SEND Law Hub
Local authorities must arrange independent, impartial information, advice and support for every child, young person and family affected by SEN or disability. This is a legal duty, not a discretionary service.
The 'Every Child Achieving and Thriving' Education White Paper was published in February 2026, alongside a companion document 'SEND Reform: Putting Children and Young People First'. These introduce significant proposed changes including Individual Support Plans, a new three-tier support model, and Specialist Provision Packages. The law documented here — the Children and Families Act 2014 and SEND Code of Practice 2015 — remains in full force until legislation and the updated Code are brought into effect. We will update each page as official text is published. See our SEND Reform 2026 page for a full breakdown.
Every family navigating the SEND system is legally entitled to free, impartial information, advice and support. This chapter sets out what local authorities must provide, and how to access it if they are not delivering it.
Sections 32 and 49, Children and Families Act 2014. Code of Practice § 2.1 to 2.6
Local authorities must arrange for children with SEN or disabilities for whom they are responsible, their parents, and young people with SEN or disabilities, to be provided with information and advice about matters relating to their SEN or disabilities, including matters relating to health and social care. This must include information, advice and support on the take up and management of personal budgets.
Local authorities must take steps to make these services known to children, their parents and young people in their area, and to head teachers, principals and proprietors of schools and post 16 institutions.
Information, advice and support services should be impartial, confidential and accessible and should have the capacity to handle face to face, telephone and electronic enquiries.
Every local authority in England must have an information, advice and support service, commonly called IASS. This is a free service you can use at any stage of the SEND process.
The key word is impartial. They are there to help you understand the system and your rights, not to represent the LA.
They can attend meetings with you, help you understand documents, and explain what should happen next. The LA should actively publicise this service, not bury it in the local offer.
Contact your local IASS directly and ask for support. If you cannot find it, ask the LA in writing to confirm who provides it and how to access it. If needed, use national services like IPSEA or SOS SEN as well.
Section 32, Children and Families Act 2014. Code of Practice § 2.7 to 2.22
Services should provide information and advice about the law on SEN and disability and local policy, advice and support with SEND processes, independent support in making choices, support to attend and contribute to meetings including assessments, reviews and Tribunal, and help to prepare for disagreement resolution and mediation.
Where young people are involved, the service must be accessible to them directly and in a format that meets their needs.
IASS is not just leaflets. They can attend meetings, help review draft EHCPs, and support you to prepare for a Tribunal appeal. Young people aged 16 plus can access this support directly.
When contacting IASS, be specific about what you need. Meeting attendance, draft EHCP review, help preparing an appeal. They should support all of these.
Code of Practice § 2.23 to 2.26
LAs should consider the needs of children and parents who may need additional support to participate effectively, including those using alternative communication, with English as an additional language, in care, or in Armed Forces families who move frequently. For Service families, the child's SEN support or EHCP should transfer when moving area.
If you need accessible formats, interpreters or extra support to participate, the service should provide it. Military families keep their EHCP when moving. The new LA picks it up.
If you move, write to the new LA confirming the EHCP must be maintained under Section 47 and ask who the responsible officer is and how provision will continue without a gap.
'Every Child Achieving and Thriving' — DfE, February 2026
The white paper announces a new £1.8 billion Experts at Hand service bringing speech and language therapists, Educational Psychologists and wider professionals directly into mainstream schools and early years settings. This is a new form of multiagency support that will sit alongside — not replace — IASS.
When the Experts at Hand service is commissioned locally, families will be able to ask their school or early years setting to access this support for their child. It is intended to provide earlier, more flexible professional input before or alongside a statutory EHCP process.
This service does not yet exist. Your current rights under IASS and the statutory SEND system are unchanged.
Ask your LA what plans they have for implementing the Experts at Hand service locally and when it will be available. Putting this question on record now creates a paper trail and shows you are tracking implementation.
In the meantime, request SALT, EP and other professional input through the existing EHCP process and the SEND Code of Practice statutory framework.
