Other professionals who may support a child with SEND

Access Casework Officer (ACWO or ACO) – gives advice to schools and families about excluding pupils from the school and finding other options. This includes the graduated response and training. Prepares the local authority responses to School Governors Disciplinary Committees (GDC) and Independent Review Panels, and statutory cases to partnership boards.

Advocate – speaks for you or supports you to speak up. They help others understand your views. They do not make decisions for you.

Appointee – manages benefit claims for a young person who cannot manage them on their own.

Appropriate Adult – supports a young person or vulnerable adult at a police station to help them understand what is happening.

Art Therapist – uses art to help children express feelings and deal with emotional difficulties. They need to be registered with the Health and Care Professionals Council.

Assessment and Reviewing Officer (ARO) – coordinates the statutory needs assessment process and Education Health and Care plans. More detail in the educational professionals section.

Attorney – a person you choose to make decisions for you if you cannot. They must act in your best interests. They need to be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian.

Audiologist – tests hearing and provides hearing aids or other communication support.

Bus buddy – see Independent Travel Trainer

Care assistants or care workers – helps with daily tasks like washing, dressing, shopping or cooking. If you qualify for direct payments you may be able to use these to employ your own care assistant, which is often known as a personal assistant.

Chiropodist – see a podiatrist

Class teacher – teaches your child and adapts the approach to support their learning needs. More detail in educational professionals section.

Clinical pharmacists – helps manage repeat prescriptions and changes to prescriptions after hospital assessments. In some GP practices.

Clinical psychologists – assess and help with children’s psychological functioning, emotional wellbeing and development.

Community Children’s Nurse – see nurses

Dentist – checks and treats teeth and oral health. May refer you to the Dental Access Centres, who treat patients with additional needs who cannot reasonably access dental care through general dental services. They have teams of dentists, therapists, hygienists, dental nurses and non-clinical administrative staff that provide dental care.

Deputy – chosen by a court to make decisions for someone who cannot make them.

Designated Clinical Officer (DCO) / Designated Medical Officer (DMO) – a point of contact for local authorities, schools and colleges seeking health information or queries about health provision for children and young people with SEND. They are not involved in assessments or planning for individuals but make sure that assessment, planning and health support are carried out. Work with health services to make sure good quality contributions to the Education, Health and Care Plan process are made. The DCO comes from a paediatric therapist background and the DMO comes from a community paediatrician background.

Designated Teacher – helps school staff to understand the things which affect how looked after children learn and achieve. The designated teacher has a key role in making sure there is a central point of initial contact within the school who can manage the process of how the school engages with others (e.g. social workers, virtual school heads), works in a joined up way and minimises disruption to the child’s education. They develop and implement the child’s Personal Education Plan (PEP).

Dietitians – offer advice and support for special dietary needs (including food allergies and intolerances) and health conditions (such as faltering growth, feeding problems, fussy eating and weight management). They also give advice and support to those who are tube fed.

Education Engagement/Education Engagement Officers – works with families to improve school attendance and remove barriers. Part of the Family Intervention Service. Supporting reintegration plans and progress statutory processes when required.

Educational Mental Health Practitioners (EMHPs) – short-term support to children and young people who are having difficulties with things like anxiety, worries and low mood. Teaches new skills to make changes and help themselves to feel better. Support parents and carers of primary age children up to age 12, through parenting and parent led Low Intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (LICBT).

Educational Psychologist (EP) – helps understand how a child learns and what support they need. More detail in the educational professionals section.

Education Relationships/Education Relationship Manager – support schools, offering risk oversight, coordinated communication, Team Around the School activity and locality based problem solving. The main Local Authority link for schools, offering support, challenge and guidance around improvement, safeguarding, attendance and leadership.

Education Safeguarding Service Officer (ESS Officer, previously known as Education Welfare Officer EWO and Education Safeguarding Advisor) – monitors attendance-based data in schools to give support and where necessary, challenge. Their main focus is to make sure schools use all early help options, assuming that ‘poor attendance is the symptom of another issue’. They can start legal interventions against families where attendance remains an issue. Monitors and investigates Children Missing Education. Also responsible for Elective Home Education monitoring and visits.

Family Doctor – see General Practitioner (GP)

Family Intervention Worker – supports families at home with practical help and advice around disabilities. More detail in the social care professionals section.

Family Intervention Service worker – works with families experiencing complex needs. More detail in the social care professionals section

Family therapists – works with families to improve relationships and manage difficulties.

Front Door Family Practitioner – looks at early help requests when wanting support from the Family Intervention Service. Speak to all involved to understand the current concerns and difficulties to see if support can be given by FIS. More detail in the social care professionals section.

General Practitioners (GPs) – your main doctor. Treats health problems and makes referrals to hospitals and other medical services. More detail in the health professionals section. Doctors will also have different titles depending on their rank or level of training – this is explained on the BMA website.

