Advocacy for Children, Young People & Families
Helping families understand their options, communicate their needs and navigate education, health and social care systems. Our advocacy service provides personalised, independent-minded and strengths-based support to ensure children, young people and families feel informed, empowered and heard.
Welcome to Lycali Advocacy
Navigating education, health and social care systems can sometimes feel complicated, particularly when a child or young person has additional needs, is awaiting assessment or requires specialist provision.
At Lycali, we recognise that families may need support understanding information, preparing for meetings, communicating with professionals and knowing what options are available.
Our advocacy service supports families to understand their circumstances, identify their priorities and communicate their wishes, concerns and desired outcomes.
We aim to work collaboratively and respectfully with families, helping them feel confident asking questions, expressing concerns and taking part in decisions affecting their child.
Advocacy is about ensuring voices are heard and understood, rather than making decisions on behalf of families.
No. Families may benefit from advocacy whether or not their child has a confirmed neurodevelopmental diagnosis.
Advocacy may be appropriate where there are difficulties accessing support, communicating with services or understanding educational processes.
Important: Before Your First Appointment
All required registration, consent and pre-session documentation must be completed before any booked advocacy consultation or support session can take place.
Please read your welcome letter, terms and conditions and invoice carefully.
If mandatory documentation is outstanding, an appointment may need to be rearranged.
At a Glance
Follow the stages below to understand how Lycali advocacy support works.
Initial Enquiry & Registration
When you contact Lycali, our team will discuss the circumstances leading you to seek advocacy and the areas where support may be helpful.
We may ask about your child's education, relevant health or social care involvement, current difficulties communicating with services, and what you would like to achieve.
If you wish to proceed, we will arrange registration through our clinical management system.
- Parent/carer and child contact information.
- Relevant educational background.
- Additional needs or diagnoses where relevant.
- Current school or education placement.
- Health and social care professionals involved.
- Existing support or statutory plans.
- Communication and accessibility requirements.
- Consent and information-sharing preferences.
Please ensure that all relevant information is accurate and notify us if any details need updating.
Your Welcome Letter & Documents
Following registration, Lycali will issue your welcome letter explaining the agreed advocacy service and next steps.
Terms & Conditions
Information about the advocacy service, appointments, confidentiality, payments, cancellations and responsibilities.
Invoice
Confirmation of agreed consultation or advocacy fees, payment arrangements and additional charges, if they apply.
Consent to Service
Relevant consent documentation, including permission to contact or share information with other professionals where appropriate.
Please review and complete all mandatory documentation before your first appointment.
Please also follow the payment instructions provided in your invoice.
Advocacy consultations and support sessions cannot take place until all required registration and consent documentation has been completed.
Payment & Booking
Your invoice will confirm the agreed consultation or advocacy fees and the relevant payment requirements.
Once payment has been received in accordance with the agreed terms and mandatory documentation is complete, Lycali can progress the appointment arrangements.
Our administration team will confirm the appointment date, time, practitioner, location or online arrangement.
Please complete the required forms and let us know if there are important documents, deadlines or upcoming meetings relevant to your enquiry.
Pre-Advocacy Questionnaires Through WriteUpp
Before your consultation, Lycali may request background information to understand your family's circumstances and the reason advocacy is required.
All required questionnaires will be issued through WriteUpp, Lycali's clinical management system.
Questionnaire links will be sent separately. Please complete these before attending your first appointment.
Child Developmental History Questionnaire
Where relevant, this gathers information about your child's background, education, health, additional needs, previous support and current circumstances.
Advocacy & Family Priorities Questionnaire
This explores current concerns, involvement with services, communication difficulties, family priorities, upcoming meetings and the outcomes you would like support with.
Please allow enough uninterrupted time to complete each questionnaire in one sitting.
Questionnaires cannot be saved part-way through or resubmitted once submitted.
Please review your answers carefully before selecting Submit.
Allow Enough Time
Have relevant background information and documents available before starting.
Cannot Save Progress
Partially completed questionnaires cannot be saved and resumed later.
