I am a parent/carer
Being a parent/carer to a child with disabilities or with special educational needs can become a stressful experience when you can't find the information, advice or support you need.
Our main aims are to give you the skills and knowledge to feel confident managing meetings and relationships, and to understand what you need to do and when. We do that by giving you clear, straightforward information about your options. We can also help you to stand back from a situation and think more broadly, or help you to focus on what’s important for you and your child.
Information
The SEND Partnership Service (SPS) offers free, confidential, impartial and legally based information to children and young people aged 0-25 years who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and their parents or carers.
We provide you with easily accessible information around all aspects of education, health and social care to help you make informed decisions.
We aim to keep all our information current, accurate and impartial. We have a range of factsheets and other useful links that can be found in the sections below. If you can’t find what you are looking for then please contact us.
Helpful Videos
What is an Education, Health and Care Plan?
Person Centred Approach
What is the duty to make reasonable adjustments?
View this video and others you may find useful provided by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
Factsheets
Please click on the factsheet below, this will open in a new window or tab.
Annual Review of an Education, Health and Care Plan
Checking your Draft Plan
Choosing a New Educational Setting for your Child or Young Person
Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment for Children and Young People
Education, Health and Care Plans
Funding for Special Educational Needs in Mainstream Schools
Glossary
Personal Budgets for Special Educational Needs
Special Educational Needs Support in Mainstream Schools
The Local Offer
What do we mean by Impartial Information, Advice and Support?
What if I do not agree with decisions about SEN Provision?
Easy Read Factsheets
Please click on the factsheet below, this will open in a new window or tab.
Information, Advice and Support you can get - What should happen
Education, Health and Care Needs Assessments - Finding out what support you need
Education, Health and Care Plans - Getting the right support
Confidentiality - Keeping what you say private
The Local Offer - Finding out about support near you
Personal Budgets - What are they
Useful Links
This section provides some useful links to other websites that may also contain relevant information and downloads of documents that may be helpful to you. These links will open in new window or tab.
Live Well Special Educational Need or Disability (SEND) Rainbow Resource
https://livewell.bathnes.gov.uk/special-educational-need-or-disability-send
Bath and North East Somerset’s Local Offer - Local information for families with a child or young person with additional needs, a special educational need or disability
Live Well Children and Families
https://livewell.bathnes.gov.uk/children-and-families​
Local family information. Discover organisations and events in Bath and North East Somerset for a range of family issues, childcare, parenting support, benefits, school and much, much more.
Live Well B&NES Adults
https://livewell.bathnes.gov.uk/supporting-adults-live-independent-lives
Supporting adults to live independent lives - a free resource providing a range of information, signposting, resources and activities to support you, or the person you care for, to live a full and independent life.
IPSEA
https://www.ipsea.org.uk/
Offers free and independent legally based information, advice and support to help get the right education for children and young people with all kinds of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
Coram Children’s Legal Centre
https://www.childrenslegalcentre.com/
Provides free legal information, advice and representation to children, young people, their families, carers and professionals on child law and children’s rights.
Carers' Centre
https://www.banescarerscentre.org.uk/
A local charity supporting people who care for family and friends who need extra support day-to-day
Specialist Autism Support Service (SASS)
http://www.fossewayschool.co.uk/professional/asd-support/
The SASS support children and young people on the autism spectrum who live in Bath and North East Somerset, their families and educational settings.
Autism Education Trust (AET)
https://www.autismeducationtrust.org.uk/
AET are a not-for-profit organisation supported by the Department for Education. Their 360-degree support programme offers education professionals training, practical tools and a wealth of free resources to better support autistic children and young people aged 0 to 25, as well as resources for parents.
FLARE Top Tips for Professionals
FLARE's Top Tips for Professionals: Virtual Communication with Children and Young People. Especially useful at the moment, where most communications are virtual.
Useful guidance on completing Tribunal Application Form.
Suffolk SENDIASS have produced two YouTube videos which families may find helpful when completing a Tribunal Appeal Application. There are separate videos for each section so you can go to the video which is relevant to you.
Guidelines for parent carers looking for support with tribunals or disputes
The SEND Information Organisations Group has written advice for parent carers looking for support with tribunals or disputes. Whilst parents and young people are free to use whoever they wish to support them, these guidlines are to help inform and support that choice.
Tomorrow’s Leaders: A world beyond Disability
https://www.excellencegateway.org.uk/content/etf3202
This page contains a link to the booklet ‘Tomorrow's Leaders: A world beyond Disability’ which includes Case Studies from Disabled Young People about their career path achievements.
