Think about the last time you worked on a financial plan for a family with a child or adult with special educational needs or a disability. How confident were you that the plan truly reflected what that family needs, not just now, but for the long term?

Families that include someone with special educational needs or a disability (SEND) face a distinctive set of financial challenges that conventional planning approaches often aren't equipped to handle. The numbers are significant: around 638,700 (January 2025) children in England alone have an Education, Health and Care Plan. 

Behind each of those is a family navigating a lifetime of complex decisions about benefits, trusts, housing, care funding, and more. Get the planning wrong and the consequences can be serious.

As paraplanners, we're in a position to make a real difference but only if we understand what good planning for these families actually looks like.

A chance to better understand special needs planning in one lunch hour

Join us online at 1.00 pm on Wednesday 6 May as we explore what paraplanners need to know to support families with SEND needs.

Peter Spence from Fintuity hosts this conversation with Ali Fanshawe and Rhiannon Gogh, co-founders of SENDA; specialists who work with financial, legal and charity advisers to deliver safer, smarter planning for SEND families.

Together, they'll explore what special needs planning really involves, where traditional advice tends to fall short, and what paraplanners can do to fill that gap.

During this lunch-hour Assembly we expect to:

understand how many families are affected and what the financial planning picture looks like on a personal level

explore the real consequences of getting financial planning wrong for families with SEND needs

identify the key problems that arise in a financial planning context and why standard approaches can miss the mark

Understand the support available to equip paraplanners with the knowledge needed to support families confidently

You'll leave with a clearer understanding of where special needs planning is different. You’ll get a better understanding of what to consider when planning for SEND needs and, and where to go for training and support if you want to develop your knowledge further.

This is planning that can make a genuine difference to families who need it most — and a chance to make sure you're equipped to deliver it.

SEND and financial planning: What paraplanners need to know