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

The Special Educational Needs and Disability Information Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS) is a statutory service which is run at ‘arm’s length’ from the Special Educational Needs decision makers and provides free, confidential, impartial advice, guidance and support to:

• Parents of children and young people up to the age of 25 with special educational needs and disabilities.
• Children and young people up to the age of 25 with special educational needs and disabilities

We can support you from your initial concerns that you/your child may have SEN through to requesting and maintaining an Education, Health and Care Plan.

We aim to:

• Encourage everyone to work together to get the best possible outcomes for every child or young person with SEND
• Help parents, carers, children and young people to express their views and play an active role in decisions about their child's/their support
• Provide high quiality information, advice and support to enable parents, carers and young people to make informed choices for their child or themselves

We are here to listen to any worries or concerns and provide a range of flexible services which include training and help with the following:

• To understand and write reports and letters
• With the Statutory Assessment process for an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)
• With annual reviews
• Support in meetings with school, college or early years setting
• Support in meetings with education, health and social care professionals
• To explore different options open to you for your child/young person’s education
• Signpost to other organisations and support groups
• Promote disagreement resolution where communication with a school or Local Authority is breaking down
• Support if your child/young person is at risk of, or has been excluded from school
• To explain the right of appeal through the SEN Tribunal system

We have produced a number of useful information leaflets to help you navigate the SEND system. These guides include a useful checklist to use when looking at schools, guidance on the process for moving from primary to secondary school and understanding the Education, Health and Carer assessment process. These are all available on the useful information pages of our website www.sendiasswokingham.org.uk

Annual report

Read the SENDIASS 2022 annual report which gives details of the work carried out during the academic year 2021/22. 

Referral by a professional

If you are a professional and would like to refer a parent, carer, child or young person you can do this by complete one of the request forms below. Consent by the person being referred will need to be obtained first:

• Request support for a parent or carer
• Request support for a child or young person

How our service can help and support young people

Watch the video by the Council for Disabled Children, funded by the Department for Education to learn about the support on offer from Information, Advice and Support Services.