Education, Health and Care needs assessment
Children with longer-term special educational needs or disabilities may need more specialist help.
You can ask for an Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment which could lead to your child getting an EHC plan. Your school or setting can request this, or you can request it yourself.
If we decide to carry out an assessment, we will work closely with you, your child and the professionals involved. For more information, see the code of practice (PDF).
If your child needs an assessment, they may be referred to the child development team. This includes services such as:
- paediatrics
- physiotherapy
- occupational therapy
- psychology
- dietetics
- community nursing
Children with significant learning and development needs
If your child has significant learning and development needs, they may be referred to the Early Intervention Support Service.
The Early Intervention Support Service
The Early Intervention Support Service is part of the Joint Service for Disabled Children (JSDC). The service provides family support and early education to families of babies and children with special educational needs and disabilities who are not yet attending early education settings.
The service has 2 teams, Early Support, and Pre-school Support.
Early Support keyworkers provide:
- holistic family support, helping with coordinating multi-agency services and improving information, access and support for families of children with complex needs
The Pre-school Support Team has experienced teachers and early years professionals who:
- work in partnership with you to assess your child’s developmental progress, and support you to understand how to extend your child’s learning through play
- provide intervention in your home, virtually, in one of their specialist early learning groups or a blend of these approaches
- contribute to the statutory assessment process for Education, Health and Care Plans where required
- offer advice on future education options and admission processes, support your child’s transition into a setting or school
- work with other professionals and make any necessary referrals to other agencies
To meet referral criteria, children must be aged 0 to 3 and:
- meet the criteria for access to JSDC services
- have significant delay in three or more areas of their development, or a diagnosis which gives an indication of future significant delay
- live in the London Borough of Enfield
- are not claiming their entitlement of up to 15-hours free early education in any setting
Referrals to the service need to be made by a professional who knows your child, for example, your health visitor or speech and language therapist.
For more information, contact EISS on 020 8351 1318.
Family support
Children's centres offer opportunities for children under five and their parents to learn, develop and have fun. They provide free courses, workshops and drop-in sessions, which offer advice and support on family services.
Our children's centres are:
- DeBohun Hub
- Hazelbury Hub
If you need more specialist support, you could be referred to:
- Cheviots specialist disability service for assessment and support. You don’t need to be referred by a professional, you can ask for this assessment yourself. You can also access Makaton and sleep workshops and join in activities such as trips out during the holidays
- a community nursing team for assessment by the community matron for support if you have a child with a complex or life-threatening condition
- local voluntary organisations or charities who offer family support and respite
Emotional support
You can get advice on emotional support from your GP or health visitor. You can also self-refer to Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) for counselling.
Speaking with other parents who have children with similar needs may be helpful and supportive. View a list of local organisations or visit Contact.
Autism support
If your child is autistic, you may be able to access:
- ATLAS (Autism Training Link and Support) - a parent course for those with young children (up to 6 years) who are
newly diagnosed - parent training and workshops
- parent support and advise from a range of professionals including Parent Support Advisors who work for
the Enfield Advisory Service for Autism (EASA)
The Enfield Advisory Service for Autism (EASA) supports autistic children and young people aged 0 to 25. They work with educational settings and parents to increase understanding of autism, and develop services and support.