ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
Specialist Social Care Services for Disabled Children and Young People 0-18
October 2015
Contents
1. About this document
2. Background and how we work
3. The referral and assessment process
3.1 Scope of the service – who is specialist social care support for?
3.2 Referral
3.3 Child In Need Assessment – eligibility for specialist social care support
3.4 Child In Need Assessment – process
3.5 What will happen if a child or young person is not eligible for specialist support?
4. How the local authority can help
5. Reviewing support
6. Education, Health and Care plans
7. Parent carers and young carers assessments
8. How to contact us or make a referral
9. Complaints and appeals
Appendix A – Specialist social care support for disabled children and young people – Referral
and assessment process
Appendix B – Specialist social care support eligibility criteria
Newham Specialist Social Care Eligibility Criteria
October 2015
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1. About this document
The document sets out Newham’s eligibility criteria to access social care services for children
and young people aged 0-18 who have disabilities. It is for everyone involved in the care of
children and young people, including parents, professionals and young people themselves.
Specialist social care support is provided by two teams:
- Disabled Children and Young People’s Service – for those aged 0-14 years
- Preparing for Adulthood Team – for those aged 14-18 years
Whilst the Preparing for Adulthood Team works with young adults up to the age of 25, due
to differences in legislation, a separate eligibility criteria has been devised in respect of
young adults aged 18-25 and this will be available shortly on the council’s website.
2. Background and how we work
A person is defined as being disabled, in accordance with the Equality Act 2010:
“If you have a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long term negative
effect on your ability to do normal daily activities”.
All disabled children and young people have the right of access to universal health,
education and community based support services. Disabled children and young people also
have the right of assessment for specialist health, education and social care services. These
rights are enshrined in the UN Convention on The Rights of the Child, the Children Act 1989
and the Care Act 2014. They are reinforced by the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, 2005
and the Equality Act 2010. The Children and Families Act 2014 and the Care Act 2014 also
place duties on Local Authorities to identify the needs of carers including parent-carers and
young carers.
Newham Council aims to ensure a fair, transparent and proportionate response to
assessed needs of disabled children, young people, their parents, carers and siblings. There
is a general duty to provide services under the Children Act 1989, Part II, which is triggered
by the Local Authority determining that the provision of services is appropriate and
necessary to the assessed needs of a child/young person. There is an enforceable duty under
the Chronically Sick & Disabled Persons Act 1970 (s2), which is triggered by the Local
Authority being satisfied that services are necessary to safeguard the welfare of a disabled
person. The most appropriate and relevant service for a disabled child or young person is
based on what is in the best interests of the child or young person, within reasonable
resources. The aim is to ensure that the available resources are targeted to benefit those
children in most need, including those at risk and that proper consideration is given to
equity of provision.
In the first instance our approach is to offer support through universal services available to
all families such as schools, children’s centres, the health service and voluntary sector
providers, and the Early Help offer. These services work in partnership across Newham to
support children and young people in a more timely way. The majority of disabled children
Newham Specialist Social Care Eligibility Criteria
October 2015
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and young people and their families will benefit from universal and Early Help services and
will not need specialist social care support.
Early Help services are explained in “Health and protection for children, young people and
families – A guide to services in Newham”, available here1.
The Newham Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Local Offer sets out services
available to all families and is accessible at www.newham.gov.uk/SENLocalOffer
.
3. The referral and assessment process
See Appendix A for a flow chart showing the main steps of the referral and assessment
process.
3.1 Scope of the service – who is specialist social care support for?
Newham’s Disabled Children and Young People’s Service and the Preparing for Adulthood
Team provide specialist and statutory social care services for children and young people with
critical and substantial needs. The services supports disabled children, young people and
their families whose main need for services arises from the child’s disability or intrinsic
condition and where these conditions have a substantial or critical impact on the quality of
the child’s/young person’s life and/or the lives of their families on a daily basis. The services
intervene where needs cannot be fully met by universal or targeted services alone.
3.2 Referral
Children’s Triage is a single point of contact for requests for support or protection. Parents
and carers can self-refer to Triage or professionals may make a referral on their behalf.
