SEND Advocacy Limited

Even with the best will in the world, school is not always the right place for all children to learn and the law recognises this. Section 61 of the Children and Families Act 2014 provides that for those children and young people for whom no school would be appropriate, an alternative form of learning can be put in place: EOTAS. You can find out more about what this involves on the SEND Advocacy blog - link in comments

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 - head to the website to find out more.

Developmental Language Disorder ("DLD"), previously known as Specific Language Impairment, is a condition that affects communication skills, and occurs when children fail to acquire their own language for no clear reason. It is thought to affect around 7% of children in the UK and persists into adulthood. Whilst there is no known cause, it is possible that DLD may run in families.

You can find out more about DLD and a wide range of other SEND issues on the SEND Advocacy blog. Link to webiste in bio.

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

Every child or young person undergoing an Educational Health and Care Needs Assessment ("EHCNA") should in my view have their social care needs assessed by the local authority.

This is because almost every child or young person under 18 with Special Educational Needs ("SEN") and all children with a disability, will qualify as a Child in Need ("CIN") under s.17 of the Children's Act 1989 and as such be entitled to an assessment of their needs by a member of the local authority's disability social work team ("a s.17 assessment"). The result of this assessment can result in additional support such as the provision of a 1:1 TA to enable a child to attend holiday clubs or a Personal Budget to fund a Personal Assistant and/or respite care.

Unfortunately, I routinely support families in EHC Plan appeals where social care assessments are either not carried out at all as part of an EHCNA or they are not carried out properly in line with s.17.

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