Our Ambassadors and Patrons

Meet our first Ambassador who is working with the charity to help us to give more support to families caring for children with SEND.

We are passionate to change in our purpose to give much needed support to families caring for children with special educational needs and disabilities inclusively but we cannot do this alone and that is why our Ambassadors and Patrons are and will always be so important and we are lucky enough to have such an inspirational person to be our first of hopefully many Charity Ambassadors, Patrons & role models.

Find out more about our amazing campaign ambassadors and patrons who are helping us spread the word who are passionate about helping with our mission.

Our Ambassadors & patrons play a critical role in sharing our aims and purpose, that there is support out there and we are here for you and your family.

We are so proud to have Anna as part of the SEND Family Support team:

Anna Kennedy – OBE

I am honoured to be an Ambassador of SEND family support. Our charity has been working in collaboration with this charity for a couple of years now at their Fun Days and Christmas events.

The SEND team, volunteers and trustees are passionate about supporting families of children who have a disability and create opportunities where possible in the London Borough of Hillingdon.

Charities like SEND are a lifeline to families and a much needed resource.

Anna’s two sons, Patrick, 30 and Angelo, 27 were both diagnosed with an autistic spectrum condition as young children.
Anna’s sons were turned away from local mainstream schools, as they couldn’t cater for their individual needs. Both boys were finally offered just five hours of home tuition per week where Anna and her husband turned their garage into a small classroom.
Anna decided something had to be done for her boys, with the help of her husband and parents , she took on the challenge of setting up a school.
Every book she read stressed the importance of early intervention and she was frustrated that nothing was available for her boys.
Anna relentlessly tried to fundraise and eventually re-mortgaged their home .
In 1999 Hillingdon Manor School finally opened its doors. Starting out with 19 pupils, the school now teaches 175 pupils and is one of the largest school of its kind for children on the autism spectrum.
Mrs Kennedy has since co founded a second school , a Vocational College, where her youngest son Angelo now attends and also founder of a UK Autism Awareness charity that creates opportunities for autistic children and adults in the performing arts world.
In recognition of her work Anna was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list 2012 for her services to special needs education and autism.
Her charity, Anna Kennedy Online, provides support and advice about autism-related issues to many parents , carers and promotes inclusion and equality for those with the condition.
The charity provides various training workshops and also runs numerous awareness raising events throughout the year . These are Autism Hero Awards, Autism Expo and the world known ‘Autisms got Talent’ as seen on BBC Breakfast, Sky News , RTL , Channel 5 news, Quest Red TV etc