If you’re looking to give your time and want to make a real difference to children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), then volunteering with us could be for you.

While many of our opportunities focus on delivering advice and support to families of children and young people with SEND, there are a number of other ways you can also get involved – take a look at our fundraising page to see how else you could support us.

How we help and our impact

Supporting families to ensure that local authorities meet their legal obligations is the prime focus of IPSEA’s work. We deliver our services across England, providing free one-off telephone advice and ongoing casework support to parents, carers and young people.

We run two helplines which operate on a call-back basis and a call-in helpline service. Our Advice Line  provides one-off next step advice on any educational issue that relates to a child or young person’s SEND, including exclusion from school, home to school transport, disability discrimination and the process for obtaining additional support for a child or young person.

On our Tribunal Helpline we give next step advice on appeals and disability discrimination claims to the SEND Tribunal. The Tribunal’s role is to resolve disputes between parents/young people and local authorities where they are unable to agree on the support that a child or young person with SEND requires.

Our Call-in Helpline is designed for people to access on the spot advice if they haven’t been able to book an appointment on our Advice Line or Tribunal Helpline.

Through our Tribunal Support Service (TSS) we provide families with in-depth casework support. This includes assistance with drafting appeal grounds, compiling evidence, assisting with the case management process, negotiating with local authority representatives, helping with paperwork and providing representation at the hearing. We prioritise cases that are complex or where the parent's ability to advocate is limited, for example those who have literacy difficulties, for whom English is a second language, who have significant caring responsibilities or are themselves disabled.

Our advice services are enhanced by our easy to navigate website which is constantly reviewed and updated to ensure it reflects current law and policy, and includes a series of template letters for parents and carers to use to help secure the education their child is legally entitled to. 

Volunteering opportunities

Volunteers are the backbone of IPSEA, playing a vital role in delivering our services and providing much-needed support to families. By joining our dedicated team of over 80 volunteers, you will make a meaningful impact on the lives of children and young people with SEND.

Helplines volunteer (Advice Line, Tribunal Helpline and Call-in Helpline)

As a helplines volunteer, you will provide crucial, legally based information, support and advice to parents of children with SEND. You will guide them through the intricacies of the law, explain their entitlements, and provide clear next steps. Your dedication and compassion will empower families to advocate effectively for their children's educational needs. We are currently prioritising recruitment for our Call-in Helpline. 

Tribunal Support Service volunteer

If you have a passion for assisting families through the Tribunal process, our casework support service is an excellent fit. You will have the opportunity to delve into complex cases, refine your advocacy skills, and provide direct representation at tribunal hearings. Your involvement will be instrumental in ensuring families receive the support they require during this critical stage.

All new volunteers are asked to train and learn how to support our call-back helplines initially. We see the training and application of learning by delivering next-step advice as the foundation on which to progress to casework volunteering on our Tribunal Support Service. Volunteers need to reach a level of competency before taking on casework support, as it is vital we can offer families going through the tribunal process confident and experienced volunteers. 

Visit our how to apply page to learn more about the volunteer application process, and our volunteer stories page to explore what it’s like to volunteer with IPSEA. 

Apply now to volunteer with IPSEA