Who we are

Our principles, our vision and our staff

These are the important things to know about our service

It's confidential.

We don’t share anything you tell us, unless it’s a safeguarding issue or you have given us permission.

It’s impartial.

We aim to give you information about the options available, then it’s up to you to make the decisions. We won’t promote one option over another, unless there’s no alternative. Although we are part of Devon County Council, we are separate from their other SEND services and departments. You can find out more by reading our impartiality policy.

It’s free of charge.

We talk directly to parents, carers, guardians, children and young people.

We can also talk to professionals if parents or young people give their permission.

Anyone can access it.

If you have communication difficulties or English as a second language, we will always do our best to arrange the right support. Our webpages can be adjusted using the accessibility tool you will see on the right hand edge of the page. The tool can change the way information is presented to make it easier to read. We can also produce information in large print if you need it. Please contact us if you need information in other formats or need more help.

It’s based on the law.

All DiAS staff who work directly with parent carers, children and young people have training about the legal areas of SEND support, EHC Plans and issues such as exclusion.

It operates on a first come first served basis.

Unless you need to speak to us urgently because of a serious issue or short legal timescale.

It’s for anyone living in Devon.

If you live in Torbay or Plymouth there are Information Advice and Support services for your area.

If you have any compliments, comments or complaints about our service, please contact us. You can find out more about how to feedback to us, whatever the issue, in our compliments, comments and complaints policy.

Confidentiality

All of the conversations we have with you are confidential. However, if there is a safeguarding issue, we may need to share some information. If we are inspected by Ofsted they have a right to look at the information we keep.

Otherwise, we won’t pass on any information unless you give us permission to. If you want us to talk with other professionals for you, we will need your permission. Or, if a professional contacts us and asks us to speak to you, we will make sure they have your permission too.

Our vision

By providing a high quality, impartial and confidential service, our aim is to empower parents and carers to help them feel confident making informed decisions about their child’s education. We support children and young people too, ensuring their views are heard and understood, thereby enabling them to make decisions about their future. Through championing partnership working across Devon and the rest of the UK we aim to ensure that you know where best to seek help and support about your child’s future. Through a programme of training and information exchange, we focus on achieving positive outcomes for children, young people and their families.

Our staff

DiAS is a small team of staff and we all work part-time.

The team is headed up by Information, Advice and Support Lead Officers Sue Brealey and Amy Jones.

We have ten part-time staff working in shifts on our enquiry line, directly supporting parents and carers. The enquiry line runs as a helpline system, which means that when you call or send a message in, one of our experienced and knowledgeable team will be on hand to deal with your enquiry. They use a solutions focused approach to help you find a clear and positive way forward with the issue you have that day.

The enquiry line staff are

Cathy Hill
Janet Bishop
Kate Boyd
Katy Isaac
Louise Boud
Michelle Johnson
Rosie Giles
Sarah Skinner
Stephanie Maynard
Claire Farquharson

There are Children and Young People’s workers – Anna Meikle, Emily Mastenbroek and Maria Marinho. They directly support children and young people and Maria also creates information for our website.

Sarah Smith manages the information resources that we produce, including the website. Sarah also manages the training we offer.

Abi Gascoyne runs the Ambassador Volunteer Programme.

These are things we can help you with

When you contact us using our web form or email, or when you call us, you’ll reach a member of our enquiry line team.

They are trained to give you accurate, useful and relevant information and advice about special educational needs, as well as supporting you to make decisions about your child’s education.

The team work in a solutions focused way. That means they help you focus on the solutions that are likely to work for you to help you take a small step forward with the issue you have.

All the enquiry line staff also have SEND legal training run by the national Information Advice and Support Service. That means they can give you legally based information about your rights and responsibilities and those of early years, schools, colleges, the Local Authority, health and education professionals. They also attend regular training on SEND issues and are fully Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checked. This means a check has been done to make sure they can work with vulnerable groups, such as young people.

These are things we can help you with

Understanding how schools and other services can support SEN and disability.
Knowing the right place to go, and what to ask to get the help you need.
Exclusions, and what to do when things go wrong.
Helping you see the wood for the trees – working out what’s important and what to focus on.
Preparing for meetings.
Developing a good relationship with your child’s nursery, school or college.
Making decisions, by talking about what all your options are and the pros and cons of each.
Knowing how to do practical tasks, such as asking for an EHC needs assessment, checking a draft EHC plan or getting your child referred to a specialist.
Understanding legal processes, such as Education, Health and Care assessments, plans and appeals.

Page reviewed: April 2024
Page due for review: April 2026