Meet the Team - Jess

I’m Jess Cain. I’m a Special Educational Needs and Disability advocate.

I work supporting families to fight for their rights within the Education, Health and Care Plan process.

 This means I get to support parent warriors. I get to see huge successes, but I also get to see extreme sadness, difficulty and gaslighting from government, that some would find difficult to imagine.

 I’m trained by the Council for disabled children and IPSEA, and I work throughout the UK.

 My passion comes from my own experience in Family Court, representing myself over 14times to safeguard myself and my children following Domestic violence. My own experience allows me to help parents feel empowered to fight for their children’s educational rights and funding.

SEND has become my true passion. Advocating so families voices are heard, in word at meetings, in court, on emails and in professional reports.

In court for myself, I initially spent a huge amount on legal support as I didn’t qualify for legal aid, due to owning a home. I did not feel strong enough to represent myself at first, a solicitor felt the best option, but as the money added up, and Court showed no sign of ending, I realised I needed another solution.

After a year of court, I decided that I had had enough and I chose to spend money instead on a life coach.

The money I spent over a period of sessions changed my life unimaginably. I stopped using a solicitor. I started to represent myself, and because my voice was heard, I managed to have the truth heard, and achieve safety for my kids.

At the same time, I was working as an Independent Support, Funded by the Council for Disabled children, and when the funding stopped, I realised this was my chance to make a real difference.

My work with SEND families has been my focus and my drive in my darkest times over the last 2yrs.

I’ve supported over 300 families. I’ve managed to get decisions overturned, for things like Special Schools and therapeutic provisions, but my main focus is always to allow people to feel heard, the way my life coach allowed me to feel heard. By listening and telling me it was OK to share my truth, I became an ambassador for my family, instead of feeling ashamed.

I aim to enable families through knowledge and confidence, so that they can go on and challenge the system alone.

As a SEND consultant I cover all areas of the EHCP process in an affordable and bespoke way, to ensure the right outcome is achieved.

Please feel free to share with any SEND Warriors who might like support.

X Jess