Special educational needs (SEN) advisory service

The complex needs team provide specialist teacher advice and support for children and young people (CYP) 4-25 years of age who have an education, health and care plan (EHCP) in a mainstream school and the specialist sector. The service offers timely support to schools via a single point of contact (SPOC) within the team. Bromley Schools will have an identified SPOC attached with their school to support early intervention and responsive approaches to SEND related issues. 

The service also offers intensive key working and advice for families to support them to navigate systems and signpost to other services that may provide advice and help. The SEN advisory team provide linkwork support and ongoing continued professional development (CPD) to education teams across mainstream and the specialist sector. 

The service works in direct partnership with schools, families and multi-agency partners to ensure that children and young people are making progress towards long term outcomes so that they are able to take the fullest possible role in adult life. 

 Our functions

To offer advice and support in the form of personalised casework for children with an EHCP or health need. This will help to maintain a CYP’s placement and enable them to engage with their learning and make good progress towards their personalised outcomes from their own individual starting points 

1. To provide CPD to educational teams as part of Bromley’s training collaborative and bespoke packages to schools.
2. To quality assure in-borough specialist provisions and out of borough specialist schools where Bromley children and young people are placed 
3. To provide intensive key work for children and young people (CYP) and their families that require wraparound support and signposting guidance 
4. To offer timely support for children with health needs in mainstream schools without the need for statutory assessment
5. To support and signpost schools and colleges to fulfil their statutory duties for students who are preparing for adulthood. Providing information, support and training across the graduated approach from the earliest point.
6. Develop and deliver bespoke educational offers to a small group of young people with an EHCP who are unable to attend school due to a combination of medical and cognitive complexities in line with a specific diagnosis. 
7. To work with wider multi-agency teams across education, health and care to develop integrated approaches to learning offers and training.
8. To work with wider council teams to support key decision making and central SEND projects.

Accessing the service

The complex needs team accept referrals from mainstream and specialist schools and alternative provisions via their designated single point of contact (SPOC) to support children with an EHCP or health need.