Parents advice centre
Tower Hamlets parents advice centre (PAC)
provides information, support and advice to parents and carers of
children with special educational needs in mainstream and special
schools.
It also provides support to parents and carers
of children who have been excluded from school, as well as
information on admissions and appeals.
Staff at the centre work closely with
voluntary and other agencies in the community.
PAC services
- telephone helpline from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm Monday to Friday
(Tel: 020 7702 8316)
- a drop-in advice session from 9.30 am to 3.00 pm on
Tuesdays
- advice and information about special educational needs and the
statutory assessment process
- help with understanding letters and written information and
with translation into Bengali and Somali
- support with writing letters and filling in forms, including
the parental contribution to the assessment process
- support with preparing for meetings such as annual reviews and
attending these with the parents and interpreting during the
meetings if necessary
- help in resolving any difficulties that arise relating to the
assessment or the support your child receives
- advice and support with appeals if your child is excluded from
school
- advice on school admissions.
PAC also provides:
- a place for parents to meet one another
- workshops and parent support groups
- referrals to other services when needed
- parenting programmes, including a range of workshops and
courses to support parenting skills
- information leaflets
Leaflets
A whole range of useful leaflets are available
from the PAC. These can be downloaded from the links below:
Parents advice centre
Parent
advice centre leaflet (PDF, 426k)
Parent
advice centre leaflet in Bengali (PDF, 192k)
Parent
advice centre leaflet in Somali (PDF, 200k)
Customer service
standards
Customer
service standards in English (PDF, 1.3m)
Customer
service standards in Bengali (PDF, 860k)
Customer
service standards in Somali (PDF, 125k)
Early Years Action
Early Years
Action in English (PDF, 32k)
Early Years
Action in Bengali (PDF, 49k)
Early Years
Action in Somali (PDF, 33k)
Early Years Action Plus
Early Years
Action Plus in English (PDF, 31k)
Early Years
Action Plus in Bengali (PDF, 51k)
Early Years
Action Plus in Somali (PDF, 33k)
School Action
School
Action in English (PDF, 31k)
School
Action in Bengali (PDF, 34k)
School
Action in Somali (PDF, 32k)
School Action Plus
School
Action Plus in English (PDF,
31k)
School
Action Plus in Bengali (PDF, 51k)
School
Action Plus in Somali (PDF, 32k)
Special educational needs
Special
educational needs in English (PDF, 31k)
Special
educational needs in Bengali (PDF, 48k)
Special
educational needs in Somali (PDF, 32k)
Statutory assessments
Statutory
assessments in English (PDF, 36k)
Statutory
assessments in Bengali (PDF, 56k)
Statutory
assessments in Somali (PDF, 37k)
Individual education
plans
Individual
education plans (PDF, 32k)
Year 9 transition
planning
Year 9
transition planning (PDF, 32k)
Choice advice
Choice
advice in English (PDF, 158k)
Choice
advice in Bengali (PDF, 219k)
Choice
advice in Somali (PDF, 200kb)
Secondary school
admissions appeals
Secondary school admissions appeals in
English (PDF, 860k)
Other support services in Tower
Hamlets
Glossary
(PDF, 106k)
Further information
The Family Information Service (FIS) provides
information on any service for local people from birth to 19 (or 25
years for young people with additional needs) including helping
local parents and carers find high quality childcare, advice on tax
credits and childcare vouchers.
Staff at the FIS have information on all services for children,
young people and families in the borough and offer advice
completely free of charge.
The Family Information Service can be contacted on 020
7364 6495 between 8.00am and 6.00pm, Monday to Friday, or by
email on fis@towerhamlets.gov.uk
Tower Hamlets Deaf Children’s Society
– Any family with a child who is deaf or who has impaired
hearing can join this group. The group meets regularly and raises
funds to provide parties and trips for these children and their
families. There is a weekly signing class for parents (Mondays 10am
to 12pm) and also an English class (Tuesdays 10am to 12pm). A free
crèche is also available. The Tower Hamlets group is affiliated to
the National Deaf Children’s Society.
For further information, please contact:
Tower Hamlets Deaf Children's Society
85 Harford Street
London
E1 4PY
Tel: 020 7364 6489
How to contact us
Parents can contact us by phone, letter, email
or by attending the drop-in advice session. PAC also offers
appointments at the centre and can arrange home visits if
necessary.
You can call the PAC helpline from 9am to 5pm
from Monday to Friday on 020 7702 8316.
You can also attend the drop-in advice session
on Tuesdays between 9.30am and 3.30pm.
Parents advice centre
85 Harford Street
London
E1 4PY
Fax: 020 7364 6392
E-mail: pac@towerhamlets.gov.uk