Charitable trusts and foundations make a crucial contribution to our work. Our work is hard to fund because outside of the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) sector, the assumption is that all children and young people in England receive a suitable education, and if children with SEND have additional rights that are enshrined in law, they will get what they are entitled to. This is simply not the case.

Thanks to our relationships with generous organisations who understand the importance of our work, we can continue to provide our free helplines and Tribunal Support Service, which are lifelines to the families who need us. Our funders also help us to scrutinise and influence national and local SEND policy and provide our raft of heavily relied-upon free online resources and templates.

Hear from some of our inspiring funders about why they are committed to helping improve the educational provision for children and young people with SEND:  

Pears Foundation

“Pears Foundation supports organisations that promote children’s wellbeing and contribute to better understanding of the challenges that they and their families face. IPSEA combines expert legal advice with policy and influencing. We provide unrestricted core funding to IPSEA so that they can continue to develop their services to help more parents and carers secure the right SEND support for their child.” 

The National Lottery Community Fund

“The National Lottery Community Fund is the largest funder of community activity in the UK and supports people and communities to prosper and thrive. IPSEA is committed to helping children, young people and their families across the SEND community get the support, education, and training opportunities they need. Thanks to National Lottery players, IPSEA’s call-in service is receiving vital support, which provides free and independent legal advice to inform and educate parents and carers giving them the confidence to pursue the best educational provision for their child.” 

John Lyon’s Charity

“John Lyon’s Charity is committed to ensuring that children with SEND can thrive educationally and reach their full potential. For many families who do not understand what their rights are relating to their child’s education, IPSEA is an important, but rare, service. IPSEA ensures children get the right entitlements and provides support to families as they navigate the process of challenging school or Local Authority decisions. These often bring about positive results which help to improve the child and their family’s school experience.” 

Allen & Overy Foundation

“Allen & Overy is pleased to support IPSEA as part of its commitment to increasing access to education, employment and justice.” 

Kusuma Trust UK

"At Kusuma Trust UK we are committed to unlock the potential of children with SEND. We are excited to support IPSEA to make sure children get the right support at the right time." 

 

IPSEA benefits from excellent governance and grant management processes. We prioritise building relationships with our supporters through providing opportunities to meet and talk with project staff and by sharing regular reports on the progress and impact of our work.  

We share funding acknowledgements in our annual review, annual accounts, supporter publications and on social media where appropriate. 

If you want to support IPSEA through a charitable trust or foundation, please get in touch with our Fundraising Team on [email protected].