SENDIASS is Manchester’s Information, Advice and Support Service (IASS) for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

They have gone through a number of name changes over the years and some of us may be used to calling them Parent Partnership or IASM or simply IAS. They are now officially called IAS Manchester (IASM).

They can provide:

– Information on school admissions and appeals
– Information on school exclusion
– Information on disability discrimination
– Support meetings in relation to SEN and disability issues
– Advocacy in meetings
– Informal disagreement resolution and mediation between parents, schools and the Local Authority
– Information on formal disagreement resolution and mediation services
– Information on other avenues of support to the voluntary and community sector
– Information on Health and Social care and the SEND Local Offer
– Help to make parents’ voices heard to influence change and development of services

You can also find information about them at: www.iasmanchester.org

Below are some events and articles relating to Manchester’s SEND Information, Advice and Support Service:

Virtual SEND Parent Drop-in

Virtual SEND Parent Drop-in

This virtual drop-in is happening in place of the monthly SEND Early Help Local Offer Drop-ins that normally happen on a rotating basis across the city. We are aiming to resume face-to-face drop-ins as soon as possible. Please follow our Facebook page and/or subscribe

By Jordan @ MPCF|2022-01-05T13:19:48+00:00January 19th, 2022|Categories: Coffee Morning, Coronavirus, Lifted, Manchester Parent Champions|Tags: AFRUCA, CAMHS, coronavirus, Covid-19, Early Help, Greater Manchester Youth Network (GMYN), IAS, IASM, Lifted, Lifted Carers Centre, Local Offer, Manchester Parent Champions, Manchester Sensory Support Service, One Education, Parent Champions, RHOSEY, SEND Local Offer Parent/Carer Drop-ins, SENDIASS, Short Breaks|

How to Get Involved with the Local Area SEND Inspection

How to Get Involved with the Local Area SEND Inspection

Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors will be coming to Manchester next week to assess how effective our local area is at identifying and meeting the needs of children & young people who have Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND). The inspection will

By Jordan @ MPCF|2021-11-21T14:48:31+00:00November 20th, 2021|Categories: Parent-Carer Feedback|Tags: Care Quality Commission (CQC), Education, Health, Local Area SEND Inspection, Local Offer, Manchester Parent Champions, Manchester Working Together Network, Ofsted, SENDIASS, Social Care, survey|

Review of IAS Manchester Tribunal Guides

Review of IAS Manchester Tribunal Guides

Back in October 2020, Information, Advice and Support Manchester (IASM) held a workshop to try and co-produce SEND Tribunal factsheets with parents & carers. They have progressed with the work and have since decided to create tribunal guides with more detailed information. The guide documents

By Jordan @ MPCF|2021-05-19T14:12:46+01:00May 19th, 2021|Categories: Parent-Carer Feedback|Tags: consultation, IAS, IASM, SENDIASS, tribunal|

Manchester City Council’s Letter to Parents of Children with EHCP

Manchester City Council’s Letter to Parents of Children with EHCP

Below is a letter from Isobel Booler, Manchester City Council's Head of School Quality Assurance and Strategic SEND, that is being sent to all parents/carers of children and young people with an EHCP (Education, Health and Care Plan). It discusses how the January 2021 lockdown

By Jordan @ MPCF|2021-01-20T19:31:22+00:00January 20th, 2021|Categories: Information Sharing|Tags: Assistant Director for Education, coronavirus, Covid-19, EHC Plan, EHCP, Free School Meals, Home-to-School Transport, IASM, Manchester City Council, SENDIASS|

Virtual Q&A with Information, Advice and Support Manchester (IASM)

Virtual Q&A with Information, Advice and Support Manchester (IASM)

Information, Advice and Support Manchester (IASM) is piloting a virtual Question-and-Answer session with parents and carers this autumn. The session will be hosted by Carl McGlone and will be held via Google Meet at 11am on Wednesday, 30 September. (The link will be sent to

By Jordan @ MPCF|2020-09-22T14:27:13+01:00September 30th, 2020|Categories: Community, Learning|Tags: IAS, IASM, SENDIASS|

Information, Advice and Support Manchester’s (IASM) Working Practice

Information, Advice and Support Manchester’s (IASM) Working Practice

Information, Advice and Support Manchester (IASM) wants to find out if their new way of working during the coronavirus pandemic is suitable to families. Please answer the quick survey below (2 minutes) to help improve our local SENDIASS (Special Educational Needs and/or Disability IAS Service).

By Jordan @ MPCF|2020-09-04T15:37:19+01:00September 4th, 2020|Categories: Information Sharing, Parent-Carer Feedback|Tags: coronavirus, Covid-19, IAS, IASM, SENDIASS, survey|

“Reasonable Endeavours” EHCP Law Change to End July 31

“Reasonable Endeavours” EHCP Law Change to End July 31

Last Monday, we learned of the unfortunate news that the change in the law for Education Health and Care Plans (EHCP) in England has been extended by the Department for Education (DfE) until end of 31st July 2020. The changes mean that education and health

By Jordan @ MPCF|2020-07-02T18:32:47+01:00July 2nd, 2020|Categories: Uncategorized|Tags: Contact, coronavirus, Covid-19, Department for Education, DfE, EHCP, IAS, IASM, IPSEA, SENDIASS|

Manchester’s Ordinarily Available Provision for Early Years

Manchester’s Ordinarily Available Provision for Early Years

It's our pleasure to share with you the final draft of Manchester's Ordinarily Available Provision for Early Years document, which describes the support, strategies and activities that are available in early years settings to young children with additional needs, without the need for a formal

Extension of Temporary Changes to EHCP Legislation

Extension of Temporary Changes to EHCP Legislation

We previously shared with you information about the temporary changes to the law regarding Education Health and Care (EHC) plans during the Coronavirus pandemic, which was followed by a factsheet from Information, Advice and Support Manchester (IASM) explaining the changes in more detail. On Friday