SEND Advocacy Limited

For many parents and carers of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (“SEND”), having dedicated 1:1 support in school is the difference between their child's placement succeeding (or having any chance of succeeding) or not.

There are many reasons why a very high level of individualised support might be required, including constant vigilance to prevent harm to a child and/or to others, frequent interventions to enable a child to access a bespoke curriculum delivered at a pace and/or in a manner significantly different to that followed by the rest of the class and/or remain engaged and on task.

Often schools and local authorities appear implacably opposed to the deployment of such support, however, frequently citing the need for 'independence' as a reason to refuse or reduce it.

If you are a parent or carer navigating the challenging and complex world of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (S.E.N.D.) in England, including securing appropriate support, and would like support to achieve the best educational outcomes for your child or young person, like and follow for advice, information and insight into all things SEND.

One of the important things to know about key stages is that when a child or young person with an EHC Plan reaches a key stage change their EHC Plan needs to be reviewed in line with the specific statutory timescales for Phase Transfers.

You can find out more about this, and other SEND issues, on the SEND Advocacy blog - head to the SEND Advocacy website to find out more.

If you are a parent or carer navigating the challenging and complex world of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (S.E.N.D.) in England and would like support to achieve the best educational outcomes for your child or young person, like and follow for advice, information and insight into all things SEND.

You can also register your interest for the SEND Advocacy Academy - online SEND courses specifically for parents/carers - and receive a free PDF on appeals to the SEND Tribunal - links in comments

In the more than eight years I have been working the SEND advocacy space, I have found that there is never any shortage of people available to tell parents of SEND children where they are falling short, but significantly fewer people are prepared to step up and offer support.

Hi, I'm Alice, SENDParent and lawyer. I set up SEND Advocacy to help families of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to secure the support they need to thrive.

I combine my professional legal knowledge and expertise with personal experience as a mother to an AuDHD child (now teen) to help parents and carers navigate England’s complex SEND system successfully; giving your child the best chance of a bright future.

If you are appealing section I (placement) of an EHC Plan, you may be invited to participate in a JADR hearing. These are short, usually 1hr long, confidential meetings similar to mediation, except overseen by a judge not a mediator. It is important to know that the judge at the JADR will not be on the panel at the final hearing if the appeal continues, and they are likely to give robust views on the merits (or otherwise) of the parties' positions.

Done well JADR can be a helpful alternative to the stress of a tribunal hearing and even if it is not successful it can provide a useful opportunity to understand how a judge views your case, and to ask about the strengths and weaknesses so that you can focus on these before your final hearing.

If you are a parent or carer navigating the challenging and complex world of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (S.E.N.D.) in England and would like support to achieve the best educational outcomes for your child or young person, like and follow for advice, information and insight into all things SEND.

You can also register your interest for the SEND Advocacy Academy - online SEND courses specifically for parents/carers - and receive a free PDF on appeals to the SEND Tribunal - links in the comments

The barriers that reasonable adjustments are designed to overcome assume a variety of guises. Some affect a child's physical environment, such as a lack of wheelchair accessibility or the absence of hearing aid loop systems, whilst others impact a child's mental wellbeing, such as rigidity of teaching techniques or the blanket application of uniform or homework policies.

nstalling ramps and lifts is an obvious way to improve access for students with mobility isuses, but other adjustments are less intuitive. For children with visual impairments, increasing the light of the room, or having learning resources available in other formats such as Braille are examples of reasonable, and inexpensive, adjustments.

If you want to find out more about reasonable adjustments head to the blog on the SEND Advocacy website - link in the bio/LinkTree

And if you are looking for support in navigating England's complex SEND system, from requesting an EHCNA to appealing an EHC Plan and more, like, follow and share

You can also register your interest for the SEND Advocacy Academy - online SEND courses specifically for parents/carers - and receive a free PDF on EHC Plan Appeals - link in the comments

Support provided at the level below an Education Health and Care Plan ("EHC Plan") is often recorded in an Individual Education Plan, which might also be called a Pupil Passport or SEN Support Plan or something else entirely.

These plans are more granular in detail than an EHC Plan and should be reviewed more regularly (ideally every term) in line with a child's progress and changing needs. If your child is on the SEN register they should have a plan, regardless of the name it's given.

If you are a parent or carer navigating the challenging and complex world of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (S.E.N.D.) in England and would like support to achieve the best educational outcomes for your child or young person, like and follow for advice, information and insight into all things SEND.

You can also register your interest for the SEND Advocacy Academy - online SEND courses specifically for parents/carers - and receive a free PDF on appeals to the SEND Tribunal - links in the comments