SENguru is made by its two co-founders, Chris Gilbert and Valentina Migliore, through SENguru CIC, a UK community interest company. It started after our own families went through the EHCP process and found out first-hand how punishing it can be, even with time and resources to draw on.
Chris is a software engineer of more than 20 years, and dad to two neurodivergent daughters, Keira and Isabelle. Both have struggled with EBSNA and needed extra support at school.
After a long run of assessments, meetings and appeals, both girls ended up needing EHCPs to get what they were entitled to. That fight is still going, which is rather the point of building this.
Valentina is a Head of Delivery and single mum to Caesar, who has cerebral palsy and complex communication and mobility needs.
After navigating reports, missed deadlines and repeated challenges throughout Caesar’s EHCP journey, she saw how quickly parents are expected to become case managers and advocates. She co-founded SENguru to make the process clearer, more organised and less overwhelming for other families.
To protect children’s legal rights, and to give parents and carers the tools to navigate the process with confidence, so their child’s SEND needs are actually met.
The SEND system is widely called broken. We don’t think the law is at fault. The Children and Families Act 2014 is clear, and the SEND Code of Practice is well written. The problem is that all too often, the law simply isn’t followed.
The EHCP process is meant to be child-centred and needs-based. In practice it often behaves like an adversarial game between parents and local authorities: long timetables, unpublished (and sometimes unlawful) thresholds, a wall of acronyms, and an industry of paid professionals with every incentive to offer as little as possible.
Families should be able to get the support their child is owed without a solicitor, a mountain of forms, or a law degree. Around 500,000 children in the UK are stuck in a system that doesn’t listen to them.
We’re a community interest company, which means we’re not-for-profit and not owned by shareholders. We can’t take investor money, and directors can’t take dividends. Any profit goes back into helping more children and families.
A CIC differs from a charity: no charitable tax advantages, but far more freedom to sell products and services. That’s the right shape for us, because we want a business that can sustain itself and keep helping people for the long term.
There will always be a free tier. The tools you need to exercise your statutory rights, the process map, deadlines, contact log, template letters, rights pages and timeline, stay free. The heavier AI features cost us money every time they run, so pricing those sustainably is what keeps the lights on.
Feedback, bug reports and feature requests are all very welcome.
Email info@senguru.co.uk. For privacy or data-protection questions, see the Privacy Policy.
SENguru CIC is a community interest company registered in England and Wales.
All profits are reinvested into the service. Directors cannot take dividends and the company’s assets are locked for community benefit.
We’re opening to a small group of families first. Register your interest and we’ll be in touch as soon as there’s a place for you.
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