Meet Jaysol, an IPSEA Advice Line volunteer since 2024.  Jaysol has an older brother with special educational needs, and after his parents received support from IPSEA, he became committed to wanting to support other families of children and young people with SEND.

 

My inspiration for becoming an IPSEA volunteer 

I have an older brother who has special educational needs. When I was very young, my parents used IPSEA’s services to gain advice on fighting our local authority, subsequently took them to Tribunal and won.

This story figured heavily in my childhood and the belief in the importance of the law in shaping our and other people’s lives, for good or for ill, took root. It has led me to study law at University and then to volunteer with IPSEA so I could offer something back to families who face an adversarial and complex system.

The impact of volunteering 

It is an intensely rewarding role, from both an intellectual and emotional standpoint. To be able to tangibly help families overwhelmed by the complex network of law in this field, and know that your advice has enabled them to regroup, and continue to fight for what they are entitled to, is extremely powerful. The stories I hear on calls are often upsetting but it is enormously fulfilling to know that I have been able to help the people who contact us in some way.

Skills I have developed 

I have learned so very much from volunteering with IPSEA. Most of it is unquantifiable: client care, research skills, advice-writing, team-work, emotional resilience, to name just a few. It has also given me tangible experience to draw on in interviews and applications – just recently, I was awarded a scholarship by an Inn of Court (Lincoln’s Inn) to study for the bar course, and my experience with IPSEA meant I could speak about my understanding of the legal profession with greater clarity and understanding.