Who we are
Cheryl Wyatt- Head of IAS Service and Director of The Compass Partnership Bolton CIC
Working days- Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday all year round
Cheryl has been with the service for 12 years, and took over the head of service role in 2019. Cheryl oversees the Dispute Resolution Service (DRS), and is the named person for statutory assessment (EHC) support. Cheryl had previously worked in social care sector, but always had a specific interest in special educational law. Cheryl has Bar Accredited legal training and is qualified to teach adult learners, co-hosting our parent/ professionals training. Cheryl is mother to a young person with SEND.
Nan Cooper- IAS Deputy Manager and Director of The Compass Partnership Bolton CIC
Working days- Monday and Thursday, term time only.
Nan has been with the service since 2019. As well as working for IAS, Nan is also the chair of the local parent carer forum, and so has a wealth of knowledge and experience about the difficulties that parent carers face at. a local level. Mum to a young person with SEND and Autism, Nan has Bar Accredited legal training and works with the team part time so that she can continue with her forum duties too. Nan arranges and co-hosts training for parents and carers with Cheryl.
Mike Hirst- IAS Officer
Working days- Monday and Tuesday- all year round
Mike has been with us the longest of all the IAS team, and has worked in the service for over 20 years. He has a great deal of experience in working with families and young people with both SEND and emotional health needs. Mike has Bar Accredited legal training, as well as being a qualified counsellor. Mike works part time for the service as he also works in schools offering his 1:1 counselling to young people. Mike is also a father to an adult son with a disability.
Kirsty Walsh- IAS Helpline officer
Working days- Monday to Thursday mornings- term time only.
Kirsty is mum to a little girl with SEND, and so understands the daily challenges that this can bring. Kirsty had volunteered with the IAS service for a couple of years already, gaining experience and an understanding of the difficulties our parents and carers face, before taking up her current role. You may have already met Kirsty if you have been supported with any statutory paperwork for an EHC plan. Kirsty has now moved into the role of helpline advisor, and is likely to be the person who takes your call when you first get in touch. Kirsty is level 3 legal trained and is also a qualified early years practitioner.
Samantha Kirby- IAS Officer
Working days- Monday, Wednesday and Friday, all year round.
Samantha has worked in the service for several years and comes with a wealth of personal experience. Samantha has a teenage son who has SEND and so she understands the parent journey well, and the challenges it may bring. Trained to Bar accredited advanced level with her legal training, Samantha is able to support parents and carers in Bolton to navigate the SEND processes for their children. Sam also supports the service with our Autism in schools projects.
Kane Wyatt- Young persons project worker
Works on a project basis throughout the year
Kane is a young man who has lived experience of SEND, and feels passionately about young peoples experiences. Kanes role across many of the projects he does on behalf of IAS, are to meet with and work with, children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, to gather their views and feed these back at a strategic level, both locally, and Greater Manchester wide,informing change, as well as providing a safe space to meet children 'where they are', and share experiences.
Have you tried our helpline?
IAS operate a free helpline for families Mon- Thurs, 9.30am until 12.30pm, term time only. Please give us a call on 07591853756 when the helpline is open, and we will do our best to help. For hep outside of these times, please go to our 'contact IAS' page.