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At the present time, both Vespasian House and Canford House are closed to visitors. The majority of meetings are taking place virtually.
If you have any concerns or need any help taking part in a virtual meeting, please contact the organiser.
Thank you for your patience.
Please let us know if you have any additional needs, which may be related to a disability or difficulty, that you would like to discuss before your visit/meeting.
These could be things like:
• Help with communication
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Changes made by the Government to the support system for disabled children and young people and those with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) means that professionals from different services will have to work more closely together to give children and young people, aged 0 to 25 with special educational needs or a disability, the support they need.
Children and young people will have more say over what support and services are offered in their local area, and more help will be available for young people as they prepare for adulthood.
Who are the Children and Young People Services Team and what do we do?
The Children and Young People Services Team at Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group are working to make sure that our children and young people, aged 0-25 years of age, across Dorset enjoy the best health possible and that they receive good quality services.
We work alongside local local authorities and health providers, as well as other stakeholders including parent/carer groups, children and young people and their families and schools etc., to make sure that health services for children and young people in hospitals, GP surgeries and the community are delivered in care pathways that don’t just focus on physical health but consider the needs of the whole person.
A care pathway helps to reduce the differences in the quality of health services received by children and young people and improves outcomes for all. It tells children and young people using services, and their parents and carers, what they should expect from providers at any point in their journey of care.
We want to improve the health and wellbeing of children and young people across Dorset from 0-25 years of age and to reduce any inequalities in health by:
- Promoting good health and wellbeing.
- Making safe, high quality, affordable and joined-up health services available at, or close to, home.
- Working with children, young people and their parents and carers to develop new pathways of care.
- Supporting children and young people to be in control of their own health where possible and to make the most of their life chances, as they grow up.
The Children and Young People’s Transformation Programme was set up to make sure that commitments relating to children and young people in the NHS Long Term Plan are carried out.
To make sure that these commitments are carried out providers across health, care and education will have to work together. The programme will make improvements in health and care services for children and young people by:
- Combining services for children and young people by testing new models of care and then rolling these out across the country.
- Improving the quality of care for children and young people with long-term conditions like asthma, epilepsy, diabetes and problems from obesity.
- Making sure that services meet the needs of children and young people by having them involved in developing national policy.
- Working with children and young people and their parents and carers, as well as using local data, to identify and deliver local priorities.
Children and young people will have more say over what support and services are offered in their local area, and more help will be available for young people as they prepare for adulthood.
Meet the Children and Young People Services Team
Sam Best
Principal Lead
Kate Halsey
Senior Programme Lead
Steve Clarke
Designated Clinical Officer for SEND and Senior Programme Lead
Chloe Morley
Associate Designated Clinical Officer
Joanna Ames
Programme Lead
James Greenhalgh
Programme Officer
Ella Deacon
Programme Officer
Kelly Tilbury
Project Support Officer
Crystal Armstrong
Business Support Officer
Statement of Intent
The SEND Statement of Intent sets out the role of NHS Dorset CCG and what you can expect from the CCG relating to special educational needs and disability. It covers services commissioned for children and young people with SEND.
The SEND Statement of Intent also has links for Poole, Bournemouth and Dorset’s Local Offer.
Easy Read version of the Statement of Intent
What is a Designated Clinical Officer (DCO)?
Each Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) must provide a designated medical officer (DMO) or designated clinical officer (DCO). The DCO plays a key part in putting into action the SEND reforms and in supporting joined-up working between health services and local authorities.
The Designated Clinical Officer for SEND:
My name is Steve Clarke and I am the Designated Clinical Officer for Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) for Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group. My role is to support health colleagues here at the CCG as well as our local authorities and health providers to make sure that children and young people aged 0-25 with SEND have the right health support to achieve the best that they possibly can.
I have a varied role which includes:
- attending local authority education, health and care panels to talk about which children go forwards for assessments and then, if required, have a formal plan (EHCP)
- supporting health professionals with the information needed within the assessments and education colleagues to get the correct information and support
- supporting the SEND team at the local authorities with questions on information
- signposting education professionals to health services and professionals for advice
- signing off and assuring the quality of the advice and plans
- working alongside the commissioners and stakeholders including parents, children and young people, to identify and raise any commissioning gaps
- ensuring we have a good local offer of health services for those age 0-25 with SEND
- taking part in processes to ensure that we consider requests for those with highly complex needs, including continuing care
- supporting the commissioners and senior leadership team to ensure that the SEND health requirements are met
I work as part of the Children and Young Peoples Services Team and am supported by Chloe Morley, Associate Designated Clinical Officer (ADCO) for SEND.
Steve Clarke
Chloe Morley
Joint Operational Agreement
The special educational needs and disability (SEND) reforms in the Children and Families Act 2014 are focused on enabling children and young people to achieve the best they can, with an emphasis on outcomes rather than processes.