Habilitation Specialist – teaches a child with visual impairment skills for daily life and travel. Part of the Vision Support Team.

Headteacher – leads the school and makes sure children get the right support. More detail in the educational professional’s section.

Health Care Assistants (HCAs) – support nurses and doctors in GP practices and hospitals. Doing blood tests, blood pressure checks, ear syringing or dressings.

Health Coaches – help you improve your health and wellbeing, and self-management of conditions. Nobody knows you better than you know yourself. Everyone can make positive changes in their lives. Together they explore what is important for your life and wellbeing, identify the local activities and services you can benefit from and help and encourage you to use them. Ask your GP practice about Health Coaches in your area.

Health Visitor – supports young children’s health and development. More detail is in the health professionals section.

Health and Wellbeing Coaches (SASP) – support people with long term conditions to access physical activity to protect their health.

Independent Safeguarding Reviewing Officer (ISRO or IRO) – checks care plans for children in care and chairs review meetings. Makes sure the child’s wishes and feelings are listened to.

Independent Travel Trainers – trains students aged 14 plus with SEND to use a bus route. First, they travel the walking route to the bus stop and bus journey, to make the student comfortable and reduce anxiety. Then they shadow, and later keep regular contact when independently travelling.

Inclusion Manager – supports children with different needs in school. Such as children whose first language is not English, or children whose families have social care involvement. The SENCO may take on this role.

Intervention Teacher – helps children who are finding learning difficult. More detail in the educational professional’s section.

Job Coach – support you as you start to work.

Learning Mentors – Support pupils facing social, emotional or behavioural barriers, improving engagement, resilience and attendance. Part of the Virtual School offer.

LEGO therapy facilitator – uses LEGO activities to build communication and social skills.

Mediator – an independent person helping those in dispute to reach agreements. Asks questions, clarifies, and sometimes challenges what is being said by both sides. The focus is on what is best for the child or young person, whose views are included and discussed.

Mental health support workers – support patients with mental health problems, found in some doctor’s surgeries (GPs).

Nurses

• Community Children’s Nurse – work with children with complex healthcare conditions needing nursing support. They will help you and your child become experts in your child’s condition and management. To work with you in reducing or preventing hospital admission. Children are referred via a hospital, a consultant or a similar professional.
• Nurse practitioners – nurses who have undergone further training to cover a variety of more specialised roles. Some nurse practitioners will deal with acute medical presentations including childhood illnesses. They will have had specific training in these areas. Some nurse practitioners are able to prescribe. Nurse practitioners can be found in GP practices and in accident and emergency and Urgent Treatment Centres.
• Practice nurses – trained nurses employed by the GP practices to look after long-term adult conditions, and perform certain procedures such as immunisations or cervical smears. Their only role in looking after children is the provision of childhood immunisations and the management of asthma. They will do wound dressing, stitches removal, injections and other common tasks.
• School nurses – routine health checks and healthcare advice and support for 5 to 19 year olds in schools, or educated at home. More detail in the health professionals section.
• Specialist nurses – work across settings, specialising in an area. For example; ADHD, asthma, cardiac liaison, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, epilepsy, oncology outreach, paediatric continence, renal, respiratory, stoma and vaginal nerve stimulator devices (VNS).
• Learning disability nurses – often part of a wider care team who work with people with learning disabilities to help them become as independent as possible.

Occupational Therapist (OT) – helps children and young people to develop everyday skills and independence. OT from health can support the development of everyday skills through special exercises, and new ways to do the task, and OT from social care and education can assess the need for special equipment or environmental adaptations. More detail in the health professionals and social care professionals section.

Ophthalmologist – doctors who treat eye conditions.

Orthotist – provides braces or supports for the foot, leg or spine.

Orthoptist – treats vision and eye movement problems.

Orthopaedic Surgeon – doctors who treat bones and joints.

Paediatric Liaison Health Visitors – Health visitors based at Hospitals who are children’s nurse-trained and have specialist knowledge of children’s conditions.

Paediatricians – Doctors with a special interest in developmental and learning difficulties. More detail is in the health professionals section. Doctors will also have different titles depending on their rank or level of training – this is explained on the BMA website.

Palliative Care Team – supporting the control of symptoms where a cure is not possible.

Paramedics – respond to emergency calls to stabilise patients and get them to a treatment centre like a hospital. But also many doctors surgeries (GPs) now employ paramedics to see acutely unwell patients and identify those that need further treatment or investigations. They will often deal with ‘same day’ patients that have self-identified as needing to be seen urgently. Many children will present with acute same day presentations and so will be seen by paramedics. They are often able to prescribe and work independently.

