The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information, Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS) offers free, confidential and impartial information, guidance, advice and support.
The service used to be called the Parent Partnership Service.
It's available to all children, young people and parents and carers of children and young people who:
- have a special educational need (SEN) or disability
- are aged 0 to 25 years old
- live in the borough of Barnsley
Our aims
- To help you play a valued and active role in your own, or your child’s, education.
- To enable you to make informed choices.
- To encourage and support joint working between you, the school or setting, the council and other agencies.
Services we can offer you
- The opportunity for you to talk things through and say what your concerns are.
- Support when writing letters to school, early years and post-16 settings, and the local authority.
- Help with statutory assessments and the education, health and care plan process.
- Advice or issues around school or setting placement.
- Support at meetings.
- Advice on who you should contact if there are behavioural, emotional or social difficulties.
- Information on appeals to SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disability) tribunal.
- Advice on exclusions.
- Advice on transport arrangements.
- Information about other organisations that might be helpful to you.
We can arrange to meet you at a venue you prefer or also offer meeting sessions in our offices around the borough.
Please contact us to book an appointment so that we can make sure we have time to talk with you.
Services we can offer groups
- Workshops for young people and parents and carers.
- Drop-in advice sessions for young people, parents and carers at schools, colleges and children's or family centres.
- Advice and support on starting support groups.
- Training to become an independent supporter.
Please contact us to discuss more about the services we can offer.
More about Barnsley SENDIASS
You can find out more about us in the documents below.
- SENDIASS service information leaflet
- Referral criteria
- Confidentiality policy
- Annual report 2018-2019
- Our funding application and IASP guidance
- Intervention levels of IASS
- SENDIASS minimum standards
SENDIASS steering group
You can take a look at the minutes from our meetings to see what we're working on:
Useful guidance
Forms
Legislation and law
- Special educational needs and disability code of practice: 0 to 25 years (2015) (DfE – GOV.UK)
- Children and Families Act 2014 (Full act of law - legislation.gov.uk)
- Children and Families Act 2014 (IPSEA guidance)
- Young person’s guide to the Children and Families Act 2014 (DfE – GOV.UK)
- Equality Act 2010 (legislation.gov.uk)
- School Admissions Code (DfE – GOV.UK)
- Home to school transport
Other agencies
- IPSEA (Independent Parental Special Education Advice)
- Good Schools Guide
- IASSN (Information, Advice and Support Services Network)
- Council for Disabled Children
- National Children's Bureau
- Special Needs Jungle
- Contact
Useful resources our service users recommend
