There are a number of sources of help and information for parent/carers of children and young people with SEND (special educational needs and/or disabilities) in Hertfordshire.
The Hertfordshire SEND Local Offer
Most of the information should be available on the Hertfordshire SEND Local Offer. Information can also be available from your child’s school SENCO (special educational needs coordinator) and some schools also have family support workers. Children’s Centres should also be able to help you find out information around SEND for children aged 0 to 11 years.
The Hertfordshire SEND Local Offer website is the place to find the most information about services & and organisations as well as education, health and social care for children and young people aged 0 – 25 with SEND in Hertfordshire.
All Local authorities in England are required by the Children and Families Act 2014 to publish details of their SEND Local Offer.
The SEND Local Offer has two key purposes:
HPCI does not want to copy or repeat information that is held on the SEND Local Offer website. So information held on the HPCI website will mainly be letting parent carers know where they can go for support and advice in a range of areas.
The more people who visit the Hertfordshire SEND Local Offer website and comment on missing or inaccurate information and services the better the website and services will become.
For those living on the borders of Hertfordshire, here are the neighbouring local authority SEND Local Offer websites:
Note: not all services on these websites will be available to Hertfordshire residents but some will.
As well as the SEND Local Offer here are some of the other sources of information and support available in Hertfordshire.
All local authorities must have an information, advice and support service for special educational needs and or disabilities and in Hertfordshire this is called SENDIASS.
They provide impartial and confidential information, advice and support to parents and carers of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and young people and children with SEND.
Hertfordshire’s Services for Young People provides youth work projects and programmes, information, advice, guidance, work related learning, outdoor education and support for young people aged 11 to 17 (up to 24 for care leavers, young adults with learning difficulties and/or learning disabilities and some other vulnerable groups).
There are many parent support groups and voluntary organisations – both locally in Herts but also nationally and details of many of them can be found on the SEND Local Offer
If you know of a local group or a national organisation that doesn’t appear on the SEND Local Offer then tell the SEND Local Offer team via the email button found at the top of every page.
There are local schools support partnerships, cover all of Hertfordshire. With many of them having family support workers. You can search for these here
This is a Hertfordshire only education led structure which divides Hertfordshire into 9 areas each area runs different activities and sessions some of which are available to parents and children/young people with SEND who attend schools in those areas. You can find out which area you are in and what is going on in each area via this webpage on the Local Offer:
