Specialist Advocacy for Parents with Learning Disabilities and/or Learning Difficulties (LDDs)

The Elfrida Society Parents Project (ESPP) advocates for parents with learning disabilities and/or learning difficulties (LDDs) in all matters related to child in need and child protection processes. We offer advocacy in all legal matters related to family courts including in court advocacy. We also run a peer support group - see below more information about the group and its work.

Our specialist advocates work with parents who have LDDs to help them understand the requirements and responsibilities they need to fulfil in order to meet the rights of their children. We provide support across a range of areas including education, independent living, employment, health, safeguarding, wellbeing and social inclusion.

The Elfrida Society’s specialist advocates, advocate for parents with LDDs on all matters related to their children. From daily school runs to medical and disability needs. We provide advocacy in all meetings and when there is Social Worker involvement. We use a preventative model of intervention, but if it is too late for a prevention intervention, we advocate for parents with LDDs facing care proceedings. We leave no stone unturned and ensure every opportunity is made available to the parent to enable them to be the parent their child needs.

We can take spot purchase referrals for specialist advocacy support for parents with LDDs from Local Authorities, specialist service providers, barristers, solicitors and the courts.

- Provide independent advocacy in all areas where clear communication between professionals and parents with LDDs needs to take place. We aim to ensure parents with LDDs have full comprehension of the processes they face by making communication accessible to suit the need of the individual.

- Consultative level work for professionals involved in the provision of services for parents with LDDs.

- In court ‘lay advocacy’ support for parents with LDDs during care proceeding and court hearings.

- We can also run short workshops and training days for professional who work with or want to learn how to work with parents with LDDs.

If you wish to spot purchase advocacy services from us, please contact the ESPP Operations Manager on 07495 918 724, email elfridaparents@elfrida.com or send us a referral form (see link to our referral form below).

We will look at our capacity and ability to take your referral at any given time and let you know as soon as we can. You will then be asked to complete a Spot Purchase Agreement prior to advocacy taking place.

This group offers the space for parents with LDDs to support each other as peers to gain awareness of self-advocacy and build confidence to speak up for themselves and to support each other.

Parenting is challenging, particularly for parents with LDDs , during and after care proceedings – even more so when going through child in need or child protection services. If the parent is successful in attaining their parenting responsibility as the main carer, they need to demonstrate good parenting practices and maintain the level of parenting expected of them to be the parents their children need. The peer support group offers a vital lifeline of support and guidance for parents with LDDs.



The ESPP Peer Support Group sessions focus on building skills around parenting, safeguarding, budgeting and working with schools and nurseries, among other things. The group helps build resilience,whilst also seeking to improve wellbeing and encourage friendships thus reducing isolation and developing independence.

The sessions offer a platform to empower people with LDDs to take control of their lives in order to mitigate against social factors that are likely to contribute to feelings of disempowerment and low self-efficacy. It also supports them to tackle social determinants of physical, economical and mental health, which can have rippling affects for parents with LDDs who are carers of young children.

Join us to speak up and have fun! The ESPP Peer Support Group sessions run every Monday from 11am till 1pm during school term times only.

Content of the sessions can be tailored to what is important to the ESPP Peer Support Group at any one time and be directive of ensuring parents are kept up to date with benefit system changes, child safety and safeguarding.

Other examples of topics could be:

- Parenting and age appropriate communication.
- Applying for schools and colleges.
- Communicating with teachers.
- How to make a formal complaint about service providers.
- Healthy eating.
- How to ensure a child’s Medical needs are met.
- Health adult relationships.
- Health and safety and first aid.
- Boundaries.
- Assertiveness – diplomacy versus confrontation.
- Listening skills and negotiation.

Public Health England (PHE) and the ESPP Peer Support Group are working together to update and improve accessible antenatal and new born screening information - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/screening-tests-for-you-and-your-baby-easy-guides.