What is Bucks SENDIAS
What to expect from Bucks SENDIAS
Our service is here to help Buckinghamshire children and young people with SEND aged 0 to 25 years and their parents or carers. We offer information, advice and support on all matters related to SEND. We are a small team of advisers supported by business support officers. Some of our team are volunteers.
We operate all year round, including in school holidays. Our service is:
- free of charge
- confidential
- impartial, neutral, we don’t take sides
- at arm’s length from Buckinghamshire Council and health services
All our advisers are trained in SEND law, but are not legally qualified. You may get help from any of the team, we keep records so that whoever you are dealing with will know what you have already told us, so you won’t have to keep repeating it.
We use a triage system to decide in what order we will respond to queries and how much help we will give and what type of help we will give.
Read our leaflet for more information.
How we respond to you
Support with meetings and tribunals
Our advice may include helping you to prepare for a meeting. In exceptional circumstances we may be able to attend a meeting with you, this will usually be remotely.
We can help you to start a Tribunal appeal and can provide advice once you have received your response from the local authority. In exceptional circumstances we will act as your representative, provide case management support and/or attend hearings.
How we look after your information
The Data Protection Act 2018 and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) regulate the way we use your personal information.
You have the right for your personal information to be treated securely, confidentially and with sensitivity and respect. We would only share information without your consent in very exceptional circumstances when there is reason to believe there is a risk of harm to a child, a young person or a third party.
Refer to our Privacy Notice for further information.
How you can help us
Self-serve as much as you can, if you are able to, these websites may be useful.
- If you are new to SEND, this is a good place to start: Get started with SEND
- IPSEA - offers free and independent legally based information, advice and support to help get the right education for children and young people with all kinds of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)
- Contact - helps families feel valued, supported, confident and informed
- Child Law Advice - providing specialist advice and information on child, family and education law to parents, carers and young people in England
- Bucks Local Offer for SEND sets out the support available in Buckinghamshire for children and young people aged 0 to 25 with SEND
- try our webchat service available on Mondays 1 to 3pm and Fridays 10am to 12 midday during school term time. You can open a chat at these times from the Contact us page