Who we are:
Bolton Information and Advisory Service for SEND (Bolton IAS SEND), support parents and carers who have children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), as well as directly supporting young people with SEND. We work with the 0 - 25 years age range, and provide information, advice, and support on a wide range of matters across education, health, and social care.
Written into the Children and Families Act 2014, IAS are a ‘statutory commissioned service’, which means that Local Authorities must have one of us in every area to offer support, by law. However, we do not work for Bolton Council, and are an impartial and confidential service.
What we do:
We are a small, local team who are accredited and legally trained with lots of experience to help you navigate your SEND journey. The service is free to use, and you can refer yourself to us at any time. We can help you with things like:
- Providing you with a dedicated IAS officer to be your single point of contact for one to one support
- Attending meetings with you, to support you, ask questions, and take notes
- Help you obtain services that you think you may need from education, health and social care
- Help you with all things to do with education, health and care plans (EHCP)
- Support with appeals and complaints
- Help you with paperwork, forms and processes
- Interpret the law to help you in your current situation
In addition to these main themes of work, we also work closely with Bolton Parent Carers, and co-host workshops throughout the year, where we aim to up-skill families on SEND law and practice.
More information and contact
As SEND parents ourselves, we understand the importance of clear, concise and timely support, when you need it. This is why we offer a 365 day a year service to Bolton families.
A web chat facility is available via the IAS website.
