Local support
SEND support in East Yorkshire
Who to contact locally, gathered in one place: free advice, dyslexia charities, NHS services, and help if you need to challenge a decision.
Resources › Local support
Finding the right service is often the hardest part, particularly when you are already stretched. These are the organisations I point families towards most often across the East Riding. Most are free, and several offer independent advice that has nothing to do with your child's school.
These are independent organisations, not part of Yorkshire Wolds Dyslexia Service. I have listed them because families find them useful. Details do change, so it is always worth checking directly with the service.
Free, legally trained and impartial advice for parents and carers of children and young people with SEND.
East Riding SENDIASS
A dedicated team for families living within the East Yorkshire boundaries, offering confidential information, advice and support for children and young people aged 0 to 25. They can help you understand EHC plans, school support and exclusions.
Visit East Riding SENDIASSHull SENDIASS
Provided by the charity Kids, this service supports parents living on the border of Hull and East Yorkshire.
Visit Hull SENDIASSRegional and national charities offering guidance, helplines and parent groups.
Dyslexia Sparks
Hull and East Yorkshire's local registered charity, supporting dyslexic individuals with advice, guidance and free parent support groups.
Visit Dyslexia SparksYorkshire Rose Dyslexia
The regional branch, offering support, guidance and parent helplines across Yorkshire.
Visit Yorkshire Rose DyslexiaBritish Dyslexia Association
The national charity, offering a range of services from assessment and tutoring to training and a national helpline.
Visit the BDAEvery council must publish what support is available in its area. This is East Yorkshire's.
East Riding SEND Local Offer
Services and support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, aged 25 or under. It includes an A to Z of SEND terms and a guide to who's who in the local authority.
Visit the Local OfferWhere parent carers' voices are represented locally.
East Yorkshire Parent Carer Forum
The forum works as an equal partner with the local authority, health and social care partners and the voluntary sector. It represents the voices of parent carers at strategic meetings and reports back on what was decided.
Visit the Parent Carer ForumDyslexia rarely travels alone. These services cover the difficulties that often sit alongside it. There is more on this on the SpLDs page.
Paediatric Occupational Therapy
NHS Humber's East Riding service, for families whose children struggle with handwriting, fine and gross motor skills, and spatial coordination.
Visit the OT serviceEast Riding Educational Psychology Service
Educational psychologists understand how children learn and what can make learning difficult, and use their knowledge of psychology to help children and young people make progress.
Visit the EP serviceChildren's Speech and Language Therapy
Screening appointments and assessments to identify speech, language and communication needs, for children and young people aged 0 to 18. The team also offers training and intervention.
Visit the SaLT serviceSensory and Physical Teaching Service (SaPTS)
Supports children and young people aged up to 25 with hearing or vision impairments or physical difficulties, helping them learn, become independent and get ready for adult life.
Visit SaPTSCAMHS and Neurodiversity Services
Children and Young People's Mental Health (commonly known as CAMHS) and Neurodiversity Services offer specialist assessment, diagnostic assessment for autism and ADHD, advice to professionals, and evidence-based support for individuals and families.
Visit CAMHSSensory Processing Service
A small team of sensory-trained therapists providing advice and formal sensory processing assessments, subject to referral criteria. They also run a website and provide training on sensory processing differences.
Visit the Sensory Processing ServiceMind Youth Services
The registered charity Mind offers counselling services for children and young people across the district.
Visit Mind Youth ServicesMental Health Support Teams in Schools (MHST)
Early intervention for mild to moderate emotional wellbeing difficulties. The teams are embedded within local schools and education settings, providing accessible advice and support at the point it is needed.
Visit East Riding MHSTIf you need to understand your rights, or challenge a decision.
IPSEA
The Independent Provider of Special Education Advice is the leading charity in the field of SEND law in England, providing free and independent legal advice and support to families. It also provides training on the SEND legal framework and influences policy locally and nationally.
Visit IPSEACommunity Accord
The SEND mediation service for East Yorkshire and Hull. Professionally trained mediators support families and carers appealing a local authority's refusal to assess for an EHCP, or to issue one.
Visit Community AccordWhere to find dyslexia-friendly formats locally.
East Riding Library Service
The assistive hub offers a range of literature, including digital and dyslexia-friendly formats.
Visit the library serviceNot sure where to start?
If you are at the beginning of this and the list feels overwhelming, SENDIASS is usually the right first call. Their advice is free, independent and legally trained. If your worry is specifically about reading, spelling or writing, I am always happy to talk it through with no obligation.