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Accessing the Local Offer

Here in Sunderland, we have developed our Local Offer with colleagues from education, social care, health, the private and voluntary sector, parents and carers as well as young people. We are still keen to gather as many thoughts, suggestions and opinions as possible, so if…

Disagreement Resolution, Mediation and Tribunal services

Most disagreements about special educational provision can be resolved by talking with the early years setting, school, college or local authority.  If you need help with this you can contact the Information, Advice and Support Service, which has two sections: Parent Partnership, which offers advice…

Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP)

If you have a child or young person with SEN (they have a learning difficulty or disability) they may sometimes require a level of support that is more intensive than the resources usually available in their school.  In such a case, you or your child's school could consider…

Feedback and comments

In this section we would really like to hear from you using our online survey about the content, how easy you find the site to navigate and search and what you liked/didnt like, so we can continue to improve the website to meets your needs. Sunderland…

Frequently Asked Questions - Parents & Carers

What is meant by special educational needs (SEN)? The term special educational need has a legal definition. A child with special educational needs will have a learning difficulty or a disability that will make it harder for them to learn compared to most children of…

How can an Education, Health and Care Plan help me?

City Equals is a group representing the voice of young people with learning disabilities or difficulties (LDD) living in Sunderland.  A number of young people from City Equals worked with staff from Sunderland City Council and a company called Little Big Butterfly to create an…

Jargon Buster

Professionals can sometimes use language, phrases, abbreviations and acronyms that are difficult for parents, carers and young people to understand.  Sometimes acronyms or abbreviations may mean different things across two different sectors / professional bodies, which could lead to unnecessary confusion.  As a result we have produced the guide below which…

Money and Benefits

There are a number of benefits that could be available to you, depending on your or your families circumstances. Sunderland City Council Welfare Rights service have lots of information on the Council's website that you may find useful, visit the page: https://www.sunderland.gov.uk/article/13327/Benefit-entitlement Below we have tried…

Preparing for Adulthood

All young people face major changes as they move from being teenagers to becoming adults and need to make important decisions about their future.  This change can be even more complicated if you have special educational needs, a learning difficulty or disability.  It is important…

Sunderland's Preparing for Adulthood Pathway and Protocol

The Children and Families Act 2014 has brought about the most extensive changes to support for children and young people who have a special educational need and disability (SEND) for decades.  The legislation delivers a clear message that agencies must work together to provide careful…

Useful documents - National Organisations

A number of organisations have produced some useful guidance documents and information relating to the new SEND reforms.  We have included links to a few of these documents.   The Council for Disabled Children: What are the SEND reforms? The Local Offer for SEND Support. Making…

Useful documents - Sunderland

Together for Children, working on behalf of Sunderland City Council has produced a number of advice, guidance or useful documents as listed below: Sunderland SEN Information Pack for parents, carers and young people Accessibility Strategy EHC Plan Process overview EHC Plan Process Overview - Parent…

What is the 'Local Offer'

As part of the SEND reforms under the Children and Families Act (2014), all Local Authorities now have to publish a Local Offer.  The purpose of the Local Offer is to "offer" information in a single place, which can help you find and understand what services…
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