DCYPS Social Work Team

Assessments for Disabled Children in Greenwich

As set out in the Children’s Act 1989 all ‘disabled’ children are children ‘in need’.  When a disabled child presents to the LA, the LA must undertake an assessment and identify appropriate support services.

The form of the assessment should be based on presenting need, it may be a statutory social work assessment or an assessment of need by early help.  In whatever form they take, assessments of disabled children must be ‘holistic’, taking full account of the family context.

When a contact is made with the Local Authority (via MASH) requesting an assessment of a disabled child, consideration is given to the presenting needs of the child and family and a decision is taken on what type of assessment is required and who best can deliver this. Where there is existing evidence of a severe or profound disability, the assessment will be undertaken by the Disabled Children and Young People Service. Where there is evidence of moderate or mild disability, the assessment will be undertaken by the Assessment and Support Service. Regardless of which team undertakes the assessment, the same decision making process is followed when it comes to access to specialist support.

The assessment undertaken is a Section 17 Child and Family Assessment. A Child and Family Assessment is the social work assessment which is completed with a family to inform the child’s level of needs. The assessment includes all areas of the child’s life, including how their disability impacts their daily life, their wishes and feelings, understanding the impact on their siblings and parent carers.  The assessment also takes into account the important things around the child including their environment, wider family and community support.

This assessment determines if a child requires a specialist service. The same assessment is completed whether by the DCYPS or the mainstream Assessment and Support Service.  

Following a statutory social work assessment, the LA must decide which of the child’s needs that have been identified require an intervention. If the services assessed as necessary are available through the Local offer or other existing community resources, then the LA may not need to make any further provision. The family may choose not to access these services available, however alternatives may not be provided.

When a service is assessed as required, it can be provided either through the Children’s Act 1989 or the Chronically Sick and Disabled Person Act 1970 depending on the needs of the child and the provision being made.

What happens after the assessment:

For children and young people up to the age of 18, a decision on eligibility under CSDPA can only be made after a statutory Section 17 social work assessment is undertaken.  This assessment may have been completed by either the Disabled Children and Young People Social Work Team or the Assessment & Support Service.

The assessment outlining assessed eligible needs and recommendation for specialist short break support would be presented to the Short Break Panel for confirmation of eligibility and allocation of resources under CSDPA 1970. These specialist provisions may include individual packages of care either directly commissioned or accessed as a personal budget or direct payment.

If a child or young person is assessed as not eligible for specialist provision under the CSDPA, they may still access provision available through the Short Break Core Offer or if assessed as needed, provision for these children/young people may be made available under the powers of the Children’s Act 1989 rather than the CSPDA 1970. These packages are not accessible via a personal budget or direct payment.

Once the assessment is completed and determines a child requires a specialist package of care, the social worker creates a personalised support plan with the family to address the child’s needs. The support plan looks at the social care outcomes that have been identified for a child and what resources are available or required to meet them. Most children with SEND will have their social care outcomes best met through the Short Break Core Offer.

These are services funded by Greenwich to meet social care outcomes for children with SEND. However, some families will need additional provision to be made in addition to the Core Offer.

A Resource Allocation System known as a RAS is completed with the family and the Social Worker to give an idea of how much resource is required to meet the child’s outcomes in addition to the Short Break Core Offer. There is a RAS for primary aged children and secondary aged children. The practitioner supporting the family in this process will explain the RAS and go through it together. The information the family have shared during the assessment process will help inform the RAS.

Take a look at the RAS guidance and examples of the RAS forms below

Where required, additional specialist provision is included in a Disabled Child Support Plan.

When developing the plan with the family, the practitioner explores with the family the different types of support they may need to meet the child’s outcomes. This should always focus on developing a child’s independence at even the earliest age, promoting the Preparing for Adulthood outcomes: to support young people into adulthood with paid employment, good health, independent living and friends, relationships and community inclusion.  

This possible resource may include access to a personal budget where the family can make arrangements for the care they require or directly commissioned support from a care agency. In circumstances where this is a need for overnight short breaks, this may include time away from the home in overnight short breaks. These specialist provisions are then considered by Short Break Panel.

Where it is considered that a child needs more support than can be accessed through the Short Break Core Offer, the case is presented to the Short Break Panel.

Decisions about the level of specialist provision are made at the Short Break panel. This is a multidisciplinary panel that looks at the assessed needs and the support plan to make a decision about the level of provision required. The panel includes representation from local specialist SEND services, schools as well as from children’s nursing team.

Where a child requires both specialist social care provision and continuing care provision due to their health needs, this is considered jointly alongside the Integrated Care Board (ICB previously the CCG) The practitioner presenting the case to panel, will ensure the family’s wishes and views are included. 

The decision made by panel is shared with the family by the practitioner who presented the case and they are provided with a copy of the final support plan. For details on decisions on specialist short breaks, please see the relevant document under "Downloads" to the right of this page. 

Where a specialist package of care is agreed, the practitioner supports the family to access the agreed provision. If there is no need for further social work intervention, the case is then held on Short Break Duty system for regular reviews.

If a family’s needs change significant before their next expected review, they can contact the Short Breaks team or DCYPS duty line to explain their circumstances and request an earlier review. This may lead to information and advice if it is not felt a full review is required.

When a review does take place, it will consider the progress the child has made towards their outcomes, how the provision has been used, the impact it has made for the child and family and consideration for what provision is needed going forward.  At times a review can identify a change in need which could mean the provision increases or decreases alongside the need. If a significant change in provision is recommended by the review, the case will return to Short Break panel for a decision.