Triage will review the referral and take into account any historical and relevant information
from partner agencies (including education, health and housing). Triage will then determine
the level of need and recommend intervention by one of the following:
 Universal services
 Early Help offer
 Statutory social care (Child In Need Assessment)
A referral to statutory social care for a Child In Need Assessment is likely to be made if a
child or young person appears likely to have substantial or critical needs, for example a high
level disability which cannot be maintained in a mainstream setting. (See Appendix B for
information about substantial and critical needs.)
Where a referral is made due to child protection concerns and the child or young person also
has a disability, child protection procedures will be followed by statutory social care.
See section 8 for details of how to make a referral to Triage.
1www.newham.gov.uk/Documents/Health%20and%20social%20care/Support-and-protection-for-children-and-
young-people-in-Newham-practice-guidance.pdf
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October 2015
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3.3 Child In Need Assessment – eligibility for specialist social care support
This assessment of the child or young person’s needs is based on the impact that their
disability or medical condition has on their everyday lives. It will identify any needs the child
has and how they can be met. This assessment takes into account three areas: the child's
development needs; family and environment factors which impact on a child or young
person’s wellbeing; and parenting capacity. The assessment will also include carers’ needs
including those of young carers.
At any point during the referral or assessment process, child protection concerns may arise.
In such a circumstance, the local authority will undertake relevant child protection enquiries
in accordance with section 47 of the Children Act 1989, as set out in Working Together
20152. Such enquiries would not preclude the local authority making appropriate
determinations of eligibility as set out in this document.
Also, at any point during the referral or assessment process, the local authority may deem it
necessary to consider alternative care arrangements, such as the child or young person
being cared for by their extended networks or the local authority. The local authority will
work in accordance with the Children Act 1989 and Working Together 2015.
Children with disabilities are assessed and defined as ‘Children In Need’ by the Children Act
1989 because of their disability under section 17 (10). Some of these children are also
assessed as having substantial and critical needs that may require specialist social care
support because they have disabilities or illnesses that are severe and enduring, including:
 Physical disabilities that are permanent and substantial
 Learning disabilities that result in a state of arrested or incomplete development of
mind which induces significant impairment of intelligence and social functioning
 Sensory impairments
 Autistic Spectrum Disorder
 Complex health, life limiting or life threatening conditions, which significantly impact
on their or their families daily living arrangements, and/or
 There are safeguarding or child protection concerns in relation to their current care
arrangements
We may need to know more information before we can decide whether the child meets the
eligibility criteria for specialist social care support and therefore we may need to contact
other people who know the child or young person. This could include the child’s school, GP
or doctor.
There are four categories of identified need. The Disabled Children and Young People’s
Service and Preparing for Adulthood Team only provide a service to children and young
people whose needs are assessed as meeting Levels 3 and 4, i.e., substantial and critical.
This is where a child or young person’s disability is defined as permanent and requiring
significant support. The four categories of need are described in Appendix B.
Children and young people’s needs vary and they may move between different categories of
need at times. For example, the outcomes for a child initially assessed as having critical
needs may improve due to the support provided, hence they may be reassessed as having
2
www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children--2
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October 2015
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substantial needs. Conversely, children with substantial needs whose situation deteriorates
may move into the critical domain.
Service responses need to be flexible to address the changing needs of children and their
families. The different levels of need trigger different assessments and service responses.
Assessments make the best use of inter-disciplinary and multi-agency consultation to ensure
that appropriate services are put in place.
3.4 Child In Need Assessment – process
Once Triage has initially identified that a child or young person with a disability meets the
criteria for an assessment, a Child In Need Assessment is undertaken to determine whether
the child or young person has any identified needs which require the provision of specialist
social care services, using the above eligibility criteria.
Where a Child In Need Assessment takes place, the maximum timescale for the completion
of the assessment is 45 working days; in most cases the assessment will be completed
sooner.
The Child In Need Assessment includes:






What the specific needs are
How a need could be met, including resources available to the family
The services available
What will be provided
The outcomes to be achieved
The time scales for the outcomes to be achieved
Being assessed as having critical and substantial needs does not mean that specialist services
will automatically be provided as those needs may already be met. A self-supporting
extended family network, for example, may be considered sufficient support for a child or
young person with critical needs.