The Joint Operational Agreement is designed to support NHS organisations, health professionals and local authorities across Dorset to understand their statutory duties in relation to these reforms. It concentrates on the areas of health in the 0-25 SEN and Disability Code of Practice and clarifies responsibilities and ways of working that have been jointly agreed between organisations across Dorset.
This agreement has been drawn up by: Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group, Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust, Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, BCP Council and Dorset County Council.
Website Version Joint Operational Agreement 2018
Annex B. Template for health input to EHC assessment process
Easy Read Version of the Joint Operational Agreement Summary
Single Route of Redress – National Trial
The government is extending the powers of the First-tier Tribunal (SEND), sometimes referred to as the SEND Tribunal, to make non-binding recommendations about the health and social care aspects of education, health and care (EHC) plans as part of a two-year trial. The trial will apply to decisions made or EHC plans issued/amended from 3 April 2018.
To date, you have only been able to appeal the educational aspects of EHC plans. The trial gives you new rights to request recommendations about the health and social care needs and provision specified in EHC plans, in addition to the educational aspects, when making a SEND appeal. This gives you the opportunity to raise all your concerns about an EHC plan in one place.
It is only possible for the Tribunal to consider the health and/or social care aspects of the EHC plan where you are already making an appeal in relation to the education aspects of the EHC plan and the education aspect must remain live throughout the appeal.
Summary – explaining the key elements of the single route of redress national trial
Summary – for parents and young people
The evaluation of this trial is led by IFF Research working with Belmana. For any questions or to get involved, please contact IFF Research.
Dorset Special Educational Needs Information, Advice and Support Service
For more information please read the Single Route of Redress National Trial – Guidance and Toolkit.
Easy Read version of the SEND Tribunal National Trial
Easy Read version of the SEND Tribunal National Trial Summary for parents and young people
Children’s Speech, Language and Communication
Your local NHS and Councils are working together to make speech, language and communication better for young people.
We want children, young people and parents to be happy with the speech, language and communication provision across the county of Dorset and we understand that people and communities have the experience and expertise that can help us shape what this might look like.
We are at the stage of co-designing how we can improve speech, language and communication.
Development and Behaviour Pathway
The Development and Behaviour Pathway for children, young people and families in Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole has been developed to help clarify the steps that should be taken when someone is worried about a child or young person’s development or behaviour. It has been developed in partnership with parents and carers, with input from professionals working in health, education and social care and is based upon findings from local and national research as well as NICE guidelines.
Development and Behaviour Pathway
Pre School Community Paediatric Referral Form
School Age Community Paediatric Referral Form (Electronic Version)
School Age Community Paediatric Referral Form (Handwritten Version)
Development and Behaviour pathway visual -Early years 0-5
Where there is a mental health concern, children should be referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. Referral support and guidance to Core CAMHS: The Pan-Dorset Development and Behaviour Referral Pack and Guidance Appendix 6
SEND Training
SEND Awareness Training
Pan-Dorset system wide Awareness Training for SEND aimed at all staff across health, education and social care, who need to have an awareness of their day-to-day responsibility with regards to children and young people aged 0-25 with SEND.
Send Tier 2 Training
Pan-Dorset training aimed at those staff in health, education and social care who regularly work with children and young people aged 0-25 with SEND.
Paediatrics in Primary Care Evaluation April 2018 – August 2019
In the UK, many children and young people (aged 0 to 18 years) that attend hospital urgent and emergency care services and outpatients could be managed at a GP service or at home (RPCPH, 2015).
In April 2018, the Paediatrics in Primary Care programme began in Dorset. The programme aims to increase GP and community practitioner skill for treating common childhood illnesses locally and to improve parents and carers confidence to manage minor conditions at home.
The outcome of this evaluation showed high satisfaction of service users and healthcare professionals. Most patients involved in the programme were managed in their GP surgery rather than referred to the hospital.
The PiPC Evaluation Final 2019_20 is the following evaluation from the baseline evaluation (2018/19) for the Paediatric in Primary Care programme, contributing to the framework for future evaluations.
RPCPH. (2015). Facing the Future Together for Child Health. Retrieved from https://www.rcpch.ac.uk/resources/facing-future-together-child-health
Easy Read summary of the 2019-20 Paediatrics in Primary Care Evaluation
Dorset Partnership Agreement
Our Dorset Partnership Agreement seeks to provide a framework across the Dorset Council area for all key strategic partners to collaboratively work to achieve the best outcomes for children and young people. Our partnership working will ensure that children, young people and their families have equal opportunity to meaningfully participate in the decisions that affect them at individual, operational and strategic levels.
Local Offer
Local Authorities must now publish, in one place, a website which outlines all services/resources and latest news about and for children with additional needs 0 – 25 years. This information is known as the Local Offer.