Sunderland City Council

Sunderland City Council
Civic Centre
Burdon Road
Sunderland
SR2 7DN

Tel. (0191) 520 5555

Calls may be recorded for quality and training purposes

Specialist Facilities

Extended Schools Home

There is a range of specialist health and social care support services that children and young people (and adults) need to access at different times in their lives to support both their general wellbeing and their ability to learn.

Children's centres and many schools, particularly special schools, have long experience of working closely in partnership with these organisations and have great expertise in swift and easy referral of pupils in need.

The next few years will see an extensive reconfiguration of support services, to offer earlier, more coherent support which meets the needs of children and families in convenient locations and in a more streamlined way. It is an effective way of addressing the wide range of interrelating factors that contribute to poorer outcomes for children and young people.

All schools, with the support of local authorities, will facilitate the swift and easy referral of relevant pupils to a wide range of specialist support services such as speech therapy, child and adolescent mental health services, family support services, intensive behaviour support, and (for young people) sexual health services.

Schools, support services and agencies will work together to ensure the needs of all children, young people and their parents or carers, are fully met. Staff in different agencies will work together and share information to promote child safety and well-being. Sharing information with children, young people and their families, so that processes and issues are understood and clear, is important, as is understanding issues and legislation relating to confidentiality of information.

Some support services will be situated and delivered on school sites. Offering provision on site or through local partnerships, children's centres and local authority or community sites, improves access to services and creates a more streamlined and supportive referral system for those who need it.

This is vital in working towards the holistic support of the child. The school site is often the key point for services to intervene to support children and young people. School is the one continuous and secure element in many children's lives.

Among its many benefits:

· swift and easy referral to support services:
· enhances support for vulnerable children and those most at risk
· provides better help to staff and parents to address children's wider needs
· eradicates the possibility of problems getting worse due to delay
· encourages and enables improved communication between agencies
· provides additional opportunities for staff in schools. For example, childcare and support staff may be interested in additional work in some of the services

Presently in its consultation stage, the Children's Workforce Strategy plans to rework and develop a world-class workforce which is competent and confident to make a difference to the lives of those they support.
This workforce will operate across agencies and strengthen inter-agency and multi-disciplinary working and workforce remodelling, and promote stronger leadership, management and supervision.

last updated 28/06/07

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Specialist Facilities