3.5 What will happen if a child or young person is not eligible for specialist social care
support?
Children and young people who are not eligible for specialist social care support will be
supported by universal and targeted services. This includes professionals working in schools
and the heath service, and other mainstream activities e.g. cubs, girl guides, leisure services
and targeted opportunities such as after school clubs/youth clubs. Targeted services include
the Early Help offer. The Newham SEND local offer sets out the services available - see
www.newham.gov.uk/SENLocalOffer
4. How the local authority can help
If the Child In Need Assessment indicates specialist social care support may be needed due
to substantial or critical needs, a decision making process will be followed in relation to
meeting the identified needs.
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October 2015
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A ‘Decision Making Tool’ will be completed in partnership with parent/carers informed by
the Child In Need assessment and professional judgement. This tool will consider needs
more specifically and how these may best be met. This tool will give an indicative allocation
of a resource envelope which may be a budget or support hours which will be used to meet
needs. The ‘Decision Making Tool’ is indicative only - the final decision will be based on the
outcomes and evidence included in the person-centred Child In Need assessment.
Decisions on which services will be provided to support identified needs will be made by a
local authority officer in line with their delegated authority.
Specialist support will be provided in the context of a plan (such as a
Child in Need plan, an Education, Health and Care plan, a Child Protection plan or a Looked
After Child’s plan).
In the first instance, we will aim to meet needs by working with existing services including
health and education, as team around the family. We may arrange the following specialist
support, dependent upon the personal individual assessment of need(s) identified:
 Provide information, advice and guidance
 Practical support, such as assistance with personal care in the home
 Short breaks and respite care services
 School holiday provision and after-school clubs
 Direct payments including a personal budget
 Child protection and looked after care planning
Other services may also contribute to support where needed. These other services will be
accessed through a referral made by the Disabled Children and Young People’s Service or
the Preparing for Adulthood Team.
See section 3.5 for support available for children and young people who are not eligible for
specialist social care support.
5. Reviewing support
In accordance with local guidance the needs of disabled children and young people will be
reviewed every six months. This will include a review of the Child in Need Assessment and
any support packages and resources, including whether identified outcomes have been
achieved. Parents however have the right to request a review at any time if they feel their
child’s needs are not being met.
6. Education, Health and Care plans
Disabled children and young people from birth to age 25 may be eligible for an Education,
Health and Care (EHC) plan, or additional services from education or health providers. EHC
plans are issued for children and young people with complex special educational needs
(including disabilities) which cannot be met by mainstream schools and colleges within
normally available resources. EHC plans outline what social care, health and education
support needs to be put in place to support a child or young person and help them achieve
identified outcomes.
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October 2015
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Where appropriate, a Child In Need Assessment and provision of specialist social care
services will form part of the EHC plan. Where a child or young person has a Child
Protection plan or is looked after, these will sit alongside any EHC plan and may be cross
referenced in the EHC plan, but will remain as separate legal documents. Professionals
across education, health and care will work together to ensure co-ordinated support for
children, young people and their families.
The vast majority of children and young people with special educational needs will have
their needs met by mainstream early years providers, schools and colleges and will not need
an EHC plan.
For more information about SEN including on EHC plans, please see our Local Offer at:
www.newham.gov.uk/SENLocalOffer
7. Parent carers and young carers assessments
A parent carer is someone over 18 who provides care to a disabled child for whom they have
parental responsibility. The Children and Families Act 2014 amends the Children Act 1989
and requires local councils to assess parent carers on the appearance of need or where an
assessment is requested by the parent. This is called a Parent Carers Needs Assessment.
A Child In Need Assessment is a holistic assessment of need that will also include an
assessment of parent carer needs. Where the threshold for a Child In Need Assessment is
not met, Triage will signpost to the Young Carers’ Support Service for the Parent Carers
Needs Assessment to be carried out.
A similar duty exists for young carers. These are children aged under 18 with caring
responsibilities. A Child In Need Assessment will include an assessment of young carers’
needs. Where the threshold for a Child In Need Assessment is not met, Triage will signpost
to the Young Carers’ Support Service for the young carers’ assessment to be carried out.
Young carers can also directly contact the young carers’ support service. See section 8 below
for details.