Parent and Family Support Advisors (PFSAs) – work with school-aged children and their families that need extra support to happily attend school and engage in their learning. More detail in the educational professional’s section.

Personal Assistant (PA) – see care assistant

Pharmacists – dispense medicines. They may do some screening tests such as blood pressure or cholesterol measuring, and immunisations such as flu. They may run stop-smoking services, including prescribing appropriate nicotine replacement therapy. They will speak to patients about the best way to take their medicines, any issues to watch out for and check for possible interactions with other medicines you may be taking.

Physiotherapist – helps with children’s movement and physical mobility. More detail is in the health professionals section.

Play therapist – uses play to help children understand feelings.  They are encouraged to be registered with the Register of Play and Creative Arts Therapists.

Podiatrist – diagnose and treat foot conditions. Keeping people mobile and active, relieving pain and treating infections.

Practice Nurses – see nurses

Prevention Practitioners – provides early help to stop problems getting worse.

Prosthetist – see Orthotist

Psychiatrists – Doctors who treat mental health conditions.

Psychotherapists – helps with emotional and mental health difficulties.

Restorative workers – work with young people (aged 10 to 18) who have been arrested by the police for a crime, and their families and carers. Restorative practice is a way of working with conflict that puts the focus on repairing the harm that has been done.

SENDIAS Officer or Support Worker – give free, impartial SEND advice and support to families and young people with SEND. Based on SEND law and the SEND Code of Practice.

Senior Assessment and Reviewing Officer (SARO) – see Assessment and Reviewing Officer (ARO).

Social workers – help children and families needing extra support or help to keep them safe. More detail in the social care professionals section.

Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) – a teacher responsible for the specific support for the children and young people with SEND. Managing day-to-day operation of the school’s SEND Policy. More detail in the educational professional’s section.

Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) Governor – school governing bodies should have a member of the board with specific oversight for the school’s SEN arrangements, including ensuring there is a suitably qualified teacher designated as SENCO. They will help review the schools’ policy on provision for children and young people with SEND and their approach to meeting the needs of those with SEND, and ensure that the school website publishes their SEN offer and links to the Local Offer. They will meet with the SENCO on a regular basis and ensure the school’s notional SEN budget is appropriately allocated to support children and young people with SEN. They ensure that SEN duties are undertaken effectively across the organisation including but not limited to identification of needs, responding to SEN, a broad and balanced curriculum, record keeping of SEN provision and engagement and participation for all children and young people. The precise responsibilities of the SEND Governor need to be determined by the governing board and so will vary from school to school.

Specialist Nurse – see Nurses

Specialist Support Advisors – work as part of the AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication), Hearing and Vision support teams to help children and young people (aged 0–25) with SEND access learning, communicate effectively and take part fully in everyday school and home life. They work under the guidance of specialist teachers and practitioners, supporting children and young people to use specialist equipment effectively, access the curriculum, develop independence and work with families and settings to put practical strategies and adjustments in place

Speech and Language Therapist (SLT or SALT) – diagnose and treat problems of understanding, communication and speaking. Also helps with swallowing and eating difficulties. More detail is in the health professionals section.

Somerset Supporter – helps young people take part in activities and build independence.

Teacher – see Classroom Teacher

Teaching Assistant – supports the class teacher, and supports the learning of children with SEND. Using whole class, small group or one-to-one work. More detail is in the educational professional section.

Tertiary specialists – doctors based in major specialist units. Different hospitals specialise in different conditions. Most commonly people from the southwest will link to Bristol Children’s Hospital or Southampton. Doctors will also have different titles depending on their rank or level of training – this is explained on the BMA website.

Transition Worker – supports children who are autistic or on the assessment pathway during key transitions. They prepare plans, work with settings and help reduce anxiety around moves. Part of the Virtual School.

Trustee – Manages money or assets from someone else. The person will be too young or have a disability which means they can’t manage their own affairs. Trustees must use the money or assets in the trust only for that person’s benefit. Exactly what you can and can’t do as a trustee will be recorded in the trust agreement.

Village and Community Agents – provide confidential, practical community-based solutions for you. Your local Thrive Village Agent can be contacted directly, or by referral through your Doctors surgery. Thrive Community Agents can only be contacted by a referral from your doctors or Adult Social Care Services. Village Agents run Talking Cafes on any topic – finance, health, housing and more.

Virtual School Head – The virtual school is not a ‘real’ school with buildings and classrooms, it aims to do the very best we can to help children and young people in the most complex education situations; enjoy education and achieve good outcomes that prepare them well for adulthood. Part of the Virtual School includes the Statutory Virtual School for children looked after. The Virtual School Head in Somerset leads this work with Designated Teachers, Social Workers, and other agencies and organisations, giving advice and helping to make sure Personal Education Plans (PEPs) for children looked after are thoughtful and will aid progress.