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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…

Changes to Special School placements for non-maintained schools

Important information for parents and carers about how the Council buys placements. From February 2018 the Council (along with the other North-East local authorities and health partners) will begin to use the NE12 framework for all: Placements in Department for Education-registered, non-maintained and independent special…

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…

Frequently Asked Questions - Young People

Sunderland's young person's advocate group City Equals noticed that the FAQ's that had originally been posted on the  Local Offer site seemed to have been asked by adults - and nthey were right, they had.  In response to this we asked the young people to send…

Help, Care and Support

Some children and young people (aged 0 - 25) with special educational needs (SEN) may have disabilities or other needs which mean they require support from social care services. Depending on the age of the child or young person these services may be provided by…

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…

Person Centred SEN Support in Early Years

Together for Children has developed a practical tool for SENCO's and all those who teach and support children in Early Years settings in Sunderland. We hope it will be useful for parents and carers too.  The aim is to help make sure that children and…

Personal Budgets

Sometimes families need to access additional support for their child - this extra support might include: Additional support from education to ensure that a child’s learning needs are met Additional support from Health where a child has a complex, long-term and/or life limiting condition Additional…

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…

Regional Local Authority Local Offer sites

In September 2014, the Children and Families Act 2014 came into force which placed a statutory duty on every Local Authority in England to produce a Local Offer which will set out details of all services that particular Local Authority expects to be available to children…

Requesting an Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment

In most cases the request for an Education, Health and Care (EHC) assessment will come from a school or education setting.  However, requests do not have to come from a school or education setting and can be made by: The child's parents (or somebody on…

Single Route of Redress - National Trial

What is the National Trial? The Government is extending the powers of the First-tier Tribunal (SEND), sometimes referred to as the 'SEND Tribunal', to make non-binding recommendations about the health and social care aspects of Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans as part of a…

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…

Sunderland's Short Break Statement

A short break is any activity that gives a child or young person a positive, enjoyable experience independently from their parents/carers, for example helping them to socialise, form friendships and spend time with supportive carers. This will also give their parent/carer a valuable break from…

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…
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