We asked participating organisations/teams in the last Virtual SEND Local Offer Drop-in to collate questions that parents asked them so we can share the information to more parents & carers.

Below are the questions that parents asked at the July SEND Drop-in (click or tap a question to view the answer):

Enquiry: A parent is suggesting Zoom sessions for future drop-ins.

We fed it back to partners, some of whom are keen on giving it a try. This is still under discussion but we’ll make an announcement if the decision to do Zoom sessions is made.

Enquiry: A parent asked if Short Breaks renewal can be done that day.

We shared that Short Breaks renewals are done on specific dates and directed her to the Local Offer. The parent commented that it’s so hard to fit the phone calls during those times because sessions are all mornings and that’s when kids do school work.

We also messaged the Specialist Resource Team to ask if some adjustments can be made for parents who can’t do reviews in the morning. They responded positively and now do some Short Breaks reviews in the afternoon.

The Local Offer team shared the Short Breaks criteria and gave numbers to speak to the Specialist Resource Team.

Enquiry: Parent asking for respite during the summer holidays for five years old with ASC. Child has EHCP and is due to move to a specialist support school.

The Specialist Resource Team advised the parent of the process for referral for Short Break provision. They gave the Contact Centre number, which they can ring for a self-referral. The SRT advised to refer both of her children as both meet criteria and this would reduce pressure on her. As the parent is anxious, saying she was not happy with previous provision for one child, the SRT assured that the agency that she has concerns about is no longer used by the council. They also advised about Local Offer online ASC activities and parental support.

The Local Offer team referred the parent to Lifted Carers Centre, who are happy to support parents with this.

You can learn more about Family Fund and how to apply for a grant at their website: https://www.familyfund.org.uk/faqs/how-do-we-apply

https://youtu.be/vS5YC1jpOyw

The parent said that the Statutory Assessment Team had named a school that could not meet the child’s need.

If you are in a similar situation, please contact Information, Advice and Support Manchester (IASM) directly for a confidential, impartial conversation about the matter.

Please note that most of the answers above are information we pulled from various partners who participated at last month’s drop-in. We have put such answers within quotes (“”) to make it clear that the answers are not our own.

Where we put our own commentary in, we separated our answers using a horizontal line and our comments are in green text. This will be clear when you’re reading each FAQ item above.

We hope this helps. Any questions, please send us a message or contact Information, Advice and Support (IAS) Manchester or visit the SEND Local Offer.