Help Support services
Schools can access a range of specialist services to support them to meet your child’s needs. All of these services support children and young people based on their needs. Children and young people DO NOT need any formal diagnoses to access these services.
If your child is being referred for an autism or ADHD assessment, it is essential that one or more of these services has worked with your child/ young person.
Schools can make a direct referral to MindMate SPA for an autism and/ or ADHD assessment, if sufficient evidence has been gathered. See the guidance for making a referral here.
Clusters are groups of schools and key partners in a number of geographical areas throughout the city; they work together to provide a range of holistic, early help interventions to achieve the best possible outcomes for children and families.
This may include guidance from family support workers, therapeutic support, e.g. art therapists or counselling sessions, and/ or support for children and young people experiencing anxiety.
(Only schools can refer a child for Cluster support).
Speech and Language Therapists (SLT) work with children and young people with speech, language, and communication needs.
They also work with those who may have eating, drinking and swallowing difficulties that impact on their ability to participate in everyday activities. Find out more about the SLT service here.
Parents/ carers, as well as professionals can refer to Speech and Language Therapy.
SENIT are a team of professionals with expertise in learning and cognition and social emotional mental health needs across all phases of education. They work with teachers and parents to provide consultation and advice around all aspects of SEND.
Their aim is to improve attainment and achievement whilst giving pupils the opportunity to have a positive experience of school. Where appropriate, the school can request their support.
Find out more about SENIT here.
STARS are a team of autism specialists who offer advice and training to mainstream settings, including early years, primary and secondary schools settings. Find out more here.
STARS also run parent workshops, that can be found here. STARS are accredited by the National Autistic Society.
Once identified as needing support, Educational Psychologists will liaise with those who know the child best, for example, parents, carers, and teachers.
Following on from this they will share appropriate interventions and provide advice about how to support the child/ young person to achieve the best possible outcomes. Their role is vital in the process for the application of an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP).
They are one of the professional groups who must provide documentation support the application for those children and young people with particularly complex needs. Find out more about Educational Psychologists here.
Occupational Therapists (OT) work with children and young people with conditions such as cerebral palsy, autism or developmental co-ordination disorder. The OT team are part of the Integrated Children with Additional Needs (ICAN) team (see below).
However, a medical diagnosis is not needed in order to work with the Occupational Therapy Team. Such professionals can help families to understand and manage a range of sensory needs. Find out more about the OT service here.
The ICAN team includes a range of specialist healthcare professionals to support the participation and inclusion of children and young people with disabilities and their families in everyday activities.
The professionals that make up the ICAN team include Paediatricians, Occupational Therapists, Audiologists, Speech and Language Therapists, Physiotherapists, Nurses and Health Visitors. Their work may involve direct intervention for the child, but may also include support and training for other people or changes to their environment or activities.
Find out more about the ICAN service here. Healthcare professionals can refer children and young people here.
All wider local support services and agencies can be found on the Leeds Local Offer website. The Leeds Local Offer provides information for children and young people with SEND and their parents/ carers in a single place. It shows families what they can expect from a range of local agencies including education, health and social care.
The Leeds Local Offer is about providing families with information to make informed choices about services they chose to use.
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