The Pitfalls of not Knowing your SEND Advocate

SEND Advocacy is currently unregulated and this is a big concern to both parents and professionals.

Let us explain why. 

Firstly, let’s look at how some SEND advocacy services are being promoted.

Your advocate says they have managed a successful appeal for their own child. Does this really qualify someone to work as a professional advocate or make them an appropriate professional to manage your child’s case?

Every individual SEND child/young person is unique. Lived experience is your own personal experience of your own child; no one knows them as well as you do.

Successfully appealing for one's own child does not, by itself, demonstrate that an individual has the breadth of knowledge, training, qualifications or experience required to support a wide range of families and SEND circumstances.

Some advocates may rely heavily on AI-generated content without sufficient professional oversight. What is the problem with using AI?

AI should not be relied upon as the sole basis for reviewing an EHCP. A robust review requires professional judgement, detailed analysis of the evidence, knowledge of SEND law and an understanding of the individual child.

Reliance solely on AI-generated grounds of appeal or position statements may create significant risks, including factual inaccuracies, misapplication of law or references to non-existent case law. This could undermine the strength of the appeal, require corrections to be made, or reduce the weight given to the arguments presented.

Draft checks and the support being provided for these. 

Your child/young person’s EHCP is written for the child/young person. Professional evidence is also unique to your child’s SEND. We are seeing drafts that have been AI checked which in our experience can include generic wording, inaccuracies or content that is not well aligned with the supporting evidence.

Poorly skilled and qualified advocates, including those who rely on AI, will struggle to provide effective support in complex meetings where detailed legal, educational and procedural knowledge is required. You can’t rely on AI to give you the answer in a face-to-face meeting! 

This is precisely why you should be concerned, and why we are calling for SEND advocacy to be regulated and registered. 

We regularly encounter parents who have used poor quality advocates and advocates have to pay again for additoinal support to rectify issues. This results in both financial debilitation for families and lengthy delays in their children receiving the enforceable educational provision they are legally entitled to via an EHCP.

As SEND advocacy is an unregulated business, unlike regulated professions, there is no dedicated statutory regulator for SEND advocates, which can make it more difficult for families to obtain independent oversight or formal remedies for poor-quality services.

We hear about advocates who have disappeared after payment has been received leaving parents out of pocket without the promised work being delivered. Others who charge by the hour including a cost for every single email, every minute reading through emails, messages, reports etc, resulting in huge bills.

Essential questions to ask before you engage an advocate:

• Does the advocate have a clear, consistent, professional business presence that demonstrates reputability? Have they made their experience and qualifications publicly available? Is their Public Indemnity Insurance certificate and ICO registration available? Do they have an AI use policy?

• Do any forums associated with their advocacy business have a strong safeguarding policy, and robust moderation by qualified professionals?  

  
  

• Are all costs transparent? Have you been provided with full service schedules, to enable you to choose the support that suits your own individual needs? Do you have a written agreement of the work that will be undertaken, when and at what cost?

• Have you been signposted to testimonials and reviews from previous clients? Have you read these? Are they consistent and will the advocate verify these, if requested? Are they covering all elements of the business that the advocate states they cover? Are the reviews up to date? Reviews displayed on a company's own website are typically selected by that company. Families should also look at independent review platforms and seek recommendations from trusted sources such as Trust Pilot, Google and Facebook Reviews.

• Do they offer a choice of ways to pay, including credit card and PayPal, to protect your payment?

• How many years’ experience in education and SEND law do they have?  Does their experience cover the full scope of EHCPs from birth to 25?

• If the advocate is stand-alone, what measures do they have in place for continuity if they are unable to finalise your case for any reason?

For more information see this guide on using representation

We know that high quality advocacy provides parents with a valuable and affordable support system that changes lives.

It is because we are so confident in our own business that we are comfortable highlighting

potential pitfalls.  

Find out more about the Empowering Families Team, our public indemnity and ICO certificates, VAT number and company registration here

Where do I go from here, and how can Empowering Families of Children with SEND Ltd help me? 

If you require additional support, find out how Empowering Families of Children with SEND can help you here. 

If you have any questions, come and find us on our Facebook Group, we are always available to provide professional support there. 

Our YouTube channel has over 125 support videos. 

For more information about how Empowering Families can help you, email admin@empoweringSENDfamilies.co.uk  

And book a meeting with us here. 

We are, and always will be, Stronger Together. 

You can find testimonials to our bespoke services on our website and Facebook Business page here.