Family Service

We are here for parents and carers of children with SEND. We provide free 1:1 support and group sessions and workshops to provide advice, information, help with self-advocacy, as well as signposting to other services.

Adult and child sitting together outdoors looking at trees.

Two children with face paint holding balloons and craft cups at a family event.

Families matter to us

We are a quality assured service for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and their families in London.

We guide families and help them to navigate the SEND system. We want every family and child to be fully included and to be able to reach their potential.

Currently we offer this free support in Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea, Hammersmith and Fulham, Camden, Islington and Harrow.

Families do not need to have a diagnosis for their children to come to our Family Service. We are free to access. We are only able to do this thanks to our fundraising and our donors who support us.

How do we help?

1:1 support sessions to provide advice, information, help with self-advocacy, as well as signposting to other services.

We also run group sessions on subjects including wellbeing, communication and information about the SEND system, as well as groups for parents to connect with each other.

We help families, so that they can better help their children.

The Family Service is shaped by the families we support through our coproduction panel. It is important to us that families are at the heart of what we do.

Family worker and parent together at a desk reviewing documents.

Our person-centred support can include:

Benefit information
Help with various applications (e.g. blue badge and taxi card)
Practical support (e.g. written communication and contacting other professionals)
Access to grants (e.g. Alice Gestetner)
General housing advice
Helping with self-advocacy
Emotional support
Referrals and signposting
Parent and family events

To access our family support click on the referral form below:

Make a referral

Two women sitting on grass in a park smiling and chatting beside a pushchair.

Alice Gestetner Fund: Apply for a small grant to help your family

Alice Gestetner and her husband David were involved in Learning Disability Network London (formerly the Westminster Society) for many years. Alice was the chair of the charity and, after her death in 2000, David created the Alice Gestetner fund.

The Alice Gestetner fund makes small grants to families and people with learning disabilities. The grant can be used for essential items such as beds, refrigerators and washing machines. It can also be used towards holidays and electronics.

To apply download the form here

How your donations and fundraising helps

Pictures of your help in action.

Adult supporting a child while they play and interact indoors.

Child sitting on mothers lap looking at the camera

Group of parents sitting aorund a table having a discussion

What our families have said

I came to LDN at a time when I really needed understanding. I wanted to make sense of autism properly, not just from Google, but from people who truly understood. Finding LDN at that stage of my journey meant I moved from feeling unsure to feeling equipped. It gave me confidence, not just as a parent, but as someone who could advocate and contribute.

Sinikka Fisher-Bruno Parent accessing our Family Service

Now, I believe someone will help me. I know where to turn to for advice. More people should know about LDN: I tell others in the community, ‘These are the people to help you’.

Touriya Family member accessing our Family Service