Improvement areas 1 and 4: Address the gaps and delays in service provision for children and young people with SEND. This includes services for autism, ADHD, mental health, audiology and speech and language
We are reporting on both of these improvement areas together because a lot of the work happening in our improvement services contributes to both these aims.
More about improvement area 1
'Leaders across the partnership should address the variability in children and young people’s access to health services that exists in different areas within the local area so that all children and young people with SEND in Hertfordshire have an equal opportunity to access appropriate provision and support that meets their needs.'
We need to redesign the way we assess children and young people for autism and ADHD so it is less confusing and the process is the same across Hertfordshire. We will improve the support children and their families get while they wait for assessment and make sure everyone can find excellent support no matter which area they live in.
We also aim to more get young people aged 14+ with learning disabilities attending the annual health checks they are entitled to.
More about improvement area 4
'Leaders should further address the gaps and delays in service provision to meet the full range of needs of children and young people with SEND. This includes services for ASD, ADHD, mental health, audiology and speech and language.'
We will stop waiting times from getting any longer, and make sure services exist for the things our families need help with. Over time, we will make waiting times for services shorter, but within our 18 month plan, we will "stabilise" the waiting times. Some particular things that families need more help with, and faster, are:
- mental health
- speech and language
- ADHD and autism
- audiology (hearing).
We will also make sure that when families do have to wait, they know where to get support in the mean time.
We are also helping schools to use a new tool (called Valuing SEND), which helps education staff to identify a child's needs. This can be useful as evidence when getting the right support from colleagues in health and social care, and helps the school to provide the right support to the child.
Progress:
Increasing the opening hours of the neurodiversity hub support line
In our last update we shared with you that the Neurodiversity Hub has been expanded across Hertfordshire. The neurodiversity support hub offers support and guidance about anything relating to ADHD and Autism (no diagnosis necessary).
Following feedback from parent/carers and professionals, we have expanded the opening hours of the Neurodiversity Hub by recruiting more call handlers.
Reducing the number of children waiting for speech and language assessments
As of April 2024, the number of children and young people waiting for their Speech and Language Therapy (SaLT) EHC needs assessment report was 257, down from over 600 in 2023.
There is a large reduction in the number of children waiting for the longest time periods with 2.3% now waiting over 19 weeks, compared to 54% in Sep 2023.
After feedback from families, Children and Young Person's Integrated Therapies have refreshed their extensive online resources for parent/carers and professionals for children who might require Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy or Physiotherapy.
Training on ADHD for schools, informed by young people
Herts Parent Carer Involvement (HPCI) have supported the SEND Participation Lead in reaching out to families whose children have a diagnosis of ADHD to ask these young people what is important to know when working with them. 124 children and young people ranging from 7 - 24 years answered an online survey, which has informed ADHD training for schools currently being developed by the SEND Specialist Advice and Support service.
Reopening of children's audiology services
Children’s Hearing Services at East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust are re-opening, in a staged way. The first services to have re-opened are those for 3 – 5 year olds and children over 5 years.
These services had been under review since mid 2023, with parts of the service paused, following an audit of paediatric audiology in England. This was happening nationally to ensure that quality of care was assured and national guidelines were followed. Auditory brainstem responses for babies and adult audiology services have been available throughout the review.
We’ll continue to keep you updated, but in the meantime, please email audiology.enh-tr@nhs.net if you have any questions