Category: Practitioners


Many parents of children with additional needs talk about the battle to get support for their child. One of the routes of complaint about this for families in England is the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO).

Earlier this month the LGSCO published its annual report for the year 2024-25, which showed they are dealing with record numbers of complaints – exceeding 20,000 for the first time.

Investigating complaints about local authorities

Complaints about education and children’s services are still dominating its casework. Housing has now moved to the second biggest area of concern overtaking adult social care.

The LGSCO investigates complaints about local authorities. It can look at how a council has dealt with a child’s special educational needs. They can also consider complaints about social care and housing. You can’t complain to the Ombudsman about something which you can appeal to the SEND Tribunal about.

Daily battle

Amanda Elliot, Health and Social Care policy lead at Contact, said: “Many families with disabled children use the complaints process of the LGSCO because they are unable to access the support they need for their child. It is a long and time-consuming process to follow the local authority complaints process and then go to the LGSCO, so it is not something entered into lightly. The record number of complaints to the LGSCO is a sad indictment of the daily battle that parents talk about and the state of the public services they rely on.

“It’s why we believe the government should implement the Law Commission’s proposals in full and why it’s crucial that the forthcoming SEND reforms create a system that works for every child – strengthening support for children who do not have an Education, Health and Care plan, while protecting current rights.”

Contact’s social care asks include a separate social care assessment pathway and national eligibility criteria.

Making a complaint about services

We have information about how to complain about services, whether that’s a refusal to assess, delays or quality.

We’ve got some free online workshops for London parents caring for autistic children coming up. Please use the links below to find out more and register your free place.

Tuesday, 24 September, 7-9pm. Senses Inside body, balance, body awareness, stimming

This workshop focuses on the senses – inside body, balance, body awareness and stimming – and how best to support them. Book your free place.

Friday, 27 September, 10am-12. Supporting Sleep

At this popular online workshop you’ll get an overview of common sleep issues alongside tips and strategies that can help. Book your place here.

Are you a personal assistant (PA)?

Our free online workshop, Understanding Sensory Processing, takes place on Wednesday 25 September, 10am-12 and is aimed at personal assistants who want to understand more about sensory processing. Please book your free place here.

Last month around 65 parent carers and practitioners attended Contact NI’s second rare conditions conference, Supporting Children and Families Living with Rare Diseases in Northern Ireland.

Held in collaboration with the Northern Ireland Rare Disease Partnership and supported by the Pears Foundation and Dormant Accounts Funding NI, May’s conference built on the momentum of Contact NI’s rare conditions conference which took place in January to provide another opportunity for parents and practitioners to connect, exchange information, and learn from each other.

Contact’s Northern Ireland Trustee, Kate Fleck, opened the conference and attendees heard some of the key insights and findings that came out of January’s conference which included the challenges parent carers have getting information and support for their child.

“It is a real help to know that Contact is focused on our needs. Too many times we feel as parent carers that we are on the defensive, always battling. Today was a piece of respite for me.” 

Parent carer who attended Contact’s NI Rare Conditions Conference

A panel discussion also took place, featuring expert insights from a paediatric specialist, solicitor, and other healthcare professionals, who addressed some of the critical issues faced by rare conditions families and provided a space for in-depth discussion and Q&As.

Attendees had the opportunity to try out our workshops for practitioners and parent carers which offer practical tools and strategies for managing rare conditions and improving communication between carers and the professionals they come into contact with.

“I felt emotional during the wellbeing workshop…I think it was the first time in a long time that I actually realised how much trauma I’ve been holding since our daughter’s diagnosis.” 

Parent carer

Catherine Murnin from Contact’s Business Development team said: “Our conference created a supportive environment for sharing experiences, learning, and developing meaningful connections – and we were delighted to receive such positive feedback from attendees.

“It was a great opportunity for families to share their experiences and highlight some of the unique challenges they face like having to explain their child’s condition to different professionals over and over again for example. This conference has given us even more valuable insight as we continue to advocate for better resources and support for families affected by rare conditions and ensure that parent carer voices are heard and listened to.”

