Advocacy

RIASS Information, Advice Support and Advocacy

RIASS provides information, advice and support to children and young people and their parent and carers who reside within the London Borough of Redbridge or that London Borough of Redbridge have a legal responsibility too.

RIASS is an impartial service, and the information, advice and support are based firmly within the law and SEND Code of Practice and other relevant Acts and/or local authorities and schools’ practices and procedures. We do not give priority to any impairment, disability, or special educational need, nor do we campaign for any approach to education.

RIASS provides the information, advice, and support in a variety of ways as stated in the

• Minimum Standards for SEND Information, Advice and Support Services and implements an Empowerment and Advice model which enables children and young people (CYP) and their parents and carers to make their own decisions to achieve the best possible education and other outcomes needed.
• The Code of Practice says that support should be available but also calls for services to “promote independence and self-advocacy for children, young people and parent/carers” Where RIASS is aware of the importance of delivering support to those who may require this, the ethos is to provide information and advice above support. 
• RIASS is not a long-term support service. We provide information, advice, and support on the current situation of the referral. There is no limit on the returning to the service if further information, advice, and support is required and no limit on the number of areas of concern.  

What do we mean by Advice?

Information	Everything children, young people, parent/carers can access without contacting the service	Website, Social Media & Local Offer
Advice	Help children, young people, parent/carers apply information to their own situation so that they can make an informed decision and act themselves	Triage, Website, Tribunal Onfo Packs, Info Sessions and advice via email or phone appointment
Support	Helping parents/carers to act for themselves	Advice via phone appointment or drop in session

RIASS does not follow up once the information, advice and support has been provided. This is left with the the referrer to decide if they require further information, advice, and support. The service does not have access to education, health or local authority records and it would be the responsibility of the refer to provide these to the service. As an impartial service RIASS cannot arrange meetings with other professionals.

RIASS will:

• Ensure that CYP and their parent/carers are aware of their rights and responsibilities in relation to the CYPA 2014
• Promote the RIASS website and other sources of information such as RIASS documents (parent packs) and Parent Information Sessions. In urgent situations where RIASS is unable to provide information, advice, and support RIASS would provide details of other services who could deliver this, such as IPSEA, Contact or other local and national services.
• Provide telephone/email information and advice to enable access to the information needed to represent yourself. This can include RIASS reviewing documents on behalf of CYP and their parent/carers via email or hard copies and providing feedback and advice accordingly.
• Encourage building positive trusting relationships between CYP and their parents/carers and the professionals they are involved with.

Face-to-Face Support

RIASS will provide information, advice, and support with face-to-face meetings when:

• Parents may have their own additional needs.
• Parents require support to write their contribution to the EHCP assessment.
• Annual Review meetings may include:

1. An education placement at risk.
2. A phased transfer where there is uncertainty regarding the next placement.
3. A child with multiple or complex needs and parents are struggling to engage support or necessary services.
4. A complex situation at risk of going to SENDisT.
5. on-going issues regarding implementation or delivery of a ruling following a SENDisT decision.

Other possible reasons for face-to-face meetings are at the discretion of RIASS. For all the above reasonings, a face-to-face meeting will be conducted online and only in exceptional circumstances would be in person.

Home Visits

Home visits would only be carried out if:

• The parent is unable to leave their home due to their own needs or caring responsibilities for another
• The child they are contacting you about being unable to leave the house and it would be unsafe for them to be left
• There is no other suitable alternative or accessible place to meet e.g. school, LBR building, coffee shop etc.
• An online meeting would not be appropriate of the situation.

Tribunal Attendance

RIASS are not legally qualified so we cannot act as your legal representative in hearings, but we can assist you to prepare for your hearing and support you to put forward your views and wishes during the hearing.  In situations where parents/young people choose to pay for private SEN legal / SEN advocacy support, it is RIASS policy that we would withdraw from your case, to avoid conflicting advice being given and so that we can prioritise parents and young people who most need our support.

RIASS can represent a young person or parent at a hearing and assist in the presentation of their case in accordance with rule 11(5) of The Tribunal Procedure (First-Tier Tribunal) (Health, Education and Social Care Chamber) Rules 2008, as amended. Please refer to RIASS Tribunal Policy and Procedure for further information

Advocacy

Advocacy means receiving support from another person to help you express your views, wishes and feelings, understand your rights, and take an active role in decision-making. RIASS does not provide statutory advocacy services or legal advocacy as delivered by a solicitor or barrister.

RIASS advocacy is focused on empowering children, young people, parents and carers to understand their rights, make informed decisions, and communicate their own views, wishes and feelings. Our role is to support self-advocacy wherever possible rather than to represent individuals or speak on their behalf.

RIASS can provide informal advocacy by:

• Listening to your views, wishes and concerns.
• Helping you understand your rights and available options.
• Providing information to support informed decision-making.
• Supporting you to communicate with relevant professionals and services, or contacting them on your behalf with your consent.
• Supporting you to prepare for meetings by helping you identify key issues, questions and outcomes you wish to discuss.
• Helping you understand reports, correspondence and meeting paperwork.
• Supporting you to communicate your views, wishes and feelings effectively.
• Accompanying and supporting you at meetings where it has been agreed that you are unable to participate independently due to identified support needs. This support is available only in exceptional circumstances, is not routinely provided, and is subject to Service Manager approval.

RIASS informal advocates will not:

• Give personal opinions or tell you what decisions to make.
• Make decisions on your behalf.
• Solve problems for you.
• Make judgements about you or your situation.
• Act as your representative or speak in place of you where you are able to express your own views.
• Provide legal representation or statutory advocacy services.

How advocacy support can help

The support of a RIASS advocate can be particularly useful if you do not feel confident expressing your views in meetings or discussions. This may be especially beneficial for young people, or for individuals who have additional support needs that make self-advocacy difficult.

RIASS aims to empower parents, carers and young people to participate confidently and independently in meetings and decision-making processes. In most cases, support will be provided before a meeting to help you prepare and ensure your views, wishes and feelings can be communicated effectively without RIASS being present.

We can:

• Help you identify and prepare the questions you would like to ask.
• Support you to ensure the issues important to you are raised and discussed.
• Explain available options and possible next steps in an impartial manner.
• Help you understand reports, correspondence and meeting paperwork.
• Support you to prepare notes or a list of points you would like to discuss during the meeting.

Requesting Advocacy Support

Requests for advocacy support will be considered on an individual basis. We will assess whether there are identified needs that prevent a person from effectively expressing their views independently and whether advocacy support falls within the remit and capacity of the service, including staff availability.

Requests for RIASS to attend meetings will only be considered where there is evidence that a child, young person, parent or carer is unable to participate effectively or communicate their views, wishes and feelings without additional support. Consideration may be given to requests relating to young people, communication difficulties, disabilities or other significant barriers to participation.

Meeting attendance is not routinely provided, and all requests are subject to assessment, service capacity and approval by the Service Manager.