One Submission Only
Once submitted, the questionnaire cannot be resubmitted using the same link.
If you would like a copy of submitted questionnaire responses, please contact Lycali.
We can provide these subject to appropriate identity and information-sharing checks.
If you notice an error after submission, please contact our team.
All required registration, consent and pre-session questionnaires must be completed before your advocacy consultation or support session.
Initial Advocacy Consultation
Your first consultation provides an opportunity to explain the circumstances affecting your child or family and identify how advocacy may help.
Your advocate will listen to your concerns, review the information available and discuss your priorities and desired outcomes.
- Current concerns and challenges.
- School attendance, access and participation.
- SEN support and educational provision.
- EHCP applications, reviews or related concerns.
- Communication with schools or professionals.
- Current involvement from health or social care services.
- Reasonable adjustments and accessibility.
- Understanding professional reports or recommendations.
- Upcoming meetings and important deadlines.
- Your family's priorities and desired outcomes.
A parent or carer will usually attend the initial consultation.
Young people and other relevant family members may also attend where appropriate and agreed.
We aim to include the child's or young person's own views and preferences in an accessible, age-appropriate way.
Understanding Your Priorities & Desired Outcomes
Advocacy is most helpful when it is centred on what matters to the child, young person and family.
Following the initial consultation, we will work with you to identify the main issues requiring advocacy and agree priorities.
- Feeling listened to by professionals.
- Understanding an existing education or support plan.
- Seeking clarification about available provision.
- Preparing for a school or multi-agency meeting.
- Raising concerns about current arrangements.
- Communicating a child's needs and preferences.
- Identifying appropriate reasonable adjustments.
- Understanding the next steps in a process.
Your advocate will help you organise relevant information, identify questions and consider how best to communicate your priorities.
Education, SEN & EHCP Advocacy
Families may seek advocacy when navigating educational support arrangements or communicating concerns about provision.
Lycali can provide advocacy support focused on understanding relevant processes, preparing information and helping families communicate effectively.
SEN Support
Advocacy may help families prepare for discussions about SEN support, existing interventions, classroom adjustments and educational recommendations.
Education, Health & Care Plans (EHCPs)
Support may include helping families understand the EHCP process, organise relevant information and prepare questions for meetings or reviews.
Advocacy can also help families express concerns about whether provision reflects the needs described in the plan.
School Meetings & Reviews
Your advocate may help you prepare for meetings with teachers, SENCos, educational professionals or other services.
This may involve organising key points, identifying questions and agreeing priorities before the meeting.
Reasonable Adjustments
Advocacy may support families to communicate the adjustments they believe would help their child participate in education and access services.
This may include clarifying concerns, sharing existing professional recommendations and seeking responses from relevant providers.
Lycali's advocacy service is not a substitute for regulated legal advice or representation.
Formal legal proceedings, tribunal representation or specialist legal challenges are not automatically included.
Where specialist legal or tribunal assistance is needed, we may recommend obtaining advice from an appropriately qualified provider.
Meetings & Communication With Professionals
Families may feel more confident when they have support preparing for important meetings or communicating with different services.
Depending on the agreed scope of advocacy, Lycali may support you before, during or following meetings.
- Helping prepare meeting agendas or questions.
- Identifying important points to raise.
- Reviewing existing professional information.
- Supporting communication with education professionals.
- Assisting with the wording of correspondence.
- Supporting families to express concerns respectfully.
- Clarifying agreed actions following meetings.
- Helping families understand the information received.
- Supporting follow-up communication where agreed.
Lycali will not routinely contact schools, health professionals or other services on your behalf without appropriate authorisation.
Any liaison, meeting attendance or additional professional work will be agreed in advance.
We cannot guarantee that another organisation will agree to requested changes or recommendations.
Agreeing Your Advocacy Plan
Following the initial consultation and review of your priorities, we will agree the most appropriate advocacy support and next steps.
The scope of support will depend on your family's circumstances, the issues identified and any relevant deadlines.
- The main concerns requiring advocacy.
- The views and wishes of the child or family.
