At Solihull SENDIAS, our vision is that children & young people with SEND (special educational needs and disabilities), & their parents/carers, will be aware of their entitlement & the options available, empowering them to be able to make informed decisions through offering impartial, free to access, accurate, confidential, comprehensive, & easily accessible/understandable information, advice & support.

Solihull SENDIAS Service aims to:

• Provide information, advice & support to children & young people up to the age of 25 with SEND
• Provide information, advice and support to the parents/carers of children & young people up to the age of 25 with SEND
• Provide impartial advice about matters relating to SEND, including issues relating to health and social care
• Offer support to children & young people with SEND & their parents/carers in participating in decisions made about the child/young person’s education, health & social care.

We provide information & advice about:

• the law on special educational needs & disability,
• Education, Health & Care plans (EHCP's) and procedures,
• personalisation & personal budgets,
• the Local Offer – this gives information about Solihull services for young people & parents,
• managing mediation, appeals to the first-tier tribunal (SEN and disability), exclusions and complaints,
• SEND support in early years provision, mainstream schools & post-16 institutions,
• local provision in mainstream, resourced mainstream & special schools,
• applying information to your own situation,
• where to go for additional support locally or nationally, including voluntary services, and
• what to do when things go wrong.

We support children & young people with SEND and their parents/carers in a variety of ways, including:

• Individual casework & representation, including arranging & attending meetings, contributing to assessments & reviews, & supporting participation in decisions about outcomes for children & young people
• Writing & responding to letters and reports, & support with EHC plans
• Help when things go wrong, including supporting children, young people & parents in arranging or attending early disagreement resolution meetings & in managing mediation, appeals to first-tier tribunal (SEN & Disability), exclusions & complaints on matters related to SEN and Disability & making children, young people & parents aware of the local authority’s & CCG’s services for resolving disagreements & for mediation, & on the routes of appeal & complaint on matters related to SEN & Disability
• Support through working with parent/carer support groups, local SEND youth forums or groups, training events & schools/colleges.
• Signposting to appropriate alternative & additional sources of advice, information & support locally or nationally.

Visit our Solihull SENDIAS SEND Information and Downloads page to view our leaflets, links to local support organisations, helplines etc.

Further support & information

See the Council for Disabled Children's website for helpful video clips, focusing for instance on the EHCP Process and Person Centred Connection.