SSENDIAS is a free, statutory service that provides impartial, confidential information, advice and support to children and young people aged 0–25 with special educational needs and disabilities, and to their parents or carers, about education and related health and social care. Families can refer themselves to the service in a range of ways, and support is offered at different levels, from basic information and signposting to more intensive casework and advocacy during statutory processes such as EHC plans, exclusions, mediation and tribunals. The service does not take sides or make decisions for families, but empowers them with accurate information so they can make informed choices. All involvement is voluntary and confidential, unless there is a safeguarding concern, and SSENDIAS works to complement—not duplicate—support from other services, with clear processes for ending involvement and making complaints.

Read our full referral policy here

SSENDIAS provides free, independent and confidential information, advice and support to children and young people aged 0–25 with special educational needs and disabilities, and to their parents or carers, across education, health and social care. The service does not take sides and bases all advice on the law, helping people understand their options, make informed decisions and communicate effectively with professionals. People can contact SSENDIAS anonymously, and their information is kept private and secure, with nothing shared without consent unless there are safeguarding or safety concerns. The service operates independently from the local authority and health bodies, has a clear complaints process, and may end involvement when support is no longer needed or appropriate, always signposting to other help where necessary.

Read our full service policy here

Sheffield SENDIAS considers requests to attend meetings such as those with schools, local authority officers, mediation or tribunals, but cannot attend all meetings due to demand and staff availability.

Meetings may be attended in person or online, depending on availability and practicality. SSENDIAS will only attend meetings at the service user’s request and will not attend if the service user is not present. If SSENDIAS cannot attend, we can still provide support before and after the meeting.

Read our full support in meetings policy here

Any Information you give to Sheffield SEND IAS will be: 

• only that which is essential and relevant to the matter in hand

• securely stored on their cloud based database

• will be all the information SSENDIAS will have unless I give specific permission to have information from any other source

• the database is independent of Sheffield LA

• the database will only be accessed by members of the SSENDIAS team

• completely confidential and not shared with anyone else unless I have given specific permission or there are safeguarding concerns

• ‘forgotten’ if I ask this to happen

If you would like to give us consent to speak to any professionals on your behalf, please complete our consent form

At SSENDIAS we offer free impartial, confidential, information advice and support to children and young people (0-25 years old) with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and their parent carers on education and related health and social care matters.

Find out more about how we can support here

The law requires local authorities to provide free, confidential and independent information, advice and support to children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, and to their parents or carers, so they can understand their rights and take part in decisions about education, health and social care. In Sheffield, this support is provided by Sheffield SENDIAS. Being impartial means the service does not take sides, works independently from the local authority and health services, and bases all advice on the law and the SEND Code of Practice. Sheffield SENDIAS offers clear, unbiased information, advice and support in a range of ways and keeps all personal information confidential, unless there are safeguarding concerns.

You can find out more here