- Agreed priorities and desired outcomes.
- Documents or information to review.
- Meetings or correspondence requiring support.
- Professionals or services involved.
- Actions agreed with your advocate.
- Timescales and review arrangements.
We will explain what Lycali has agreed to do, what remains the responsibility of the family or other services, and whether any additional work is required.
Any additional appointments or professional time will be discussed before being booked.
Ongoing Advocacy Support
Some families may only require an initial consultation or support preparing for one meeting.
Others may benefit from advocacy across several appointments or stages of an education, health or social care process.
- Further advocacy consultations.
- Preparation for scheduled meetings.
- Attendance at agreed meetings.
- Reviewing professional correspondence.
- Helping families prepare written responses.
- Supporting communication between relevant parties.
- Clarifying actions and next steps.
- Reviewing progress against agreed advocacy priorities.
Support will be tailored to the agreed advocacy work and may change as your circumstances develop.
Advocacy does not automatically include diagnostic assessments, psychological therapy, coaching, functional needs assessments or formal legal representation.
If these services are required, they would need to be considered and arranged separately.
Review, Outcomes & Next Steps
Your advocate will review progress against the priorities identified at the beginning of the agreed support.
This may include discussing what has changed, what remains outstanding and whether further advocacy would be helpful.
- Whether concerns have been communicated clearly.
- Whether the family's views have been considered.
- Responses received from professionals.
- Actions agreed following meetings.
- Whether further clarification is needed.
- Upcoming meetings or deadlines.
- Whether additional advocacy is required.
- Appropriate signposting or next steps.
Advocacy helps families communicate effectively, understand available information and take part in decisions.
It does not guarantee a specific decision from a school, local authority, healthcare provider or other organisation.
Any further support and associated fees will be discussed before booking.
Advocacy Fees & Additional Charges (If They Apply)
Fees for your initial advocacy consultation and any further agreed support will be confirmed before booking and outlined in your invoice.
The total cost will depend on the scope of the support requested, including any agreed meetings, liaison or professional preparation.
Some appointments may involve additional travel or external clinic hire costs.
These charges do not apply to every appointment.
They may be relevant where an advocate needs to travel to a school, meeting or another agreed location, or where external premises must be hired away from Lycali's main Broadstairs base.
If additional charges apply, they will be confirmed before booking and clearly outlined in your invoice.
Additional work such as document review, report preparation or meeting attendance may also attract fees where these are outside the originally agreed service.
Any such work will be discussed and agreed before being undertaken.
Cancellation & Non-Attendance Policy
Lycali operates a 24-hour cancellation policy for booked advocacy consultations and support appointments.
Please notify us as early as possible if you cannot attend a scheduled appointment.
At Least 24 Hours' Notice
Please provide at least 24 hours' notice to cancel or rearrange an appointment.
The full late-cancellation charge will not apply where sufficient notice is given.
Less Than 24 Hours' Notice
Appointments cancelled with less than 24 hours' notice are chargeable at the full booked session rate.
Did Not Attend (DNA)
A booked consultation or appointment missed without cancellation will be recorded as a Did Not Attend (DNA).
DNA appointments are charged at the full booked session rate.
How to Cancel
Please email Lycali's administration team as soon as you know an appointment cannot go ahead.
Please refer to your welcome letter and terms and conditions for the full cancellation arrangements, including any applicable statutory rights.
Useful Links & Information
Learn more about Lycali's services, practitioners, clinic locations and fees.
Need Support?
If you would like to discuss advocacy, understand which type of support may be appropriate, or have questions about registration and appointments, please contact Lycali.
Our administration team can also help with questionnaires, documents, booking arrangements and fees.
Email: info@lycali.co.uk
Website: www.lycali.co.uk
All required registration, consent and pre-session questionnaires must be completed before a booked advocacy appointment can take place.
Questionnaires will be issued through WriteUpp. Please allow enough uninterrupted time to complete them in one sitting. They cannot be saved or resubmitted once submitted.
Please check your appointment confirmation, invoice, any additional charges (if they apply) and cancellation policy.