Type of service: Family support and information services, Helplines, Parent partnerships, Parent partnerships

Website: https://www.actionforchildren.org.uk/in-your-area/services/disability/sandwell-iass/

We are the Special Educational Needs and Disability Information Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS) for Sandwell families. Our aim is to enable parents/carers, children and young people to make informed decisions about education, by ensuring they have the advice, information and support to make those decisions.We are a free, impartial and confidential service. This means we won't charge you for our service, our advice is not led by Local Authority but guided by National policies on SEND and we do not share information unless permission is given or if a child is deemed at risk.We welcome feedback, and use this to improve the support we offer: please complete our brief satisfaction survey..

Meet the team.

We are a team of friendly, qualified and experienced information advice and guidance professionals, with diverse work backgrounds including education, health and social care. We have all undertaken SEN legal training and some team members also have personal experience of parenting children with disabilities.Our diversity is our strength and we are all passionate about our work..

What we can do to help you.

• Provide clear, accurate and impartial advice about special educational needs and disability (SEND).

• Enable you to use your rights to ensure the educational needs of your child are met.

• Listen to your questions and concerns.

• Offer support and guidance with SEN procedures.

• Explain the process of accessing SEN School Support.

• Provide support in preparing for meetings (sometimes we can attend these with you, depending on our availability).

• Support you through the statutory assessment process for an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP).

• Answer questions around your child's EHCP.

• Offer support to help you through the EHC Assessment and application for EHCP.

• Signpost you to other national and local services where necessary, including support groups and activities.

• Help you to resolve disagreements (including referring you for independent SEN mediation, where appropriate).

• Provide training for parents/carers and professionals on different aspects of SEND..

How we provide support.

• A 9am-5pm telephone referral service (0121 500 4010).

• Support and advice via email (SENDIASSEnquiries@actionforchildren.org.uk).

• Providing you with a named worker.

• Supporting you to prepare for meetings regarding your child's SEND.

• Face-to-face meetings at a venue comfortable for you..

Sandwell Parent Voice.

We support Sandwell Parent Voice, which is Sandwell's parent/carer forum. They can be found on Facebook @sandwellparentvoice, and can be contacted on 0121 500 4010 (please leave a voicemail)..

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Aimed at: Adolescent , Child , Parent/carer of a child, Parent/carer of a young person, Young person

Gender: All genders

Specialisms: Generic