Other organisations attending the conference included the NHSCT Carers Hub, C&YPSP Department of Health, NICHI Health Alliance, SENSE NI and Children in Northern Ireland (CINI).

Find out more about Contact in Northern Ireland.

We’re proud to announce that Contact is now a certified Continuing Professional Development (CPD) provider.

Bookings are now open so don’t forget to claim your discount!

Our CPD workshops are suitable for all practitioners working with children including family support workers, early years practitioners, school staff, childminders and health visitors. They aim to improve your confidence and skills supporting parent carers and their families.

Workshops coming up include Working with Parent Carers of Children with additional Needs and Disabilities (SEND) which take place on 26 September, 31 October and 29 November. 100% of attendees who attended this workshop during 2022/23 rated the trainer’s knowledge as excellent or good.  

Toilet Training Children with SEND for practitioners is available as a pre-recorded webinar which can be accessed at a time convenient to you.  Register on our Eventbrite page to receive your webinar link.

Find out more about our CPD accredited workshops for practitioners.

“The training was very inspirational and thought provoking in thinking about the impact of disability on families.” 

Practitioner who attended one of our workshops

For more information or for details of our bespoke packages for your organisation please get in touch: [email protected] .  

 

Sea of transition slide from our preparing for adulthood workshop

If you’re a practitioner working with parent carers of disabled children, we have a series of workshops you can commission for them.

To highlight what’s on offer, we’re running a series of occasional articles looking at how our sessions can help the families you support.

Navigating the sea of transition

Our highly-experienced Family Support Consultants have recently updated our Preparation for Adulthood workshop. And we’ve based these changes on feedback from parent carers and due to increased demand for the topic.

When their child starts to move towards independence, this can cause a lot of concern for parents. Families will be beginning to navigate new ways of working with authorities, new legislation, and the changes that come with a growing child.

Parent carers might be fairly comfortable with the status quo. They know all there is to know about children’s health, education and social care support. They have identified their allies.  And they have probably got tried and tested strategies for dealing with life.

But the sea of transition is starting to make waves and their young person is now in charge, “captain” on the journey.  Parent carers find themselves along for the ride as co-pilot. 

How our workshop helps parent carers

Our workshop explores what parent carers need for the journey and how are they feeling as they embark on this voyage into new territories.

Parent carers might feel like seeking sanctuary in the lighthouse, safe from ever-increasing waves. But our workshop will equip families with the skills they need to navigate this new stage of life and reach the shores of independent living.

The workshop covers:

Find out more and book a course

For information about bespoke courses, multiple purchases, or to book a course for parent carers you support, visit our practitioners webpages.

Or you can get in touch:

Call us: Ellie Goff: 07884 742 154 / Emma Weatherdon: 07919 147 076
Email us: [email protected] 

Related information

Book your place on our latest virtual workshop for practitioners happening on Thursday 23 February, 7-9pm, and find out more about the causes of anxiety in children and strategies to help you work with children who have anxiety.

You’ll also have the opportunity to share experiences with other practitioners and access support from our experienced trainer.

Book your place today.

“I feel more informed, I can empathise and signpost more.”

Workshop attendee

At Contact we understand parent carers, and we want to help you improve your confidence and skills supporting them. All of our workshops are accessible, jargon-free and give you practical ideas about how you can support children with special educational needs and disabilities and their families.

“Very informative, lots of facts and information relatable to families I work with.”

Find out more about our Supporting Children with Anxiety workshop and book your place . You can also email [email protected]

Our accessible and jargon-free workshops will give you practical ideas about how you can support children with special educational needs and disabilities and their families.

Discover more about all our upcoming workshops for practitioners including Supporting Children with Anxiety, Toilet Training, Working with parent carers of children with SEND.

Our virtual workshops for practitioners are priced at just £75 + VAT will take place via Zoom.

Our online Fledglings shop is now available in a number of different languages for shoppers whose first language is not English.

Simply click a flag in the top right corner of the Fledglings home page to pick your preferred language and view product and collection information in the language of your choice.

You can choose from:

We hope that this new development on our Fledglings website makes it easier for families to find the sensory toys, adaptive clothing and aids they need for the children and adults with additional needs that they care for.