8. How to contact us or make a referral
The Triage service is open from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. Please refer to Triage via the
portal www.newham.gov.uk/triage . If you would like to discuss your referral please call 020
3373 4600 and Triage will be happy to offer initial advice and support with making a referral.
You can contact the young carers support service at:
Hannah Witcomb, Project Coordinator
Family Action - Newham Young Carers & Building Bridges Services
Families First Building, 1 London Road, London E13 0AT
Telephone: 020 8470 7782
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October 2015
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9. Complaints and Appeals
Complaints and appeals against decisions made by the local authority can be made via the
Council’s Corporate Complaints Procedure.
You can submit your complaint or appeal online at www.newham.gov.uk/complaints or in
writing to the:
Complaints and Member Enquiries Service
London Borough of Newham
Newham Dockside
1000 Dockside Road
London
E16 2QU
Produced by:
Disabled Children and Young People and Preparing for Adulthood Services
London Borough of Newham
1000 Dockside, London E16 QU
Tel: 020 3373 4600
Website: www.newham.gov.uk/triage
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October 2015
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Appendix A
Specialist social care support for disabled children and young people – Referral & assessment process
Not eligible for CIN
assessment
-signpost to universal
services, Early Help,
SEND local offer
-where necessary,
refer for parents carers
or young carers needs
assessment
Triage
determines
initial eligibility
and whether
Child In Need
Assessment is
needed
Assessment considers:
What is the impact of the
needs upon the
child/young person and
parent/carer?
1. Universal/Low
Initial eligibility
determined –
undertake Child In
Need Assessment,
including
assessment of
parent carer needs
where necessary
2. Targeted/Moderate
Case review
every 6
months
Not eligible for
specialist support
– signpost to
universal services,
Early Help, SEND
local offer
OR
3. Substantial
Do the critical and
substantial needs
require specialist social
care support?
No
Plan produced
that identifies
how support
from family
and/or Early
Help and SEND
local offer will
meet needs
4. Critical
Yes
Child /
Young
Person
referral
Plan produced that
identifies specialist
interventions necessary
/ appropriate to meet
the need
Case review
every 6
months
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Case transfer to
DCYPS or PfA
Specialist
Services
to be
arranged
Appendix B – Specialist social care support eligibility criteria
The following four categories of “need” are a way of identifying those children and young people with the greatest need at any moment in time:
Level 1 – Universal/Low impact
Children are well supported by their families with the support of family and friends, the community and universal services. There are no identified additional needs
unmet. For these children, young people and their families, the appropriate support services are universal services available through the SEND local offer, e.g.
community provision, children’s centres or via GPs that do not require a specialist assessment to access.
Level 2 – Targeted/Moderate impact
Children and/or their families have additional needs that cannot be met by universal services alone. This can include a child or young person where their needs are not
clear, not known, or are not yet being met. This may require additional help from a single agency or a co-ordinated response from more than one agency. Services that
a child may be able to access include Families First, some targeted Children’s Centre activities or more specialist health provision. These Early Help services are available
as part of the SEND local offer.
Level 3 – Substantial
Children with complex needs are likely to require a specialist assessment for longer term intervention from statutory and/or specialist services. High level additional
needs that remain unmet, despite support from targeted services, may require an integrated response that will usually include a specialist or statutory service.
Level 3 is the basis of the threshold for a Child In Need under the terms of the Children Act 1989 (s17) which may result in statutory social work intervention.
Following the completion of a statutory assessment, a Child in Need Plan will be completed which will outline specific needs and consider support that may assist in
meeting these needs. If there are no more statutory concerns, a Brokerage Worker within DCYPS will be allocated to the family and tasked with supporting and assisting
the family to access services, monitor outcomes and review the progress made.
Level 4 – Critical
Children with critical needs may require intensive, statutory support from health, education and /or social care services. It is likely that children who meet this category
may be eligible for an Education, Health and Care Plan. This includes inpatient treatment or care and the threshold for providing children with protection that requires a
placement outside of their birth family. Assessment for a care placement requires a statutory social work assessment and care planning under sections 20 and sections
31 of the Children Act 1989 and the Care Planning Regulations 2011. For consideration for critical level, the following factors will be taken into account:



Are at risk of abuse or neglect
Are at risk because of family breakdown
Have a life-threatening or life-limiting condition
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October 2015
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



Have health needs which make her or him totally dependent on others
Have significant feeding needs
Will need a lot of support moving to adulthood
Must have specialist equipment
Disabled children and young people within this category of need are likely to have an allocated social worker appointed to work with them.
