Support for children and young people with SEND will vary depending on their needs. SEND support is sometimes categorised into ‘tiers’ or ‘levels’ – you may hear these called universal, targeted, or specialist support.
Types of support
Help for all children and young people (universal)
This is the support available to all children and young people and their families, regardless of whether they have any support needs, or what these might be. Most families will get the support they need by accessing universal services. Any professional who knows your family, for example, a health visitor, teacher, school nurse, or GP can help you explore the universal services available in your local area.
These may include:
- Health services – information about health services for everyone can be found in our Health advice section.
- Support in the early years – information about support for all children under five.
- Support at school – find out what support all children can expect in schools.
- Support for families – support for all families is available from family hubs. In cases where a family needs extra help this may be available via early help.
Support for children and young people who need a bit more help (targeted)
Some children and young people need a bit more help than others of their age, so that they have the best opportunities to achieve their potential and goals.
This help may include:
- Health services – information about the health services in Devon for children and young people who need more support with health needs.
- Support in the early years – information about the extra support that may be needed for children under five to help them thrive.
- Support at schools – schools have a range of options available to support children and young people with SEND who need extra help to progress well in school.
- Support for families – families with a disabled child may require additional support from our Disabled Children’s Service.
Support for children and young people who need specific help (specialist)
More specialist support may be needed when children and young people have more specific or complex needs.
This may include:
- Health services – information about the health services in Devon for children and young people who have more severe or complex health needs.
- Support in the early years – information about the support available for children under five with more complex needs.
- Support at school – extra help is available for children and young people with a higher level of support need to thrive in school.
- Support for families – additional support for children and young people tailored to meet their needs.
Family support in Devon
Caring for a child or young person with any kind of additional need can bring it’s own challenges. Families can often benefit from a little extra support so it’s important to ask if you feel you may need some help.
Support may come in a variety of ways, and from several places.
Best Start Family Hubs
Best Start Family Hubs help families across Devon build strong, healthy, and happy lives.
They support children from birth up to age 19 (or 25 for those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or care experience) by connecting families to local services that support emotional, physical, social, and financial wellbeing.
Find out more about Best Start Family Hubs in Devon, how they can help, and how to contact them.
Early help
Early help is the name given to extra support your family can get if needed. It may be that you want to prevent a problem, or change things for your family before things become more serious.
Support is available to families from pre-birth to adolescence, and can be for all sorts of issues, including many affecting families with a child or young person with SEND.
Problems that may be helped through early help support include: parenting; physical or mental health; a disability or special needs; school attendance or emotional wellbeing amongst others.
You can ask for an early help assessment yourself, or someone your family is already in contact with (such as a teacher or someone at your child’s nursery, a health visitor, your GP or a support worker) may suggest one for you. Our Best Start Family hubs are a great place to start getting the help you need.
Financial support
Some children and young people in Devon will be entitled to funding to help support their learning and care. Find out more in our financial support section of the Local Offer.