Newcastle Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information, Advice and Support Service provide information, advice and support at any stage of a child or young person’s education, and we provide an Independent Supporter for families in the process of getting an Education Health and Care Plan.
This is an impartial confidential service.
We provide information, advice and support for
- parents and carers of children with special educational needs
- children and young people up to the age of 25 years
We specialise in education matters but can support with social care and health issues by signposting to partners like PALS and Healthwatch (for health) and to voluntary organisations such as the Northeast Special Needs Network who have expertise with a wide range of services.
There are two different strands of support available from Newcastle Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information, Advice and Support Service;
- Information, Advice and Support for Education and
- Support through the Education Health and Care Needs Assessment
Information, Advice and Support for Education
The first strand is information, advice and support at any stage of a child or young person’s education. The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information, Advice and Support service lead will have an initial conversation with anyone who calls the service and the support will come either from her or from a volunteer known as a Specialist Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Supporter.
Typically, parents can have their concerns listened to, Special Educational Needs policies and procedures explained to them and be offered practical support to help them in their discussions with schools, the Local Education Authority and other statutory agencies.
There are 4 Specialist Special Educational Need and Disabilities Supporters and they are all retired professionals with extensive experience in this area and a passion for seeing that the needs of children and young people are met.
Support through the Education Health and Care Needs Assessment
The second strand involves supporting parents and young people, going through the Education Health and Care Needs Assessment.
We have published our yearly Service Reviews in the Downloads section which provides a breakdown of the service and it’s achievements over the year, including case studies of families who have used the service and describes some of the issues that were facing the families and their children.