How health professionals support children and young people with SEND
Find out who can provide support and care for children and young people with SEND, and how health professionals can help.
Who health professionals are
If your child needs extra help because they have special educational needs or a disability, they may need support from a range of different health professionals.
Health professionals may include:
- your GP
- paediatricians
- therapists
- clinical psychologists
- dieticians
- specialist nurses such as:
- health visitors
- school nurses
- community children’s nursing teams
When these professionals work together, they are sometimes called a multi-disciplinary team.
Contact, the charity for families with disabled children, has produced a booklet about the different types of health professionals and how they can help.
Seaside View Child Development Centre
Many health professionals are located in Seaside View Child Development Centre. This is where children are assessed when there are concerns about their development.
At Seaside View, health professionals work together to support and treat your child.
Find out more about the specialist health services available at Seaside View and how to access them.
What health professionals do
Health professionals who are working with you can:
- tell you where you can get support for your child and family
- answer questions you may have
- explain about symptoms and medications
- organise any reviews and checks
- provide health reports for Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan assessments
- teach you how to support your child’s communication and language development
Contact a health professional
If you need help now, but it’s not an emergency
- 111
- NHS 111 website
Get help for your symptoms.
In an emergency
- 999
Dial 999 for police, fire, ambulance or the coastguard.
In an emergency, you can also go to your nearest A&E (Accident and Emergency). You can use the NHS website to find your nearest A&E.
Contact your GP
If your problem is not urgent or an emergency, contact your GP. You can find contact information for your GP on NHS.UK.
Children’s Continuing Care
Children’s Continuing Care funding is required when a child or young person has needs arising from disability, accident or illness that cannot be met by existing universal or specialist health services alone. For instance, their needs are so complex, that they cannot be met by the services which are routinely available from GP practices, hospitals or NHS community services.
It is offered to children and young people who meet the Children’s Continuing Care criteria following a full assessment of their health needs.
Find out more about Children’s Continuing Care.