Information for professionals

DiAS (Devon Information Advice and Support) provides information, advice and support on special educational needs and disability (SEND).

It is a statutory service, which means it must be provided by law. Every local authority in England has this type of service and what they provide is shaped by chapter 2 of the SEND Code of Practice (2014).

Our service

Our main activity is to provide an information, advice and support service to children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, aged up to 25, and their parents or carers. We give support around SEND issues at every stage of a child’s education, including into further education and adulthood.

The service offers:

• signposting
• printed and online information
• email information and advice 
• telephone advice and support
• A small amount of face to face support

The purpose of our service is to help promote independence and self-advocacy for children, young people and parent carers. We do this to help parent carers, children and young people take part as fully as possible in the decision-making processes around education, health and care.

We provide advocacy support for individual children, young people, and parents. This empowers them to express their views and wishes and helps them to understand and exercise their rights in matters including exclusion, complaints, SEND processes, and SEND appeals.

The important things to know about the DiAS service

• It’s confidential. We do not share anything a parent tells us, unless it’s a safeguarding issue or they have given us permission. That means if you ask us whether we are working with a particular parent, or ask us what we have discussed, we can’t tell you unless we have permission from them.
• It’s impartial and arm’s length. We aim to give parent carers and young people information about the options available, then it’s up to them to make the decisions. We won’t recommend or promote one option over another, unless there’s no alternative. Although we are part of Devon County Council, we operate as a distinct and separate service from their other SEND services and departments.
• It’s free of charge.
• We talk directly to parents, carers, guardians, children and young people. You can ask us to talk to someone and give them support, and as long as they have agreed and they want the support, we can do that. Filling out and sending in our contact form with the parent is the easiest way to do that. If a parent carer or young person doesn’t want our support or advice, that’s up to them.
• We have two children and young people’s workers. They work directly with young people to help them share their views and take part in the decisions made about their lives and education.
• Anyone can access the service. If someone has communication or learning difficulties or English as a second language, we will always do our best to arrange the right support. 
• It’s based on the law. All our staff have training about the legal areas of SEND support, EHC Plans and issues such as exclusion. Our DiAS Officers can also support parent carers and young people at mediation, tribunal and at other legal proceedings such as Independent Review Panels.
• We operate on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. We run our service in a helpline type model. People calling or contacting us through the website are given the advice and information they need there and then, in the order in which they contact us. Most of the time, our users will be able to speak to or hear from someone the same day that they contact us.
• We are trained to use a solution focused approach. We work with enquirers to help them understand their situation and then take a positive step forward with whatever problem they come to us with on that day. They can come back to us whenever they need more advice or information.
• We offer support based on need. We mostly offer information via our website and publications, and advice via our telephone and email enquiry service. For a few families, where need is greatest, we also sometimes give longer term support.
• It’s for anyone living in Devon. If a parent carer or young person lives in Torbay or Plymouth there are Information Advice and Support services for each of those areas. If a parent carer or young person lives in Devon, but goes to school in another local authority, we can still support them.