SEND Support Service

We offer SEND (special educational needs & disability) advocacy, advising and supporting parents whose children have SEN and/or a disability to gain the appropriate support in school if their child is of compulsory school age, up to age 16.

We guide parents to locate and understand the current SEND national framework and legislation. We are not a legal service; we direct parents to the right laws to support them when asking for support in school.

What we aim to do is empower parents with the tools to learn how they can more effectively advocate for their own children. We do this by offering a “side by side” approach. We do not do things for parents, we do them alongside parents until they feel equipped to advocate themselves for their children.

We offer support at a distance as well as by your side, attending school meetings and annual reviews of EHCP’s if your child has one. We can talk you through the steps the school MUST take in all areas of the EHCP process and highlight where things are not following current legislation or statutory guidelines.

If you feel your child’s support is not what they need in school and the teachers are not listening, we can help you apply for the EHC needs assessment which may lead to the Council issuing your child with an EHCP (education Health Care plan).   

Throughout the year we will be offering not only our monthly free advice drop-in session but also free single topic information sessions to highlight some of the myths around SEND and also bring along specialists in their fields to talk to parents about all things SEND. 

Thanks to NW5 and SEN advocate we were able to access this service for FREE without any fees involved, I know if I was to get this service privately, I may not of been able to afford it, especially with the cost of living crisis right now.

Our Sessions

Testimonials

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Without NW5 providing access to SEN advocate, I may not have gotten an agreement for an EHCP from the local authority. I was signposted by NW5 to the SEN Advocate, who has been helping me with every stage of my child’s SEN process. She has helped me engage with school, other professionals, local authority and attended meetings etc. This SEN advocate is very experienced and has provided legal knowledge which is important for SEN parents to be aware of. Both NW5 and SEN Advocate have made an enormous change to our families life. We are moving in the right direction with getting support for my child thanks to NW5 and the SEN Advocate. Please do get in touch with them if you require SEN advice. I am a parent of another SEN child who many years ago had an EHCP, even with my knowledge and past experience I have gained so much from the SEN advocate. Thanks to NW5 and SEN advocate we were able to access this service for FREE without any fees involved. I know if I was to get this service privately, I may not have been able to afford it, especially with the cost of living crisis right now.

MMA very grateful parent of SEN child
“

We saw a post about the SEN drop-in sessions at NW5 on Social Media. After nearly two years of floundering and battling with the school, we found a 20 minute talk with the SEN advocate gave us a clearer vision of what the school should be doing. We were able to speak to the school and get them to actually listen. It's been a very slow and cumbersome process, but with the continued support of the SEN Advocate, we feel a lot more equipped to deal with what this keeps throwing at us.

Parent