Description of the law pertaining to parent partnership services, groups and organisations that provide support for parents of children with special educational needs.

Section 332A, Education Act 1996

A local education authority must arrange for the parent of any child in their area with special educational needs to be provided with advice and information about matters relating to those needs.

Sections 332B (1) and (2), Education Act 1996

A local education authority must make arrangements with a view to avoiding or resolving disagreements between authorities (on the one hand) and parents of children in their area (on the other) about the way the LEAs and maintained schools carry out their responsibilities towards children with special educational needs.

A local education authority must also make arrangements with a view to avoiding or resolving disagreements between parents and certain schools about the special educational provision made for their child.

It is the legal duty of LEAs to have arrangements to provide information and advice to parents of children with SEN in their area. These are generally known as Parent Partnership. LEAs are expected to have sufficient staff and resources and meet minimum standards. It is up to individual LEAs to decide how to plan and deliver this service, for instance some will provide an entirely LEA based service, although this should be run at arms length, others may "buy-in" the service from another provider, or it could be a mixture of both. Which ever way, it is important that parents have confidence in the service, that it is flexible, accessible and it delivers neutral information and advice.

According to the SEN Code of Practice, in delivering effective parent partnership services LEAs are expected to:

• "Take responsibility for setting and monitoring the overall standard of the service and ensure it is subject to Best Value principles
• "Ensure adequate resources and staffing to meet the needs of the parents in their area
• "Ensure that parents and schools are provided with clear information about the services, and about the various other sources of support in their area, including statutory and voluntary agencies
• "Ensure that the service is provided with accurate information on all SEN processes as set out in the Education Act 1996, relevant Regulations, the SEN Code of Practice and relevant information about the Disability Discrimination Act 1995

Again from the SEN Code of Practice, an effective parent partnership service is expected to meet the following standards and ensure:

• "The provision of a range of flexible services including using their best endeavours to provide access to an independent Parental Supporter for all parents who want one.
• "That practical support is offered to parents, either individually or in groups, to help them in their discussions with schools, LEAs and other statutory agencies.
• "That parents (including those with parental responsibility for the child) are provided with accurate neutral information on their rights, roles and responsibilities within the SEN process, and on the wide range of options that are available for their child's education
• "Those parents are informed about other agencies, such as Health Services, Social Services and voluntary organisations, which can offer information and advice about their child's particular SEN. This may be particularly important at the time the LEA issues a proposed statement.
• "That, where appropriate and in conjunction with their parents, the ascertainable views and wishes of the child are sought and taken into consideration.

The purpose of this service is to encourage parents, leas, schools and voluntary bodies to work together, the best results are always delivered when they can identify, assess and make provisions for the child with SEN together, and enable parents to be better informed and give them more confidence to communicate with the schools and LEA. The overall aim is for them to provide a service to parents enabling them to play a more active and informed role in their child's education.

Flexible services for parents can include:

• "Advising parents during statutory assessments, annual reviews and other meetings. Giving support for the Tribunal process and hearings and providing information in the way of training courses.
• "Providing information about other agencies and organisations that can provide advice and support on non-SEN matters like housing, health , social services and benefits
• "For those that want it, provide an Independent Parental Supporter
• " Work with school staff and governors to develop parent friendly policies and partnerships with parents
• "Work with LEAs, voluntary sector and health and social services to promote understanding of the needs of the parents of children with SEN
• "If moving into another LEAs area, liasing with the other parent partnership service to help the parents and child's transition
• "Help in avoiding and resolving any disagreements between parents, schools and the LEA

All parents of children with SEN must have access to advice and information about matters relating to SEN.