CHILDREN’S ASSESSMENTS

Assessments for disabled children and their families

Assessment for families and children should establish your child’s needs and what services would best meet those needs.   If your child’s special educational needs are also being assessed then both should be done at the same time.

To get a Children’s Assessment you can contact Islington’s Disabled Children’s Team on 020 7527 3366.

The assessment

The initial assessment addresses three issues. These are:
– deciding whether your child will receive any services
– the sort of any services required
– whether a more detailed assessment (known as a Core Assessment) is needed.

An initial assessment may include interviews with you, your child and the rest of the immediate family and information gathering from other agencies where appropriate. This could be followed by a ‘Core Assessment’ which is more in-depth. This would involve liaising with other agencies or individuals, who would contribute specialist knowledge or undertake specialist assessments.

What will happen during an assessment?

A social worker will usually come to your home to talk to you. They should ask you for information about your child, for example, their health, emotional, social and behavioural development, their family and social relationships, and their progress and achievement in learning. As well as your child’s disability and health needs, the social worker should also consider other aspects of your child’s life, for example, education and religious or cultural needs.The assessment should focus on the circumstances of both your child and the rest of the family.

It can be useful to make a list of questions before you meet, and you are entitled to have a friend or advocate there with you. The social worker may also want to speak to your child’s health visitor, doctor or school to help them get a full picture of their needs.

As a parent carer, you are also entitled to have an assessment of your own needs. This should usually be carried out at the same time as the assessment of your child’s needs but if you feel your needs have not been addressed you can request a separate carers assessment.

If you are a parent carer and would like to discuss having a separate Carer’s Assessment please contact Centre 404:

020 7697 1325 | family@centre404.org.uk | www.centre404.org.uk