Links

ACE Education Advice & Training is a new organisation that provides independent advice and information for parents on education issues in England.

www.afclocaloffer.org.uk

Advicenow is an independent, not-for-profit website providing accurate, up-to-date information on rights and legal issues including a range of education issues.

www.advicenow.org.uk

BullyingUK is a free LiveOnline support service whose team of experts can give help and advice on a wide range of bullying problems.  It is part of ‘family lives’.

http://www.bullying.co.uk/

CASE is an organisation which campaigns in England to improve the quality of, and promote equal opportunity in, all state maintained schools. CASE produces a variety of publications and information leaflets and has a number of local associations. A SAE should be enclosed with a written enquiry.

http://www.campaignforstateeducation.org.uk

Children in Wales is responsible for guiding policy decisions that affect young people in Wales. It also provides information on all areas relevant to children and young people.

www.childreninwales.org.uk

The Coram Children’s Legal Centre provides free legal advice and sometimes representation to children and parents/carers on family, child and education law.

http://www.childrenslegalcentre.com

Everything you need to know about public services – including education

Directgov

Education Otherwise give support and information to families whose children are being educated out of school or who are considering home-based education. There are local groups, individual contacts and information leaflets. Education Otherwise can also advise a parent whose child has learning difficulties. If asked at an early stage, they can represent a parent against whom the LEA is taking action on the grounds that a pupil is not receiving a suitable education out of school. Written requests for information should be accompanied by an SAE.

http://www.education-otherwise.net/

The Education Law Unit runs a helpline for enquiries about education law in Scotland. It provides legal representation in education law cases to parents or pupils, including Additional Support Needs Tribunals.

http://edlaw.org.uk

www.familylives.org.uk

ISC gives advice and information to parents considering private education for children up to the age of eighteen, including information on schools which have facilities for pupils with learning difficulties and scholarship schemes.

www.isc.co.uk

The Local Government Ombudsmen in England investigate complaints about local authorities and certain other bodies. If you are experiencing a problem about school related matters, the Local Government Ombudsman might be able to help you.

The LGO investigates a variety of matters related to schools including:

• School admissions and allocations
• School transport
• Some aspects of educational needs
• School exclusions
• Complaints about tuition at home

In April 2010, the LGO expanded their existing complaints handling service for parents and pupils with concerns about their school. Visit their website for more information.

www.lgo.org.uk

NAGC offers support to parents and others on how to deal with a gifted child from the age of 18 months to 14 years. Social and educational activities are arranged around the UK for parents/carers and their children.

www.nagcbritain.org.uk

Education and schooling information for parents including downloadable worksheets for all National Curriculum Key Stages and SATS.

http://www.parentsintouch.co.uk/

A website that acknowledges that every child’s situation is different and provides advice and support about different factors and experiences that can affect their childhood.

http://www.understandingchildhood.net/

For parents and carers who are  are home educating a child with special educational needs.

http://www.he-special.org.uk/

The Home Education Advisory Service is a registered charity that gives advice, information and support to parents who are educating their children at home.

www.heas.org.uk

The Schoolhouse Home Education Association gives help to parents and carers who want to educate their children at home. The website provides useful information about the legal situation and members of the association can answer queries.

www.schoolhouse.org.uk

www.eduinfo.co.uk

Choosing a school  

School league tables

Ofsted is the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills. Reproting directly to Parliament, Ofsted inspect and regulate services which care for children and young people, and those providing education and skills for learners of all ages.

www.ofsted.gov.uk

A guide to schools, creches and nurseries in the UK.

http://www.schools-search.co.uk/

Afasic supports parents and carers of children with speech and language impairments.

Afasic England

Afasic Wales

Afasic Scotland

A registered charity providing information and resources about ADHD for parents, sufferers, teachers and health professionals.

http://www.addiss.co.uk/

A national charity providing free audio books by post to people who are visually impaired or dyslexic. There is also a separate website for younger ‘readers’.

Calibre

Youngcalibre

Help for parents and those who advise them in choosing schools for children with Dyslexia and its accompanying Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLDs).  

CReSTeD

Supports individuals and families affected by developmental dyspraxia through books, suggestions, a teen newsletter and an adult support group.

http://www.dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk/

A site dedicated to helping families with Fragile X Syndrome, the most common known cause of inherited learning disabilities including social, language, attentional, emotional, and behavioural problems.

http://fragilex.org.uk/

A charity that supports children with speech, language and communication difficulties.

http://www.ican.org.uk/

IPSEA is a registered charity providing free and independent legally based advice for parents whose children have special educational needs/disability.

http://www.ipsea.org.uk/

Support for children and adults with learning disabilities.

http://www.mencap.org.uk/

Parent Partnership Services are statutory services offering information advice and support to parents and carers of children and young people with special educational needs.  PPS are also able to put parents in touch with other local and national organisations.

http://www.parentpartnership.org.uk/

Netbuddy is an award winning site for swapping practical tips and information on all aspects of supporting people with special needs. It has now merged with Scope.

http://www.netbuddy.org.uk/

Peach is a parent-led charity that promotes Early Intensive Behavioural Intervention (EIBI) for young children with autism.

http://www.peach.org.uk/

A website all about children’s speech, language and communication for parents, children, young people and people that work with them.

talkingpoint

The Communication Trust is a campaigning voice for children with speech, language and communication needs.

The Communication Trust

The Dyslexia-SpLD-Trust is a collaboration of voluntary and community organisations with funding from the Department for Education to provide reliable information to parents, teachers, schools and the wider sector. It acts as the main communication channel between government, leading dyslexia organisations, parents, schools, colleges, teachers and the sector.

http://www.thedyslexia-spldtrust.org.uk/

The leading charity for people with autism.

http://www.autism.org.uk/

Help and support for deaf children and their families.

http://www.ndcs.org.uk/

Information and support on childhood bedwetting, daytime wetting, constipation and soiling to children, young people, parents and professionals.

www.eric.org.uk

David Wolfe’s blog for anyone concerned about ‘academies’ or ‘free schools’ and the law   

http://davidwolfe.org.uk/wordpress/

The latest Education News.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education