Navigating the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) system can be overwhelming due to its complexity.
Therefore, we have gathered comprehensive information to help you understand the process, including the necessary steps and where to access relevant resources.
Voluntary Sector:
The voluntary sector, also known as the nonprofit or third sector, consists of organisations that are NOT driven by profit but instead focus on providing services or support to benefit society. These organisations, like SEND the Right Message are typically run by volunteers or have a large proportion of their workforce made up of volunteers, and they rely on donations, grants, or fundraising to fund their activities.
Examples of voluntary sector organisations include charities, community groups, social enterprises, and advocacy organisations. The main goal of these organisations is to address specific social, environmental, or cultural issues, rather than generating profits.
While the voluntary sector is often associated with volunteers and charitable work, it still has essential core costs that need to be covered in order to function effectively.
These costs include:
Rent and office costs: Maintaining a physical space for the organisation, whether it’s an office or a community hub, requires paying rent and covering other overheads like utilities and office supplies.
Administration costs:
This includes the costs of managing day-to-day operations, such as printing, computers, phone lines, and maintaining websites.
Grant writing and fundraising:
A significant amount of time and effort is spent by staff and volunteers on writing grants, fundraising, and preparing applications to secure necessary funding.
Reporting and impact assessment: To ensure transparency and accountability, organisations must provide evidence of how their funds are being used. This often requires creating detailed reports and gathering data on the organisation’s impact, which takes time and resources.
Training: Many voluntary organisations invest in training for staff and volunteers to ensure they have the skills and knowledge necessary to carry out their work effectively and stay compliant with any relevant regulations or best practices.
Databases and software: Organisations often use databases to manage information, track donations, record volunteer hours, or monitor the impact of their services. These systems can require both financial investment and ongoing maintenance.
Paid core staff: Many organisations rely on paid staff to manage operations, provide services, or support volunteers.
Despite the voluntary nature of many roles, these core activities require financial resources and staff effort to ensure that the organisation can continue its work and meet its obligations to both funders and the communities it serves. So while the sector may rely heavily on volunteers, it still operates like any other organisation in terms of essential infrastructure, training, and administrative needs.
Statutory Services
The SEND Code of Practice
We recommend that you read or refer to the SEND Code of Practice, understand your rights, and understand what statutory services are commissioned by Local Authorities and Integrated Care Boards (ICBs—Health).
The Local Offer
Since September 2014, every local authority has been required to publish information about the services available in their area for children and young people from birth to 25 who are Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND). They also provide information about services outside of the area that children and young people from their area will use. This is called the “Local Offer”. The Local Offer provides children and young people with SEND and their families with information about the support services the local authority expects to be available in their local area. Each local authority is responsible for creating a Local Offer and ensuring it is accessible to everyone.
Information, Advice and Support Services
Under the Children and Families Act 2014, all local authorities are legally required to ensure that disabled children and young people, children and young people with special educational needs, and their parents have access to impartial Information, Advice, and Support (IAS) service, sometimes referred to as SENDIASS.
The Disabled Children’s Register
This is a database of information about children and young people aged 0 to 25 with disabilities who live in your county. The register helps us plan and improve local support and services for children and young people with SEND and their families. By law, all local authorities must keep a Disabled Children’s Register.
Parents and carers of disabled children or young people can add their details to the register using an online form.
We are a ‘ by parents for parents’ registered charity.
Our mission is to improve the lives of families in Southend and Essex whose children have been identified or are suspected of having specific educational needs and/or disabilities.
SEND the Right Message Charity is registered in England.
Charity Number 1193572
