Welcome to
Sunderland Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information, Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS) is a free, statutory service which offers information, advice and support for Parents and Carers of children and young people with SEND, from birth to 25.
This service is also offered directly to young people aged 16+.
What is a Disability?
This is defined by the Equality Act 2010 as:
(1) A person (P) has a disability if—
(a) P has a physical or mental impairment, and
(b) the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on P’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.
WHAT ARE SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS?
(1) A child or young person has special educational needs if he or she has a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her.
(2) A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she—
(a) has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or
(b) has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions.
(3) A child under compulsory school age has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she is likely to be within subsection (2) when of compulsory school age (or would be likely, if no special educational provision were made).