Health information for parents of children and young people with Special Educational Needs

Health Services in Coventry

If you have a learning disability, then you are eligible to join the Learning Disability Register through your Doctor's surgery. Being on the register is the first step to an individual getting reasonable adjustments and better support. Once this information is on the GP system, they will be able to access additional services, such as the Annual Health Check, and request extra support, such as easy read information, longer appointments and reminders, and help to make decisions.

Mencap have created a guide for all children and young people and their families which explains the benefits of joining the register. It also explains about the annual health check which anyone over the age of 14 with a learning disability is entitled to.

View a list of Health Services for children and young people with Special Educational Needs.

Care and support for deafblind children and adults - policy guidance

The Department for Health have produced a guidance which explains how local authorities should act in relation to care and support for deafblind adults and children. View the policy.

Mental health and behaviour in school

How to identify and support those pupils whose behaviour suggests they may have unmet mental health needs. Advice for schools.

This advice is for schools. It includes: how and when to refer to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), practical advice to support children with emotional and behavioural difficulties, strengthening pupil resilience, tools to identify pupils for likely to need extra support, where/how to access community support.

Information and advice is also available from Coventry and Warwickshire Rise.

Medical needs in school

The Department for Education (DFE)  has produced guidance for Local Authorities.

'Ensuring a good education for children who cannot attend school because of health needs - statutory guidance for local authorities' - January 2013

Local Authorities (LAs) must have regard to it when carrying out their duty to arrange suitable full-time education (or part-time when appropriate for the child's needs) for children who are unable to attend a mainstream or special school because of their health.

There is also statutory guidance for schools around supporting children and young people with medical conditions

Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions - Statutory Guidance for Governing bodies of maintained schools and proprietors of academies in England - 1 September 2014

PALs

The Patient Advice & Liaison Service (PALS) is a service that deals with patients', relatives' or carers’ queries and concerns regarding their health care, and can provide information on NHS services generally

To access further information regarding PALs.

Healthwatch

Healthwatch Coventry is the new, independent consumer champion for health and social care in Coventry. Our job is to give you a voice and argue for the consumer interest of all those who use health and social care services.  This includes:

• Parent/Carers rights in relation to health services (including mental health) and how you can be supported.
• Sharing information confidentially about issues you, your child and family face when accessing/using local health and social care services.
• Discussing the barriers and gaps in services you may experience in your child's health care provision.

Visit the HealthWatch website.

Get Your Rights

From The NHS Constitution website you can view the video 'Everything you need to get the most out of the NHS'. You have the rights when making decisions and choices about healthcare.   

Make it Happen

Funded by NHS England, The Council for Disabled Children have produced a resource 'Improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND/Disability' to explain the Children and Families Act 2014 and its implications for health services. The resource is full of tools, films and examples from practice to help areas implement the reforms.  

Resources and information for parents

The Council for Disabled Children have a series of documents available for parents and carers to help you get the best out of the health system. You can access Expert parent e-learning, the Expert Parent Programme, The Expert Training Course, and various other useful sources of information. 

Further information 

Further information about specific health difficulties can be obtained from the following organisations:

• Anaphylaxis Campaign
• Asthma UK
• Diabetes UK
• Epilepsy Action
• National Society for Epilepsy
• National Eczema Society
• Sickle Cell Society
• Thalassaemia Society

The Local Offer

The Coventry Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Local Offer brings together information for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities and their families. The SEND Local Offer will cover services available to the public across education, health and social care:

• Education: such as nurseries, playgroups, schools and colleges and support services like educational psychologists and SEN services
• Health: children's and adult services including GPs, therapists and hospital services
• Social care: such as short break services and children's and adult disability services.