Brent Special Educational Needs and Disability Information Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS)

Brent SENDIASS provides free, confidential and impartial information, advice and support to children and young people aged 0 to 25 with SEND and their parents and carers.

We can provide this support by telephone, email, face to face, and through parent carer support groups, local SEN youth forums, disability groups, or training events. Currently most of our one-to-one support is offered via video call.

The range and duration of support we offer will vary and will be tailored depending on your needs.

Information and resources

We provide up to date information and resources about the law and statutory guidance on SEND including:

• education, health and social care
• national and local policy
• the Local Offer
• your rights and choices
• your opportunities to participate
• where you can find help and advice

Individual support

We also provide individual casework including:

• one-to-one advice with a SENDIAS caseworker
• help with paperwork
• liaising with nurseries, schools, colleges
• help in meetings - supporting you to prepare, and attending the meeting with you if you wish
• help to ensure your views are listened to so that you are able to actively contribute to assessments, reviews and decisions about outcomes for you or your child
• support with the education, health and care (EHC) plan process, including requesting a statutory assessment, help with Section A (parental and young person's views) and reviewing a draft plan
• advice about school exclusions related to SEND

Mediation and disagreement support

We can also advise you about the local authority's services for resolving disagreements, mediation, and the routes of appeal and complaints on matters related to SEN and disability.

We can:

• help arrange and support you when attending disagreement resolution meetings
• support you in arranging and preparing for mediation. We can attend with you, for support, if you ask us to
• support you in the process of making appeals to the First-tier Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST)
• provide advice and support if you wish to raise a complaint on matters related to SEN and disability

We also signpost to other relevant services and additional sources of advice, information and support that may be available locally and nationally.

SENDIASS for young people

If you are a young person (aged 16-25) with SEND, and living in Brent, we can offer:

• information, advice and support on education, health and social care
• help to find out what support and opportunities are available to you in your local area
• help to get your views heard
• support you to make your own decisions, we will not tell you what to do
• support with filling out forms and understanding complicated documents
• support to prepare for meetings with your school / college (and we can come with you)
• support to help you to communicate with professionals
• tell you about other organisations that might be able to help
• answer your questions about the education health care (EHC) needs assessment process and any issues to do with an EHC Plan

We don't:

• make decisions for you
• impose our personal views on you
• help you with other family problems - our role is to support you with SEND issues
• write reports in your absence

How to access SENDIASS

We accept direct referrals from parents and young people by telephone or email.

We also welcome referrals from schools and other agencies on behalf of parent carers and young people, provided they have given their consent for contact to be made with us.

Helpline

Our confidential helpline, operates a 24-hour answer phone service, all year round for occasions when the lines are busy or the office is closed. 

Call: 020 8937 3434

We aim to respond to initial enquiries at the first possibility and within 3 working days. 

Please be advised that all members of the team work part-time. Team members work in close liaison to ensure optimum service delivery. 

Tell us what you think

We welcome your feedback on the support we give families. Please fill in our short SENDAISS survey.

SENDIASS policies

Brent Special Educational Needs and Disability Information Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS) is a statutory service provided by Brent Council in executing its duties under Section 32 of the Children and Families Act 2014 and Code of Practice 2015.

IAS services are statutory, which means that every council must provide them. They are designed to ensure that parents, carers and families of children and young people with SEND have up-to-date information, advice and guidance on matters that allow them to make informed decisions about their child’s education.

IAS services have a duty to provide independent and impartial information, advice, and support to the parents and carers of children and young people who have, or who may have, a special educational need or disability (SEND). This includes children who receive the SEN support programme in schools or an education, health and care (EHC) plan.

The duties and expectations of IASS are set out in chapter two of the SEND code of practice. All IASS operate under compliance of the National Minimum Standards.