- Autism
- ADHD
- SpLD
- Complex SEND
Expert SEND advice when you need clarity about what should happen next.
Independent, practical advice from an experienced senior SENCO, specialist assessor and SEND professional with more than 20 years’ experience in education, and lived experience as a SEND parent too.
What should good support actually look like?
Many families I speak to already have support in place. The problem is that it may not be the right support.
Parents are often told that support is already happening. That can be true, and still not be enough. The more useful questions are whether that support matches the need, whether it is happening often enough and consistently enough, and whether anybody is checking that it makes a difference.
The SEND Practice helps families understand not simply whether support exists, but whether it makes educational sense.
Support should not simply exist. It should have a purpose.
- Is it the right support?
- Does it actually match the child’s needs?
- Is it targeted enough?
- Is it happening frequently enough?
- Is it being implemented consistently?
- Is anybody measuring whether it works?
- Are reasonable adjustments genuinely removing barriers?
- Does the EHCP translate into meaningful everyday provision?
- What should happen if the current support is not working?
Any of these sound familiar?
These are the kinds of situations parents bring to me, from primary school through to post-16.
- “School says they’re already doing everything they can.”
- “My child masks at school and falls apart at home.”
- “ADHD is being treated as a behaviour problem.”
- “My child is academically able but cannot consistently access school.”
- “Anxiety or panic is making education increasingly difficult.”
- “Sleep problems are having a major impact on school.”
- “I don’t know whether the EHCP actually reflects my child’s needs.”
- “My child is receiving interventions, but nothing seems to change.”
- “I have assessments and reports but don’t understand what school should actually do with them.”
- “I am considering an EHC Needs Assessment and don’t know where to start.”
- “I have a multi-agency meeting and don’t know what I should be asking.”
- “GCSEs are approaching and attendance and support are a mess.”
- “My child is moving into post-16 and I’m worried their SEND support will disappear.”
- “I’m completing DLA or PIP paperwork and struggling to explain the real impact of their needs.”
The SEND Surgery
One problem. One focused hour. Clear next steps.
The SEND Surgery is a 60-minute specialist consultation for parents who need help making sense of a SEND situation. Bring me the problem. We’ll work out what matters and what needs to happen next.
It might involve:
You leave with clearer priorities, practical next steps, useful questions and a plan.
Autism, ADHD, SpLD and complex SEND
Four areas where I have particular depth, through postgraduate study, years of leading provision in schools and my own family life.
Autism
Masking, autism in girls, internalised presentation, sensory and communication differences, and the gap between school and home.
AutismADHD
Executive functioning, regulation and overwhelm, and the difference between behaviour and unmet need.
ADHDSpLD & Assessment
Dyslexia and literacy-related difficulties, learning profiles, specialist assessment and access arrangements.
SpLD & AssessmentComplex SEND
Overlapping needs, health and education, many reports and no clear plan. Children do not always fit neatly into one box.
Complex SENDAn EHCP should not simply sound impressive on paper.
What matters is whether it accurately describes need and translates into meaningful provision for the child. I have spent years writing towards, implementing and reviewing EHCPs from inside schools, so I know where plans tend to fall down in practice.
- EHCPs: does Section B reflect the child, and does Section F follow from it?
- Implementation: what the plan looks like on an ordinary Tuesday
- Provision planning: universal, targeted and specialist
- Reasonable adjustments that remove barriers, rather than sit on a list
- Interventions: the right need, the right intensity, reviewed for impact
- Annual reviews: priorities, outcomes and questions
- EHC Needs Assessments: educational evidence and preparation
Educational SEND consultancy, not legal advice.
I understand both sides of the table.
More than 20 years in education. Extensive SENCO experience. Senior leadership. Specialist assessment. Postgraduate SEND study. Whole-school inclusion leadership. And, most importantly, lived experience as a parent too.
I know the language of SEND professionally. I also know what it feels like when that language is being used to describe your own child.
That is why I don’t start from “the school is wrong”. I start from the child: what the barrier actually is, what need may be driving it, what evidence matters and what good provision could look like.
More about me and how I workIndependent SEND Consultant & Specialist Assessor
- 20+ years in education, including Assistant Principal
- Extensive SENCO and strategic SEND leadership experience
- MEd SEND and Inclusion, with an autism specialism
- NASENCO
- PGCert Specialist Teaching for Literacy-Related Difficulties (DL)
- CPT3A and BPS RQTU: Test User: Educational
- REAL Group SEND Professional Partner
- NPQ for SENCOs delivery and SEND conference speaking
- Lived experience as a SEND parent
Academic, professional, practical and personal
Most SEND advice comes from one of these perspectives. The combination is what shapes The SEND Practice.
Academically
- MEd SEND and Inclusion
- Specialist literacy teaching qualification
- Autism specialism
- Specialist psychometric assessment training
- Postgraduate research
Professionally
- 20+ years in education
- Extensive SENCO experience
- Senior leadership
- Current SEND leadership
- NPQSEN delivery and conference presenting
- REAL Group SEND Professional Partner
Practically
- Implementing EHCPs
- Designing provision and interventions
- Access arrangements
- Multi-agency work
- Whole-school inclusion leadership, including IQM
Personally
- Neurodivergence
- Severe anxiety and panic
- Significant sleep difficulties
- Barriers to attendance
- GCSEs and post-16 transition
- DLA/PIP and coordinating health and education
Not sure where to start?
- Need one issue untangled?The SEND Surgery£95
- Already have an EHCP or key SEND document and want another educational perspective?EHCP / Document Clarity Reviewfrom £145
- Already have professional assessments but don’t understand what they mean for school?Assessment & Report Reviewfrom £150
- Annual review approaching?Annual Review Preparationfrom £175
- Considering or preparing for an EHC Needs Assessment or multi-agency meeting?EHCNA / Multi-Agency Preparationfrom £175
- Want me to assess your child’s learning profile?Specialist Learning Profilefrom £295
- Several complex issues at once?Complex SEND Case Consultationby request
- Still unsure?Free 15-Minute Fit Callfree
If you’re unsure, start with The SEND Surgery.
Community Access
Independent SEND support should not only be available to families who can comfortably afford private advice. A limited number of reduced-fee appointments are kept for families in genuine financial difficulty.
You don’t need to know exactly what service you need.
If you’re unsure where to start, The SEND Surgery is designed for exactly that. Bring the problem. We’ll identify what matters, what needs clarifying and what your next steps could be.
£95 | 60 minutes | Online
The SEND Practice is intentionally small, and appointments are released in selected evenings, weekends and school holidays.