Stage 3 (intensive assessment and intervention)
Children and young people requiring intensive intervention have a range of complex and long-term needs that need agencies to plan together in a very detailed way. Their needs may be to do with:
- child protection issues
- requiring an exceptional needs package on a long-term basis so they can stay in mainstream education at their local school
- needing a day place in specialised provision that caters for learning needs resulting from cognitive, communication, physical and/or sensory impairments or social and behavioural difficulties
- requiring a place in a foster home or a residential place in specialised provision that caters for learning needs resulting from cognitive, communication, physical and/or sensory impairments or social and behavioural difficulties (these placements offer integrated education and care on a 24-hour basis)
Intensive assessment and planning of intervention may be recorded in:
- a Co-ordinated Support Plan
- a Looked After and Accommodated Child Care Plan
- a Child Protection Plan
Intervention planning
Planning considers the child or young person's additional support needs in all aspects of his or her development. It also works out who will do what, and by when, to address the child's identified needs.
This includes:
- clarifying an individual child/young person's needs and family support needs
- identifying long and short term objectives and/or specific intervention outcomes
- clarifying how, where, when and by whom objectives identified will be addressed - including resources to be allocated
- outlining how and when identified objectives and planned interventions will be reviewed
- deciding who will be the case coordinator
Devised outcomes of the plan are reviewed and decisions about next steps made may be:
- to amend and continue the plan as devised - i.e. remain at Stage 3
- to move back to Stage 2 as there is a need for less detailed planning and less intensive intervention
We try to involve parents/carers and children/young people as much as possible in the planning process. However in some cases (e.g. child protection) this may not be possible.
Parents and carers (and children/young people, where appropriate) should be given copies of Stage 3 plans.
When parents or carers are involved in meetings, they may bring supporters with them if they wish.