Children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), and their families, may need more help in their day-to-day lives.
A social care assessment builds on early help assessment and planning, to help us understand if there are unmet social care needs, and what support may be helpful to consider alongside the young person and/or their family.
When we identify through our assessment there is a need for social care support we work with children, young people and families to make a plan that outlines how this support can be accessed and who can walk alongside the family in their journey.
Making a request
If you have already accessed an Early Help assessment and planning, and feel you need more support it’s helpful to consider our different services, and how we work together. See our getting more help information, or what to do if you feel you need risk or safeguarding support.
For some assessments, such as early help you don’t need to make a request to us, you just need to talk to your child or young person’s school, or our family hubs.
A Parent Carers Needs Assessment can also be accessed easily and early in your journey.
Our targeted and statutory social care services are accessed by making a request for support through Children’s Services Front Door. When we receive a request, we consider the right assessment and team to undertake an assessment. This may be through early help, our partners or through our targeted or statutory provision. Before making a request, unless you are contacting us about immediate safeguarding concerns, you should ensure that you have appropriate consent.
Find out more about the different pathways to assessment.
Assessment process
Social care assessments build on a range of existing information and practitioner insights to understand the impact of a child or young person’s needs on their daily life and on their family. They form part of a wider, coordinated approach to identifying need and planning appropriate support.
In Devon, assessments are guided by a holistic, strength-based approach. This places children, young people and their families at the centre of decision-making, recognising both areas of difficulty and the strengths, resilience and support networks that help promote positive outcomes.
A social care assessment looks at you and your child or young person’s needs and how these affect daily life and family wellbeing. We will talk with you about what is working well and what is more difficult, including:
- Their needs, strengths, and support from family, friends and the community
- The impact of those needs on their wellbeing and family life
- The outcomes that matter most to you and your child or young person
The assessment helps decide whether support is needed and what support may be most helpful to improve wellbeing and independence.
After an assessment
Once we have gathered the information we feel is necessary we will consider what social care services or support might help you in your journey. These may be provide through early help, our partners or through our targeted and statutory services. We carefully consider who is best placed to support you, recognising that the diversity of our families in Devon.
Planning support
In some circumstances we may identify that additional support is required from our services. If we identify a need to offer a social care plan this may be through short term targeted or longer term help, depending on your child or young person’s needs.
We will work in partnership with our young people and families to agree how support will be arranged to help achieve the social care outcomes identified in your child or young person’s plan, or a family plan.