When a Local Authority submits their R1 response to SENDIST, many parents feel overwhelmed, discouraged, or even blindsided by the volume of inaccuracies, omissions, and tactical framing. But here’s the truth every parent advocate needs to know:
What Is the Dynamic Support Register (DSR)?
The Dynamic Support Register is a statutory tool used by local areas to identify autistic children and young people (and adults) who are at risk of crisis, hospital admission, or placement breakdown.
Why isn’t advocacy free?
A question asked by many? People often assume SEND advocacy should be free and emotionally, that makes sense. You’re fighting for your CYP and other families are fighting for basic legal entitlements, not luxuries. But the reality is more complex, and it has nothing to do with greed or gatekeeping certainly from SEN Parent Support Group’s perspective and values! 1. Advocacy exists because the system fails Local authorities are legally responsible for delivering lawful SEND processes. When they don’t, families turn to advocates who end up doing the work the state should have done in the first place. That work is: It’s not “helping with forms”; it’s specialist legal navigation. I often feel like a Solicitor!! 2. SEND advocacy requires advanced legal and procedural expertise Effective advocacy means understanding: This is professional‑level expertise. In any other field, this would be recognised as paid legal work and unless you have a para legal as a best friend or a solicitor within the SEND sector then this will be expensive. 3. The workload is huge and most of it is invisible Advocates – well I can only speak for myself really – spend hours reviewing unlawful EHCPs, clinical reports and rewriting Sections B and F, preparing Section K evidence lists, drafting letters, and supporting families in crisis. If all of this were free, the demand would overwhelm the supply instantly! 4. SEN Parent Support Group already provides a huge amount for FREE And this is the part people often don’t see. Ten administrators and moderators SEN Parent Support Group is run by 10 SEND parents, all of whom give their time completely free, every single day, 24/7. They are juggling their own children’s needs, their own battles, and still show up to support thousands of others. That is advocacy. That is unpaid labour. And it is extraordinary. Without them I would not be able to offer 1:1 support at the heavily subsidised costs that I do! Ask Andrea sessions are free too Families also get free clarity, direction, and next‑step guidance through your Ask Andrea sessions something many organisations would charge for. This alone saves families hundreds of pounds in unnecessary consultations. You need to be in group and check your notifications – so an active member within our closed fb group to ensure you do not miss out! 5.The SEN Journal: free next steps, checklists, and real‑time support Your SEN Journal blogs are another major piece of free advocacy that people often underestimate. They provide: These blogs are essentially free advocacy in written form available 24/7, updated in real time, and designed to empower parents to take confident, lawful action without needing paid support. For many families, the SEN Journal is their first lifeline. 6. Paid 1:1 support is subsidised and it works When families need deeper, hands‑on support, I offer 1:1 Mentor Support that is: and is supported by draft emails, complaints, needs identifiers plus much more, and the proof is public our Google reviews speak for themselves. People aren’t paying for “help”; they’re paying for expertise that gets results. 7. The government has never funded independent SEND advocacy Unlike social care advocacy (which is funded), SEND advocacy has: So the entire sector is held up by individuals & volunteers. Be wise when choosing support always check out reviews and do your research, this is not a regulated arena! 8. The Resource Hub Membership: everything a SEND parent will ever need Alongside all the free support we already provide, we created something that genuinely changes the game for families: the Resource Hub Membership. For £9.99, parents get access to a complete, centralised library of tools that would cost hundreds elsewhere. It’s designed so families never have to hunt, guess, or panic about what to do next. Some organisations charge £24.00 per letter download, our resource hub gives you in excess of 400 tangible resources and 8 CPD SEND Parent Training modules for far less! The Resource Hub includes: It’s essentially a SEND survival kit, built by people who understand the system inside out and know exactly what parents need at each stage. For many families, the membership becomes their: And at £9.99, it’s intentionally priced so that every parent regardless of income can access high‑quality, lawful guidance without financial strain. It’s not just a resource hub. It’s empowerment, packaged. 9. The SEN Support Tracker App: a FREE parental advocacy tool Another major piece of support SEN Parent Support Group provide – at no cost – is the SEN Support Tracker App at www.sensupporttrackerapp.org. This tool gives parents something the SEND system has never offered them: a simple, structured way to track their child’s needs, provision, evidence, and progress in one place. The app helps families: It’s essentially a digital case file, designed to empower parents with the organisation and clarity that local authorities often rely on them not having. This was designed by SEN Parent Support Group and we repeat it is FREE TO USE! It is linked to our resource hub but you are free to upload your own letters and information to attach and submit. For many families, this app becomes: And it’s 100% free, because we believe every parent deserves access to the tools that make advocacy possible not just those who can afford them. The TRUTH Advocacy isn’t free because the system benefits from it not being free. If every family had access to skilled, independent advocacy, local authorities would be held to account at scale — and that would be expensive. Sadly, it is the way the world works! Until that changes, groups like SEN Parent Support Group and our Website are filling a national gap with a mix of: It’s not just fair it’s generous considering the alternatives. Should you require 1:1 Support then please click here: Request for subsidised Mentor Support If you would like to join our SEN Parent Support closed FB group click here: Peer Support and Mentorship Below is a sample of our latest SEN Journal Blogs for easy
NEWS LETTER 20025/26
Our newsletter is the quickest way to stay ahead in a system that too often leaves parents in the dark. Each edition brings together the most important updates, lawful guidance, upcoming reforms, success stories, and practical tools you can use immediately all in one place. It keeps you informed, empowered, and connected to a community that understands the realities of the SEND journey. Whether it’s changes in legislation, new resources, key deadlines, or strategies that have helped other families secure support, the newsletter ensures you never miss information that could make a real difference for your child.
How to Write Parent Views That Actually Influence an EHCP
Parents constantly ask how to write their views, and most are unintentionally minimising need, masking distress, or writing in a way that professionals can easily dismiss. A blog that teaches them how to write impactful, neurodiversity‑affirming, legally useful parent views will be a game‑changer
Provision vs Placement: Why Parents Must Get This Right (and How to Evidence It)
If you’re navigating the EHCP process, you’ve probably heard the phrase “provision before placement” but most parents aren’t told what it actually means. Even professionals get this wrong, and that confusion leads to delays, refusals, and unnecessary battles.
This blog breaks it down simply, shows you how to evidence need, and links you to the SEN Parent Support Group resources that make this process easier.
Annual Reviews
What to do and when to do it! It is a legal process with strict timelines and duties on the Local Authority.
Understanding SEND Funding: From Notional Budget to Top‑Up Funding and EHCPs
If you’ve ever tried to understand how SEND funding actually works in schools, you’ll know it can feel like trying to read a map with half the landmarks missing. Parents are often told, “We don’t have the funding”, “Your child doesn’t meet the threshold”, or “We need to use our notional budget first” — but rarely does anyone explain what that really means.
This blog breaks it down clearly:
What the notional SEND budget is
When and how schools can access top‑up funding
How funding works once a child has an EHCP
Let’s make the system make sense.
When Residential Education Becomes a Lifeline:
This blog is for the parents who are exhausted, frightened of being judged, and quietly wondering whether they’re “allowed” to even think about residential care.
It’s for the carers who have reached the limit of what can be safely managed at home.
And it’s for the professionals who want to understand what the law actually says – not the myths, not the gatekeeping, but the real pathway.
When Adult Stress Meets Child Behaviour: Why Supporting Ourselves Is the First Step
We talk a lot about children’s behaviour not as something to “fix”, but as communication. What we don’t talk about nearly enough is the adult side of the equation.