--- title: "SEND Mediation and Disagreement Resolution Service (MDRS)" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-078fc8" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-078fc8" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-078fc8.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-078fc8.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Tender" buyer: "Cheshire East Borough Council" published: "2026-10-26" --- # SEND Mediation and Disagreement Resolution Service (MDRS) Buyer: Cheshire East Borough Council Current stage: Tender OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-078fc8 [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-078fc8) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-078fc8.json) ## Summary Cheshire East Council is seeking a provider for a Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Mediation and Disagreement Resolution Service. The service will support parents, children and young people to resolve disputes about education, health and care needs assessments and education, health and care plans, as well as other issues relating to special educational needs. Mediation is intended as an alternative to a tribunal hearing, helping parties communicate and rebuild relationships. Parents and young people must consider mediation before registering an appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability); mediation can also address health and social care elements of an education, health and care plan. The service will be delivered in Cheshire East, within the North West of England. The Council invited tenders through an open competition. Bids were due by 20 November 2026 at 12:00 noon. The contract is scheduled to run from 1 April 2027 to 31 March 2030, with two possible 12-month extensions. The estimated value is £440,000 excluding VAT (£528,000 including VAT). The procurement is divided into one lot. Evaluation has two stages: a mandatory procurement-specific questionnaire first, followed for qualifying bids by financial and qualitative assessment. The Council may accept all or part of a quotation and is not bound to accept the lowest-priced bid. The procurement is under the light-touch regime. This opportunity suits providers experienced in SEND mediation and disagreement resolution, particularly those able to work with parents, children and young people, and professionals across education, health and social care. Suppliers will need to handle disputes concerning needs assessments and education, health and care plans, support communication between parties, and help address disagreements before or instead of tribunal proceedings. The service also needs to cover wider special educational needs issues and health and social care elements of plans. The single-lot requirement is identified as suitable for small and medium-sized businesses and voluntary, community and social enterprises. Bidders should be prepared to meet the Council’s qualifying requirements in the procurement-specific questionnaire and demonstrate both financial and qualitative strength in their response. ## Notice The MDRS contract is specifically linked to decisions about education, health, and care needs assessments and education, health, and care plans (EHCP), while disagreement resolution services can be used to try to resolve other issues in relation to your child's special educational needs (SEN). The Children and Families Act 2014 and the related Special educational needs and disability code of practice: 0-25 years (SEND code of practice) (DfE, 2015) place an emphasis on the avoidance of disagreements through a person-centred approach to decision-making and open communication between professionals and parents and young people. It is an alternative to a Tribunal hearing and is much quicker and less formal. Mediation enables people to communicate better with each other, and it can help re-build relationships that have broken down. Parents and young people need to consider mediation before they can register an appeal with the first-tier tribunal (special educational needs and disability). Parents and young people will also be able to go to mediation about the health and social care elements of an education, health, and care (EHC) plan. ### Lot Information Lot 1 Renewal: 2 x 12 month possible extensions available if needed ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/100831-2026 | | Notice type | UK4 - Tender Notice | | Procurement type | Standard | | Procurement category | Services | | Procurement method | Open | | Procurement method details | Below threshold - open competition | | Tender suitability | SME, VCSE | | Awardee scale | Not specified | | All stages | Tender | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 26 Oct 2026 | | Submission deadline | 20 Nov 2026 | | Future notice date | Not specified | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | 1 Apr 2027 - 31 Mar 2030 | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | £440,000 | | Lots value | £440,000 | | Awards value | Not specified | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Active | | Lots status | Active | | Awards status | Not specified | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | Cheshire East Borough Council | | Locality | CREWE | | Postcode area | Crewe | | Postcode | CW1 2JZ | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLD North West (England) | | ITL 2 | TLD6 Cheshire | | ITL 3 | TLD62 Cheshire East | | Local authority | Cheshire East | | Electoral ward | Crewe Central | | Westminster constituency | Crewe and Nantwich | | Delivery location | TLD62 Cheshire East | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 80 - Education and training services ### Codes - 80340000 - Special education services ## Release History - 26 Oct 2026 at 09:33 - Tender - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/100831-2026 ## Documents - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/100831-2026 26th October 2026 - Tender notice on Find a Tender - www.the-chest.org.uk ## Notice URLs - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents - https://www.the-chest.org.uk/ ## Provenance This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-078fc8. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-078fc8.json.