Other advocacy services
Speak Up provides advocacy to some groups of children and young people entitled to this support.
There are some groups of children and young people entitled to advocacy where this is provided by local services other than Speak Up.
- Children with special educational needs and disabilities
- Children who would like to make a complaint about a health service
- Children and young people with significant mental health needs
- Children and young people in custody
- Safety net advocacy
Children with special educational needs and disabilities
Children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities may be entitled to advocacy support from SENDIASS. SENDIASS stands for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information and Advice Support Service. SENDIASS provides advocacy to children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities up to the age of 25.
SENDIASS aims to help young people and their parents to be more involved in decisions relating to their needs or disability. This includes understanding what support they should be getting with their learning, and understanding their rights and entitlements.
Contact SENDIASS:
- Website: York SENDIASS
- Email: [email protected]
- Telephone: 01904 554319 or 01904 555698
Children who would like to make a complaint about a health service
Children aged up to 18 have an entitlement to access advocacy support if they would like help to make a complaint about a health service. This advocacy is provided locally by York Advocacy Hub.
Contact York Advocacy Hub:
- Email: [email protected]
- Telephone: 01904 414357
- Text: 07864728942
Children and young people with significant mental health needs
Children and young people who are detained under the Mental Health Act are entitled to Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA).
Young people aged 16 or 17 who lack mental capacity are entitled to Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMCA).
Both of these types of advocacy are provided locally by York Advocacy Hub.
Contact York Advocacy Hub:
- Email: [email protected]
- Telephone: 01904 414357
- Text: 07864728942
Children and young people in custody
Children and young people in custody have a statutory entitlement to advocacy support.
The provider of this will vary depending on where the young person is detained, so it is best to check with the detention centre where the young person is or ask the local Youth Justice Service.
Contact the York Youth Justice Service:
- Webpage: Youth Justice Service (City of York Council)
- Email: [email protected]
- Telephone: 01904 554565
Safety net advocacy
All children and young people who are entitled to advocacy should be able to access this from the appropriate local service. Where this has not been possible, a service called Coram Always Heard can help.
This is a national service that provides ‘safety net’ advocacy to any young person with an advocacy entitlement who has been unable to access the appropriate local service.
Contact your safety net advocacy service:
- Email: [email protected]
- Telephone: 0808 800 5792
- Text: 07758 670369