SEND unlocked is a charity. Our Aim, to provide parents and carers of children and adults with specific needs, as well as the schools and services that support them, a pathway through the maze of bureaucracy surrounding access to SEND support.
SEND unlockeds mission is to deliver the innovative user friendly SEND unlocked Directory, providing information, advice and guidance for accessing the wide range of support services available to them and their families.
The SEND unlocked Directory was a solution designed by Polly Elworthy, SEND unlocked CEO and mother of a child with specific needs. Her background in Programme Management, IT as well as her user experience of the sector left her uniquely placed to see a way to support other families like hers.
At SEND unlocked we know that some services deliver effectively, anecdotally we have heard from families who have had good experiences with accessing support, but it is impossible to see these past the waves of difficult stories where people have been failed by the system. We believe that:
• your postcode should not make a difference to your access to support,
• organisations who are delivering effectively should be able to share best practice with those who are struggling,
• having a *SEND need should not limit a childs access to education,
• struggling families should get caught in the net rather than slipping through it,
• the right support at the right time maximises an individuals opportunity to live a full life, access employment and add value to society
• equity, diversity, inclusion are not just buzz words – they are necessary for society to flourish,
• taxpayers money should be spent on necessary support not failing processes.
We have created the SEND unlocked Directory, a platform designed to make the process for support and the help available to families visible – Good and Bad. A collaborative platform through which organisations can work together to deliver information across the whole sector, ensuring everyone is working from the same ‘hymn sheet’. A platform which will give families carers and individuals with SEND a voice, and empower them to take control of their own needs.
The core of the app is designed to be a Directory of all the organisations across the country who can supply services to an individual with Special Needs. Anything from statutory education to a hairdresser with a specialist service for people with ASD. A dyslexia tutor to a Dentist, a National Charity to a local peer to peer support group. Anyone who offers some kind of support can register.
Users can review the service or experience of services they access and tell their own stories.
There is a Glossary for organisations to include relevant language.
A Directory for resources users have found useful or organisations believe they would find useful.
Expansion will also include a library of useful information as we look into different areas including Education, Employment, Health, Social Care, Criminal Justice, as well as completing surveys to understand the SEND Communities feelings on relevant topics of the day.
*SEND: Special Educational Needs and Disabilities