Children with disabilities and complex needs

We work with families who have a child aged 0–18 years with a diagnosed disability.

We provide a professional source of help and support to families with a disabled child by:

assessing the needs of children and carers
providing information and advice on a range of issues
giving ongoing support through our social work and other teams
helping families to access local and national services.

Other services available include:

advice and information on local and national services working for disabled children and their families
referrals to agencies who can give help and advice on benefit and grant applications
assessment of the needs of the child and the carer
liaison with other agencies such as housing, education, health and occupational therapy
arranging family support services

We provide a professional source of help and support to families with a disabled child by:

assessing the needs of children and carers
providing information and advise on a range of issues
giving ongoing support through our social work and other teams
helping families to access local and national services.

Other services available include:

advice and information on local and national services working for disabled children and their families
referrals to agencies who can give help and advice on benefit and grant applications
assessment of the needs of the child and the carer
liaison with other agencies such as housing, education, health and occupational therapy
arranging family support services.

How to access the service

Referrals for a social care assessment may come from:

a school
another council
a health visitor or other health professional
a parent or carer

To make a referral:

call 020 8314 6660
email mashagency@lewisham.gov.uk.

Urgent referrals

for urgent child protection referrals, contact the MASH on 020 8314 9181
if you think a child or young person may be in immediate danger, call 999 or contact your local police on 101

After you refer a child

We will check whether the child or young person meets the children with disabilities eligibility criteria. If they do, a social work manager will decide whether or not to allocate the case to a social worker.

Children with disability eligibility threshold table

Pdf, 115KB

Timescales

if the case is allocated to a social worker, the social care assessment must take place within 45 days of allocation
assessments will generally happen between 35 and 45 days after allocation

If there are safeguarding concerns, the assessment will be within 10 days of allocation.

Outcomes

Following the social care assessment of the needs of the child or young person, the social worker will make one of the following decisions:

the child or young person does not need a service
the child or young person is entitled to receive a service which will be delivered by universal services
the child or young person needs support through a care plan

Care plan

The social worker will draft the care plan if the child needs one. The care plan will identify all the services needed for supporting the child or young person.

All packages of care will be discussed with a manager and then presented to the Care Package Panel for agreement.

Contact

Integrated SEND Service

Kaleidoscope Child Development Centre, 32 Rushey Green, London, SE6 4JF

Telephone:

0208 314 7642 / 0208 314 3846

Email:

CWDS@lewisham.gov.uk

Services for children and young people with SEND

This page is part of the 'local offer' for children and young people with special educational needs

Explore the local offer

Published on: 19/04/2024