer. If you require any reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment and selection process, please let us know. 

We are also committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Some posts may be exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to these posts will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

We offer a wide range of benefits designed to attract, develop, and reward our employees such as 40 days annual leave (including Bank Holidays), flexible working and a generous pension plan.  

Richmond and Wandsworth Councils