Contact
https://www.contact.org.uk/
Supports families with the best possible guidance and information. Brings families together to support each other and help families to campaign, volunteer and fundraise to improve life for themselves and others.
Cerebra
Cerebra is the national charity helping children with brain conditions and their families discover a better life together.
The Buzz
The National Deaf Children’s Society have redesigned their website for deaf young people. The Buzz is for deaf young people aged 8 to 18 in the UK. It is a safe, online space created by deaf young people for deaf young people.
Young Epilepsy
https://www.youngepilepsy.org.uk/for-parents-and-carers/
Better futures for young lives with epilepsy and associated conditions
Hungry Little Minds
https://hungrylittleminds.campaign.gov.uk/
This website promotes simple, fun activities for kids, from newborn to five years. It includes short videos and simple activities that families can do together.
Council for Disabled Children
https://councilfordisabledchildren.org.uk/
Works collaboratively, from policy into practice, to ensure the best outcomes for children and young people.
National Careers Service
http://www.adviza.org.uk/services/national-careers-service
Provide personalised careers information and guidance services
Healthwatch - Bath and North East Somerset
https://healthwatchbathnes.co.uk/
The independent champion for people who use health and social care services
Global Mediation
https://www.globalmediation.co.uk/
An independent service that will provide a trained mediator to facilitate a discussion.
Education, Health and Care Plans – examples of good practice
These resources have been produced to help practitioners write good quality EHC plans that meet both the letter and the spirit of the Children and Families Act 2014.
Examples of good practice
A document to support the development of skills in writing good quality Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans
Examples of good practice year 9 and beyond
This guide seeks to build on the first resource with a particular focus on how plans should evolve for young people from year 9 reviews onwards.
Request for an Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment
https://www.ipsea.org.uk/making-a-request-for-an-ehc-needs-assessment
A template letter, from IPSEA, to request an Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment (EHCNA)
Developing Outcomes in Education, Health and Care Plans
https://www.sendpathfinder.co.uk/delivering-better-outcomes-together
This resource has been developed by the Delivering Better Outcomes Together consortium to support the development of outcomes in Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP) and can be accessed from this webpage.
Preparing for Adulthood - key topics to cover at Annual Review from year 9
https://www.preparingforadulthood.org.uk/downloads/education-health-and-care-planning/447.htm
A checklist designed around the four life domains that are widely used to think about planning for an adult life in the community
Young Epilepsy - a guide for schools
https://www.youngepilepsy.org.uk/guide-for-schools/
Online guide for schools which will help teachers to better support young people with epilepsy in their care
Action for M.E. (myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome/CFS)
https://www.actionforme.org.uk/18-and-under/your-education/school/
Lots of useful information on this website about M.E. including resources, community links and more.
Training
Delivering Quality Annual Reviews
https://learning.councilfordisabledchildren.org.uk/class/4387/delivering-quality-annual-reviews
The Council for Disabled Children (CDC) has published online training on Delivering Quality Annual Reviews. This package of online training has been developed as part of the Delivering Better Outcomes Together programme, funded by the Department for Education and delivered in partnership by the Council for Disabled Children, NDTi and Mott Macdonald.
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This is a freely available, self-guided course. It is aimed at adults with a role to play in the Annual Review process such as senior leaders, parent carers, practitioners, SEN Teams, and education teams.
Advice and Support
The SEND Partnership Service offers free, impartial and confidential advice and support to parents and carers of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
We can offer advice around Education, Health and Care, with the aim of empowering you to make informed decisions for your child’s or young person’s future. You may find it useful to talk to us, so we can advise you about the information that may be helpful to you.
Our aim is to make sure you know who to ask, where to go and what you are entitled to. We also provide training to make sure you are confident in making the right decisions and dealing with each situation.
Our team are trained in SEN legislation, but we are not legal or financial advisors, health or care professionals. But we will signpost you to those who provide advice in these areas. We do our utmost to give advice that is current, accurate and impartial.
By talking to us about how to prepare for a meeting and ensuring your voice is heard, for example, you should feel more confident about what to say and what to prioritise. We can often help you to do this do this by phone or email.
Sometimes it can be helpful to talk face to face or have someone in a meeting with you, supporting you to raise issues and ask questions. This could be an Information and Advice Officer or one of our trained Volunteer Supporters.
Getting involved
Participation
Part of our responsibility is to find a way for you to influence which services the Local Authority Commissions to support children and young people with SEND the policies they implement and processes they use.
If you would like to be involved, this could be completing a survey, attending a meeting or just letting us know your views. Please let us know