Our Relationship With You

IPSEA aims to empower you to achieve the best possible outcome for your child. IPSEA is a charity funded completely by donations and grants. All of our advisers are unpaid volunteers working in their own time. IPSEA aims to provide independent advice and accurate information to parents whose children have special educational needs. Our service to parents is free and confidential.

IPSEA’s pledge to parents:

  • IPSEA will advise you on how to achieve what you believe is necessary to meet your child’s needs.
  • When our adviser believes that you may be using the wrong arguments or tactics to achieve your goal, we will advise you of this. If you decide not to take our advice we will continue to advise you to make the case you want.
  • When advising you on a course of action, we will always explain the reasons for our advice.
  • Where our adviser believes that you may be acting against a child’s best interests, it may be that IPSEA will feel it appropriate to reduce the support provided.
  • Wherever possible the views of your child/young person will be taken into account.
  • All the information received by IPSEA is treated as confidential. The only exception to this is where our adviser has grounds for believing that a child is being, or is at risk of being, abused in which case IPSEA reserves the right to inform the appropriate authorities.
  • Please also remember that our adviser is able to provide advice and support as outlined in our pledge, but is not trained to give advice in other areas. They may well be able to signpost you to someone else if need be.

What IPSEA asks of you:

  • That you fully inform your adviser of the situation you are seeking advice or support with.
  • You remain responsible at all times for meeting deadlines set by a school, LEA or the Tribunal.
  • That you tell your adviser if you take additional advice from a solicitor, advocate, charity or other source. It may be that we have to revise support we offer you.

If you are not happy with IPSEA’s work

If you have cause to complain about any aspect of our work, please write to:

The Chief Executive,
IPSEA, Hunters Court, Debden Road, Saffron Walden, CB11 4AA.