Specialist Services

Swift and Easy Access (SEA) to Specialist Services

Swift and easy access (SEA) is about schools working closely with other services to identify and support children and young people with emotional, behavioural, health or other difficulties as early as possible. Working in this integrated way, with health and social care for example, has real potential to help remove some of the barriers to learning faced by children and young people of all ages.

Where problems do emerge, SEA ensures the early identification of and support for those problems, within the school wherever possible, drawing up on the multi-agency or locality teams developed under the children's trust arrangements. But with more serious cases the child or young person will need to be referred to services outside of the school. In those cases, effective SEA arrangements will ensure timely and accurate assessment, referral and intervention, and good links between the child and family, the school and the services provider(s) concerned.

There is a range of specialist health and social care services that children, young people and adults need to access at different times in their lives which support both their wellbeing and their ability to learn. Examples of specialist services are: speech and language therapy; child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS); family support services; intensive behaviour support; support from counsellors; and (for young people) sexual health services.

How can schools ensure swift and easy access to services?

Schools, with the support of their local authorities and other children's services agencies, will need to have in place clear internal processes that mean those pupils who need specialist support are assessed quickly by an appropriate member of the school staff. An agreed time period to carry out the assessment will need to be communicated to pupils, their families and school staff. There will also need to be an appropriate internal tracking system in place once a child is identified as having additional needs. Snaith Cluster schools are using the common assessment framework (CAF) to help them with this.

The assessment should determine whether need can be met within the school either by school staff or by other children's services professionals based in the school, or whether referral to another agency is necessary. In such cases local arrangements will need to determine how a lead professional can offer support.

Referrals

When a referral is made to a local service there needs to be a named individual within the school staff who has responsibility for liaising with the pupil, her/his family and the service to be accessed. An important element of the role is to ensure that the journey between referral and actually accessing a service is as swift as possible and to inform the child/young person and his/her family of progress. This person will remain the key contact within the school. The impact of any intervention will then need to be monitored by the school and the appropriate agency or organisation.

What to do next?

If you feel your family or child would benefit from additional support through specialist services please contact the Child Protection Officer at your child’s school.