Were Haringey parents misled in the Special Educational Needs and Disability Information Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS) recommissioning "consultation"?

According to the Council for Disabled Children: As part of the Children and Families Act 2014 it is a legal requirement that all local authorities ensure children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) & their parents have access to an impartial Information, Advice and Support (IAS) service.

This is covered in Chapter 2 of the SEND Code of Practice (January 2015)(Link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/3988... )

The SEND Code of Practice, paragraph 2.6 states

Local authorities should involve children, young people and parents (including local Parent Carer Forums and Youth Forums) in the design or commissioning of services providing information, advice and support in order to ensure that those services meet local needs. Local authorities should do this in a way which ensures that children, young people and parents feel they have participated fully in the process and have a sense of co-ownership. Chapters 3 and 4 give further detail on how local authorities should engage these groups in planning, commissioning and reviewing services, and in developing the Local Offer.

The Council is continuing to co-produce services with parent/carers and all parent/carers were invited to attend one of three engagement events in January to discuss re-commissioning the SENDIASS in Haringey and to gather their views and comments. 26 parents attended in total and they shared their views and experiences which was helpful and informative and have been used to shape the new service specification.

Following the events eight parent/carers volunteered to be on the working group to co-design the service specification and 4 parents have volunteered to be part of the evaluation panel. The tender process will take place over the next few months and parents/carers will be updated on the outcome.

The Council would like to thank the parent/carers who volunteered to be involved in co-producing these services and it has been a great opportunity for the council and parent/carers to work together to improve services for children and young people with SEND and their families.

In a decision made on 9th November 2020, but only published on 15th January 2021 , the Local Government Ombudsman found "... the Council wrongly refused to provide [the complainant] with an Education Health and Care Plan, and then failed to provide appropriate support for [the complainant] to appeal this decision. The Council’s failure to carry out an assessment of [the complainants] needs within the required timeframe amounts to fault. As does the failure to provide appropriate advice and support to submit an appeal. These faults have caused ... an injustice".

But the SENDIASS engagement was limited to 3 sessions over 2 days at just over a weeks notice and ended on 13th January 2021.

Link: 19 012 157 - Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman

SENDIASS engagement seemed to have been rushed and completed in less than 2 weeks before the announcement of a Local Government Ombudsman decision that was critical of the service.

Because we do not know, because we did not attend the meeting and because there are no published minutes, we do not know if the 26 parents who attended were aware of that decision, made on 9th November 2020, but not published until 15th January 2021 - 2 days after the 2 days of engagement ended - and therefore had the opportunity to consider all the facts about theSENDIASS service offered by the Haringey SEND department .

However, more parents may have attended the meeting following the Local Ombudsman decision that is critical of the service.

Please note: Local Government Ombudsman decisions are published six weeks after they are issued to councils, care providers and the person who has made the complaint.

The Local Government Ombudsman decision critical of the Haringey SEND department and the Haringey SENDIASS service offered by Haringey was made on 9th November 2020.


On the 4th January 2021 parents were invited to attend via an email that stated " We mentioned in the newsletter that we would like to work in partnership with parents and carers to re-commission for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information, Advice and Support Service for the next couple of years . We will be holding 3 sessions on :

Tuesday 12 January 10.30am – 12 noon

Tuesday 12 January 5.30pm – 7pm

Wednesday 13 January 10.30 – 12 noon"

Apart from information about online meetings, there was no other paperwork and facts sent out with this invitation.

Haringey's Consultation Charter says that they will " provide enough information about consultation to help people make an informed contribution. We will include information about other issues and facts being considered by decision-makers alongside the consultation results".

The Local Government Ombudsman decision was published on 15th January 2021.