Definition
SENDIASS is the free, impartial, and confidential information, advice, and support service every English local authority must provide to parents, children, and young people on SEND matters. The duty sits at section 32 of the Children and Families Act 2014 and the SEND Code of Practice chapter 2.
In context for parents
Key checkpoints
- SENDIASS is the free, impartial, confidential information, advice and support service every English LA must provide.
- Duty sits at Children and Families Act 2014, section 32 and SEND Code of Practice chapter 2.
- Replaced the older Parent Partnership Services in 2014, with expanded remit covering young people directly.
- IASS Network Minimum Standards set out what each service must deliver.
- Funded by the LA but legally required to be impartial; quality varies widely.
SENDIASS replaced the old Parent Partnership Services in 2014, with an expanded remit covering young people directly (not just parents), all SEND matters (not just EHCPs), and ages 0–25. The IASS Network's Minimum Standards set out what each LA's service must deliver: information, advice, casework support, training, signposting, and impartial advice on appeals and mediation.
In practice, SENDIASS quality varies widely. The strongest services run weekly drop-in sessions, support parents to prepare for annual reviews, attend meetings as a neutral observer, and help draft tribunal grounds. The weakest provide a phone line and a leaflet. The Council for Disabled Children's annual review and the OFSTED/CQC area SEND inspections both flag SENDIASS capacity as one of the most common gaps.
SENDIASS is funded by the LA but legally required to be impartial: its advice should not be coloured by what the LA wants. In areas where the SENDIASS sits within the LA's own SEND team and shares an office, parents sometimes find the advice tracks the LA's view. Where this happens, the IASS Network's standards permit families to seek advice from a neighbouring SENDIASS or a third-sector service (IPSEA, SOS!SEN, Contact, Council for Disabled Children).
What SENDIASS will not do: act as your legal representative, provide private therapy assessments, or take a side in a dispute. Their role is to inform you of options and help you act on them.
Related terms
The terms parents most often see alongside SEND Information, Advice and Support Service.
Local Offer
A statutory information service every local authority must publish, setting out the SEND services, support, and provision available in their area for children and young people aged 0-25.
Local Authority(LA)
The council responsible for arranging and funding the special educational provision in a child's EHCP. The LA is the legal duty-holder, not the school.
SEND Mediation
An optional independent meeting between the local authority and family to try to resolve an EHCP dispute without going to tribunal. Parents must consider mediation before appealing on most grounds.
Where parents ask about this
Parents usually find this page after a school or LA has said "contact SENDIASS" without explaining what they do, or when looking for free help before deciding whether to pay for private advocacy. Searches include "what does SENDIASS do", "SENDIASS not helpful", and "free SEND advice UK". A Beaakon advocate can work alongside SENDIASS: using their free information and casework where it adds value, and providing the specialist legal or clinical input SENDIASS is not commissioned to deliver.
References
The primary legislation, statutory guidance, research, and clinical tools this page draws on.