What about mediation?

You have to consider mediation before they can appeal to a tribunal. But approaches can be inconsistent and depend on the local authority representative having the power to make decisions.
Parents are often asked to negotiate or mediate away their children’s rights – with councils trading hours a week or month of speech and language therapy for not going to a tribunal. An expert’s report saying the child needs these hours of therapy will more than likely see the tribunal order that, so you should be careful.