Rochdale Borough Council's Special Educational Needs & Disability Information, Advice and Support Service

Rochdale Borough Council wishes to commission a single provider who can deliver an Information, Advice and Support service as detailed in this specification document. The key objective of this service is to ensure that children, parents and young people are able to be fully involved in the identification, assessment and decision making about the provision to meet special educational needs or disabilities as required by the SEND Code of Practice, 2015. The provision of high quality information, advice and support is crucial to support this objective. Parents, children and young people will receive high quality, impartial and accessible information, advice and support that are appropriate to their needs, extends their knowledge and maximises their involvement in decision making. Parents, children and young people will be supported to understand their rights, roles and responsibilities within the legislative frameworks that apply to special educational needs and disability. The contract start date for this service is 1st June 2017 and is until 31st May 2020.

The Service will be required to

• Provide information, advice and support which is impartial, confidential and accessible and have the capacity to handle face-to-face, telephone and electronic enquiries.
• Ensure the information, advice and support provided is at arm's length from Rochdale Borough Council and the Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)
• Offer information, advice and support which is free, accurate, confidential and in formats which are accessible and responsive to the needs of users
• Provide data including that related to customer satisfaction which demonstrates the effectiveness of the Service. The Local Authority will then publish this information on an annual basis.
• Work in partnership with children, young people, parents, Rochdale Borough Council, Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale CCG and other relevant partners.
• Help to promote independence and self-advocacy for children, young people and parents
• Work with the Rochdale Parent Carer Forum (known as Rochdale Parent Carer Voice) and other representative user groups (such as Youth Forums) to ensure that the views and experiences of children, young people and parents inform policy and practice