Report attached.

Contact: Jackie Jeffrey, VCSA on behalf of Lesley Perks, IASS Manager

Jackie Jeffrey, Chief Officer of Citizens Advice Shropshire, presented the report – copy attached to signed minutes, which provided an update on the remit of Information Advice and Support Service (IASS).  The report highlighted that as part of the Children and Families Act 2014 it was a legal requirement that all local authorities ensure children and young people with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) and their parents have access to an impartial Information, Advice and Support Service. Shropshire Information, Advice and Support Service (IASS), part of Citizens Advice Shropshire, provided information, advice and support to children and young people and their parents, around education, health and social care, by telephone, email and online e.g. Teams. The support included preparing for meetings such as Annual Reviews, appealing decisions and support to develop good communication between clients and services and organisations. Cases varied from simple enquiries for information to complex cases.  Last year the service averaged nearly 50 new referrals / enquiries a month, but this drastically reduced during the first lockdown in March 2020. Feedback about the service was very positive.

The Chairman thanked Jackie Jeffrey for the update and noted how important it was that there was open access to the Service and that children, young people and their families could ask for advice without a specific diagnosis, if they had concerns.   It was added that it would be helpful to know to what extent the referral pathways had changed following SEND inspection and following the opportunity to present the paper here at the Health and Wellbeing Board.  It was suggested that it would be useful to benchmark those referrals.  

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.