Independent Parental Support – Families In Focus (Essex)
Are you the parent or carer of a child with special educational needs?
Would you like to speak to somebody who is independent of the education system about your child's needs?
You may have just learned that:
- Your child has special needs.
- Your child is to be assessed at school.
- Your child is to be ‘statemented’.
- Your child's school wants to meet with you to review his or her progress.
- You may feel alone and vulnerable when faced with meetings and dealings with your child's school or with other professionals.
- Be unhappy with the decisions made about your child's education.
- Want to have somebody there to support YOU, to enable you to communicate the unique knowledge and information you have about your child to the professionals.
We can help you by:
- Talking through the issues with you.
- Completing forms and writing letters.
- Offering advice on the processes involved.
- Making an appeal against decisions you are unhappy with.
- Obtaining more specialist advice.
- Making somebody available to accompany you to meetings, reviews and tribunals (subject to us receiving enough notice).
If any of what you have read above applies to you or you need more information about how Families In Focus (Essex) can help you, please contact us and ask to speak to the Family Support Adviser for your area.
"Family Support Advisers at Families In Focus are often responsible for achieving statutory assessments, statements of special educational needs and placements at specialist schools for the children and young people they deal with. They also advise and support parents whose children are being wrongly excluded or discriminated against in educational settings. These things cannot be underestimated in terms of their impact on the long–term achievement and well being of young people."