Areas of Need
Critical
Example
Substantial
Example
Targeted/
Moderate
Example
Universal/
Low
Child or Young
Person’s
Development
Needs
Chronic or life
limiting condition
Child has complex
physical needs and is
likely/could be
requiring continuous
physical or medical
care
The impairment,
chronic health and life
limiting condition have
a substantial impact on
the quality of the
child/young person and
their family’s life
Child likely/could be
requiring continuous
physical care
Less severe impact of
impairment upon child
and parent/carer
Child wishes to attend peer
group social event but needs
adult assistance to access it
Child could be independent
in self care if adaptations
available.
At risk of significant
harm
Danger of child moving
into critical domain
Assistance required to
enable child to access
leisure/community
activities necessary for
their continued
development without
parental support
Child whose
independent living
skills are slightly
impaired by a
level of disability but
their needs can be met
by advice and support
to access universal
services
Child has a
substantial and
permanent disability,
requiring 24hr a day
assistance to meet
their need
Child cannot be
discharged home
from hospital without
occupational therapy
assessment and
possibly provision of
aids
Persistent / extreme
challenging behaviour
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October 2015
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Child needs an
occupational therapy
assessment to prevent
delayed or impaired
development
Provision of services
the same as critical but
not an immediate
intervention required
Child requires
aids or
adaptations to enable
independent living
which can be provided
by targeted services
such as Occupational
Therapy, Speech and
Language, CAMHS,
Early Help parenting
support, Parents
Advisory Groups, Child
Development Centre,
Educational
Psychologists
Examples of targeted
support include
Occupational Therapy,
Child and Adolescent
Mental Health Service,
Newham Educational
Psychology Service,
Newham Behaviour
Support Service, Speech
and language therapy,
Community and
Voluntary Sector
Groups,
Early Help Services
including Foundations
for Learning and
Families First, Family
Nurse Partnership,
Example signposting to
mainstream provision
such as leisure
activities
or other independent
organisations
Examples of
other support
include Health
Visiting Services,
Children’s
Centres and
Early Years,
Schools,
Integrated Youth
Services,
Parenting Capacity
In substantial excess
of that which would
be provided to a child
by parent /carer
without impairment
Immediate risk of
family breakdown
without agencies’
intervention/ or
statutory obligation
to provide
Family &
Environmental
factors
Parent/carer might
need a break from the
constant supervision of
complex health care
needs (manual
handling)
Severe sleep
deprivation
Sole parent/carer
illness, impairment,
bereavement or
addiction
Carers unable to
maintain safe level of
care without some
personal time
Child with extreme
levels of challenging
behaviour poses a
risk to carers and
other family
members
There is a risk of
serious harm to
another person’s
health and safety
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Parent/carer having
considerable difficulty
in providing physical,
emotional care,
supervision or
communication
required due to child’s
impairment or the
relationship with main
carer/parent is at risk
of breakdown
Parent/carer
managing, but there
could be a substantial
risk of harm or family
breakdown, planned
intervention likely to
prevent reaching the
critical stage
Parent/carer are
however coping with
some difficulty
Parent/carer are
showing signs of
deteriorating health or stress
Parent/carers do need
a break to spend time
with other children in
the family or to meet
their own social needs
The demands
of caring for the child with a
disability means they cannot
provide appropriate care
and involvement in other
children’s lives
Home environment is
unsafe.
Serious concerns with
regard to parent/carers
home environment
such as health and
safety risks
Some reasonable
adjustment may be
required
Assessment by an
occupational therapist to
assist with minor adaptions
Carers have additional
needs of their own
which is impacting
greatly on their ability
to care and meet the
needs of their disabled
child
Parent/Carers own
health care needs are
impacting on their
ability to care
appropriately and
children at risk.
No parenting
concerns
Family environment is
appropriate and
meets needs well