An Overview of SENDIASS

By Marina Crean - Support Worker at Hampshire SENDIASS

Local SENDIASS (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information Advice and Support Services) organisations can be a lifeline when going through the never-ending, daunting, confusing pile of red tape that can be life changing for better or worse for the individual concerned (from baby to twenty-five years of age) depending on how streetwise you are when filling it all in…

Hampshire SENDIASS was formed in January 2019 and provides one point of contact. It is a statutory service working independently from the local authority. This service provides information, advice and support for parents and to young people themselves. Hampshire SENDIASS operates in line with nationally agreed service principles, including impartiality of information and empowerment of parents, children and young people. We signpost to other services and agencies that can give more specific information in certain cases. All staff and volunteers are trained to the Bar Board standards in the statutory framework by IPSEA, the Independent Provider of Special Educational Advice. In 2014, the Children and Families Act made it a legal requirement that the local authority in England must arrange for children and young people with a disability and their parents to be provided with advice and information about matters relating to the special educational needs and disabilities of the children or young people concerned. SENDIASS provides three pathways for assistance: Information, Advice, and Support. Parents and young people needing advice contact us via self-referral, maybe following attendance at a clinic such as those held by the Hampshire Parent and Carer Network or Barnardo’s, or by calling our telephone helpline. They can also send an enquiry by email. Sometimes a professional will make the request for them. We listen to views and concerns about educational issues, including health and social care aspects, and help to explore options. Capturing the views of the child or young person that we are working to support is essential in our work. We give advice about the child or young person’s rights regarding education and explain how to complete forms. We explain the processes and timelines involved, such as for annual reviews and exclusion processes. We assist in accessing other services, including applying for an Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment, for example. A frequent request is for advice about preparing for meetings with schools or mediation meetings with the local authority. In some circumstances, we can attend the meeting if this is needed. In some cases, we can offer support to access the statutory appeal process. This may include assistance with preparation for a tribunal hearing which we might be able to attend with the parent or young person if they cannot do so by themselves. The Hampshire SENDIASS team consists of triage support assistants who manage the initial calls and emails and signpost to services and information sources where possible. Increasing the number of triage support assistants in 2020 has been successful in empowering two-thirds of parents and young people to go on to resolve enquiries for themselves. These include advice about preparing for and attending meetings; reviewing a draft Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and how to respond to the local authority; advice about managing behaviour that challenges and where to find support, and how to respond to concerns about SEN support in school. Most of the team, including our dedicated volunteers – who attend some meetings, review Our Story drafts and read through draft EHCPs which enables us to support a larger number of enquiries – have a personal connection with SEND either as parents or in their previous professional lives, for example, as teachers, social workers or careers advisors. Section 19 of the Children and Families Act 2014 clearly states that English councils must ensure they involve children, young people and families in decisions about themselves and the local area by: • taking account of their views, wishes and feelings • allowing them to participate as fully as possible in decisions • providing them with information or supporting them to enable this participation SENDIASS is a “universal level service”, meaning that it is universally available to everyone living in Hampshire. As such, it exists at the base of the pyramid of education, health and care services. There are instances where the advice that families or young adults need goes beyond the scope of SENDIASS. In these cases, we would signpost them to other support services and specialist services within the education, health or care sectors both locally and nationally. IPSEA, for instance, provide excellent, legally qualified support to parents in certain circumstances, and we always recommend that families check whether they qualify for legal aid if they intend to avail themselves of the appeal or judicial review processes. One parent told us that the head teacher of the school finally listened to him after SENDIASS gave him information about what his son was entitled to. He felt overwhelmed before and went with whatever professionals said was right, but now he feels like he can play an active role in his son’s SEN support as he knows what he is entitled to.