For parents and carers
Looking for a SEND advocate?
Advocate is the word most parents reach for, and it covers a wide range of things. This page explains what the word actually means, what is available free, and where paid support is worth it.
A SEND advocate is someone who helps a parent put their child's case to a school or local authority. The word covers several different jobs: sitting beside you in a meeting, helping you prepare your evidence, or formally representing you. It is worth being clear about which one you are looking for, because the answers are different.
What people mean by advocate
Advocate is the word most parents reach for, and it covers a wide range of things. Some people mean someone to sit beside them in a meeting. Some mean someone to take the whole thing off their hands. Some mean a solicitor. It is worth being clear about which one you are looking for, because the answers are different.
Start here
Free, impartial advice already exists
It is worth knowing that free, impartial advice already exists. Every local authority area has a SENDIASS service, and IPSEA runs a national advice line. If free support is what you need, use it, and I would rather tell you that than take your money. What I add is a former SENDCo's read on your particular situation, and the time to go through it properly with you.
What Claire does
What I offer is independent advice and practical support. I help you understand where you stand, work out what to ask for, prepare your documents and evidence, and get ready for the meetings that matter. Where it helps, I can look at a plan with you and tell you plainly what I think is missing.
What Claire does not do
- Act for you, or represent you, in any formal sense
- Give legal advice, or tell you whether a plan meets the legal test
- Attend a tribunal hearing as your representative
- Replace a solicitor where you genuinely need one
This is guidance and support, not legal representation. I cannot act for you, and I do not give legal advice. If you reach the point of needing that, you need a solicitor, and I will say so rather than let you find out later.
Which support fits
Where to go from here
Nothing on this page is a separate advocacy service. It is the existing parent support, described by what it is for rather than by what it is called.
You are not sure what you need yet
Start with a Clarity Call. It is free, it is a conversation rather than a sales call, and if the answer is that SENDIASS can help you for nothing, that is what Claire will tell you.
You have a plan and the wording worries you
An EHCP Review gives you written feedback on what is strong, unclear or missing, section by section. This is the closest thing to what most parents picture when they imagine an advocate reading their plan.
You have a meeting coming up
Annual Review Support is preparation for the meeting: what to bring, what to ask for, and how to put your points so they land.
You have been refused, or you are appealing
Tribunal Preparation Support covers the case review, document organisation, a written strategy outline and a preparation call. It is preparation, not representation.
Questions
Common questions
What is a SEND advocate?
A SEND advocate is someone who helps a parent put their child's case to a school or local authority. The word covers several different jobs: sitting beside you in a meeting, helping you prepare your evidence, or formally representing you. It is worth being clear about which one you are looking for, because the answers are different, and because some of them are free.
Do I need to pay for a SEND advocate?
Not necessarily, and it is worth trying the free routes first. Every local authority area has a SENDIASS service offering free, impartial information and advice, and IPSEA runs a national advice line. Paid support is worth considering when you want someone to go through your particular situation in depth, or when you need documents and evidence prepared properly and you do not have the time or the stomach for it.
Is Claire a solicitor?
No. Claire is not a solicitor and SEND Guidance does not provide legal advice or representation. If you need a solicitor or barrister for your tribunal, you'll need to instruct one separately. Many parents work with both a solicitor and Claire, the two roles are complementary.
Will Claire come to my meeting with me?
Not to a tribunal hearing, which is outside the scope of what Claire offers. Remote attendance at a mediation or a tribunal related meeting can be booked, and the parent pricing page sets out what that costs. For school meetings and annual reviews, the support is preparation beforehand rather than attendance on the day, which is usually where it makes the most difference anyway.
What is the difference between an advocate and a SEND consultant?
There is no protected definition of either, which is part of the confusion. In practice, people offering advocacy tend to emphasise being alongside you in the process, and people offering consultancy tend to emphasise expertise about the system itself. Claire is a former SENDCo of fifteen years, so what she adds is a read on how your situation looks from the other side of the table.
Can a SEND advocate make the local authority do something?
No, and be wary of anyone who suggests otherwise. What changes a local authority's position is usually evidence, properly organised, and knowing which part of the process you are in. Nobody, solicitor included, can compel an outcome outside the appeal routes that already exist.
Not sure where you are?
A Clarity Call is free and there is no obligation. If a free service is the right answer for you, Claire will say so.
Book a Clarity Call