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Spotlight on SENDIASS advisers
Published
SENDIASS (SEND Information Advice and Support Service) Gloucestershire provides FREE, CONFIDENTIAL and IMPARTIAL ADVICE and support on matters relating to children and young people (0-25) with special educational needs and disabilities and their families. Young people 16+ can also access the service by themselves.
In every newsletter, we will be focusing on one member of the hardworking experts at SENDIASS, who provide confidential, impartial advice and support on SEND – for FREE – to parent carers in Gloucestershire.
In this edition, we introduce Gemma.
Gemma spent over twenty years in teaching and school leadership in London. This included leading SEN and Inclusion in large, urban primary and secondary schools. She established and ran specialist units meeting the needs of children with, at different times, SpLD, ADHD, Autism and EAL needs. This was recognised by Ofsted and local organisations as an example of high quality, inclusive practice. Prior to joining SENDIASS, she undertook roles in teacher training at Brunel University and as an educational consultant with a focus on literacy, SEN and EAL.
Gemma is trained in IPSEA SEND Law Levels 1, 2 and 3 and is a member of the Council for Disabled Children Information, Advice and Support Services Network.
Gemma’s lived experience with disability has been life long, as the sole sibling of a brother with complex and profound physical and learning needs. She is also the parent of three children, one of whom has SEN and attends a mainstream school in Gloucestershire.
In her spare time, Gemma enjoys reading and poetry, has a keen interest in politics, takes long walks with her beagle and embarks on ill-fated DIY projects.
More about SENDIASS - Like every local authority, Gloucestershire has to provide such a service that is free, easy to access and confidential.
SENDIASS is accountable and legally obliged to have regard to the minimum standards based on the requirements relating to support that SENDIAS services must provide, as set out in the Children and Families Act (CFA) 2014, the SEND Code of Practice.
This means that the information, advice and support that SENDIASS offers is firmly based in the law and the SEND Code of Practice. SENDIASS Gloucestershire provides unbiased information and advice about the local authority’s policies and procedures and about the policy and practice in local schools and other settings.
You will be speaking to an IPSEA Level 3-trained adviser (like Gemma) with many years of previous professional experience in SEND.
SENDIASS can offer advice on topics including how schools can support children with SEND, the Gloucestershire Graduated Pathway, the EHCP process and more. The service can help you understand and/or complete official documents and help you to prepare for and even accompany you to meetings, appeals and tribunals, as well as signpost you to other organisations that may be able to help.
SENDIASS - Expert, confidential, impartial advice and support on SEND – for FREE. Contact SENDIASS today if you need guidance.
