Trusts and foundations

Charitable trusts and foundations make a crucial contribution to our work at IPSEA. Outside of the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) sector, a common assumption is that all children and young people in England receive the education they are entitled to, 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 partnerships with forward-thinking organisations who understand the importance of our work, we can continue to develop 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.

From multi-year unrestricted grants, which promote our growth and sustainability, to support for one-off projects, all contributions to IPSEA’s work make a lasting difference for children and young people with SEND.

Image of a school boy wearing a red school jumper. He is sitting at a desk and writing with a pencil.

Meet our funders

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: 

The Access to Justice Foundation’s vision is a society where everyone has access to justice. Our mission is to improve people’s lives by increasing the availability of legal advice and support. The Improving Lives Through Advice (ILTA) grant programme is supported by The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest community funder in the UK. With thanks to National Lottery players, we’re able to support long-term core cost grants which will allow our funded partners to increase access to specialist legal advice, recruit and retain staff, invest in innovative projects, deliver a community centric approach, and provide holistic answers to complex needs. We know the organisations we support are embedded in their communities and have trust and empowerment as the foundations of their work as they aim to meet the significant demand for free legal advice and support services in their communities.

~ Access to Justice Foundation

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.

~ The National Lottery Community Fund

Essex Community Foundation is pleased to support IPSEA’s work in Essex, helping them focus on the legal rights of SEND children, young people, and their families. They offer a unique service that empowers parents and carers to secure the support their child is legally entitled to.

~ Essex Community Foundation

The John Laing Charitable Trust aims to support young people with skills and education. We are pleased to support IPSEA’s important work helping young people to access their rights to education and removing barriers to learning.

~ John Laing Charitable Trust

Esmée Fairbairn Foundation is an independent funder. We aim to improve our natural world, secure a fairer future and strengthen the bonds in communities in the UK. IPSEA deliver specialist legal support for children and young people with SEND. We provide unrestricted core costs funding to enable them to develop partnerships to reach young people who are least likely to be receiving appropriate support, and to protect, promote and uphold the rights and entitlements of all children with SEND.

~ Esmée Fairbairn Foundation

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.

~ John Lyon's Charity

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.

~ Pears Foundation

The A B Charitable Trust promotes human dignity and defends the human rights of marginalised and excluded people. We are pleased to be supporting IPSEA’s delivery of specialist legal support for children and young people with SEND. 

~ A B Charitable Trust

The IPSEA team met with us as part of the assessment process, and our Trustees spoke highly of their expertise and track record in protecting children’s rights. 

~ John Ellerman Foundation

A trusted and honest partner

IPSEA benefits from excellent governance and effective financial and grant management processes. We prioritise building relationships with our partners by providing opportunities to meet with project staff and sharing regular, comprehensive reports on the progress, impact and cost 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, or wish to find out more, please get in touch with our Fundraising Manager, Victoria Lewis, on [email protected].

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Author: Emma Brock

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