Should a school representitive attend a mediation meeting, in an appeal for refusal to asses twice

Im finding it hard to understand the process. I am appealing refusal to assess twice for an EHCP. My son yr5.
my son been on the waiting list for assessments for 3 years, so no official diagnosis.
I have sent in the appeal and all the documentation apart from the mediation letter, although had made contact within the time frame. So now appeal has not proceeded until i get that letter or have meeting.
Since - i have spoken with mediation services and agreed to have a mediation meeting with LA.
An appointment has been given. They have asked for a school representative to attend.
I now need to understand . how to respond and proceed, esp if im not happy with the school. Its all very confusing.
It would be great to be able to speak to someone about the whole process and how to proceed.

is it true I cannot proceed with an Appeal without a mediation certificate.?

I logged an appeal for a refusal to assess twice for an EHCP. i appealed with all the documentation apart from the mediation cert, although i had requested one within the allowed time frame, it had not arrived. Now Ive been asked do i want a mediation meeting? I have agreed , but now it appears i cant do both have an mediation meeting and Appeal to a trbunal. So what do i do ?

Can the LA refuse to attend a dissagreement resolution meeting and / or mediation prior to Tribunal?

I'm working with a family who were thinking of cancelling their Tribunal (luckily they haven't). They have been offered a Disagreement Resolution meeting by the mediation service. I am unsure if this is the same as formal mediation? Having waited 4 weeks for a meeting date the mediation service has responded as per below. I am at a loss as to what to advise further to the family now. Is there no statutory duty for the LA to attend either disagreement resolution and / or mediation?

After contacting your Local Authority, we have now received a response from them to your voluntary Disagreement Resolution request. On this occasion, your LA has, unfortunately, declined to participate in this meeting.

We are therefore closing this case. This does not preclude the possibility of the LA contacting you directly to attempt to resolve the problem. If we subsequently receive a response from your Local Authority, we will contact you to discuss further.

You may wish to consult your SEND Tribunal about your alternative options for proceeding with your Disagreement Resolution request.

Recently attended formal mediation with my LA on the grounds they are refusing to conduct a EHC needs assessment. However during the meeting the LA representative advised they could not make a decision and that the new information shared, would need to be presented back to their send panel for reconsideration. Is this allowed? I thought the purpose of mediation was to resolve issues if able to do so? I.e make a decision.

I don’t want school to attend mediation. Refusal to issue. The school see no issues, whereas my daughter is in the verge of EBSA. They have never ...

... supported any referrals, despite my persistent requests since reception. I finally paid for a dyslexia assessment in Y3 which identified moderate dyslexia but recommended SALT & ASD assessment. The ASD referral was refused at triage as school information said she was fine. So I paid for those assessments too. She was diagnosed Autistic & SALT highlighted language difficulties, following instructions 0.4 percentile, her other scores were 2 percentile or below apart from 1 which was 40 percentile which is how SALT thought her lack of understanding was being missed. I have seen via SAR school stating my child has no issues & that it is me. The mediation company have invited the school and the Headteacher & SENDCO are attending. I really don’t want them there but the Mediation company said they have to. I also asked for just one decision maker from the LA attend but I have been told the manager & case worker have to attend. I have also been diagnosed Autistic & I feel intimidated. I thought it was up to the parties in the mediation to request who is invited, not the mediator.