SENDIASS year end update

Please note the SENDIASS office will close on Thursday 22 December at 4pm and reopen on Tuesday 3 January 9am.

Jayne Parrish, North East Lincolnshire SENDIASS Manager said: “As the year comes to an end, I thought it would be useful to update you all on SENDIASS.

“North East Lincolnshire SENDIASS moved in-house to the local authority on 1 April 2022.

“We took a little time getting our systems right so we could still maintain the high level of confidential and impartial advice and guidance for those parents and carers and young people living in North East Lincolnshire.

“There are lots of other SENDIAS services who operate this system of working in-house, so within North East Lincolnshire we are not unique.

“I continue to attend the regional SENDIASS meetings and other user group meetings to keep the knowledge base high.

“I am pleased to introduce two new members of staff, Amanda Gillott and Bethany Borg-Fenech. Both will be working part time, and both have different experiences and skill sets to bring to the team. Our plans for next year are taking shape and we look forward to meeting more parents and carers during drop in events with both SENDIASS and the Parent Carer Forum.

“North East Lincolnshire SENDIASS staff continue to have their professional development from the Council For Disabled Children and are maintaining their presence at strategic meetings, to help form positive change for families with SEND children and young people.

“We continue to offer free, impartial and confidential information, advice and support for parents and carers and young people, on all matters related to SEND, as well as upskilling parents and carers and professionals.

“Due to being a small team, we have moved to an answer machine facility on our independent phone number 01472 326363.

“This is checked at least four times a day and we aim to call all enquiries back within three working days, although this could be up to 5 working days at busy times.

“If you don’t want to leave us a phone message, you can email us at ask@nelsendiass.org.uk or direct message us via our Facebook page Sendiass North East Lincolnshire (facebook.com).

“We check all communications daily and will return your messages within the set timeframe. If we are not the service for you, we will signpost you to where you need to be.

“Although we are a small team – we maintain a high profile with our families, below shows numbers of enquiries into our service.”

These numbers are accurate at the date of writing this communication (12/12/2022):

SENDIASS enquiries statistics: Apr-Jun=108 in 2021 and 129 in 2022
Jul-Sep=111 in 2021 and 176 in 2022
Oct-Dec=113 in 2021 and 151 in Dec

“We appreciate your support and your views on our service are very important to us.

“For those who have used our service please see our word art that show your thoughts on the service.”

“If you have had any contact with SENDIASS at any point, please take the time to complete the online feedback form https://forms.office.com/r/WMUcpAABu1.

“Thank you!

“Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!”

Jayne Parrish, North East Lincolnshire SENDIASS Manager.