The All Age (0 to 25 years) Disability service (AAD) is made up of several different teams and services within Worcestershire Children First.  These were brought together under one umbrella in June 2022 to provide an integrated and multidisciplinary, more seamless service for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and/or Disability (SEND).

The service incorporates SEND Services, social care teams for young people and children with complex disabilities aged 0 to 25, educational psychology, inclusion services and also include two short breaks units and a children’s residential home. We have included a short description below of each service area, and you can find out more by selecting the relevant link to their webpages.

The Director of the service is Melanie Barnett.

The AAD Service is broken down into the following areas.

SEND Services

Group managers are Charlotte Krivosic - North and Lucy Hall - South

SEND Services is the part of the local authority responsible for carrying out an Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment (EHCNA) and they also prepare and issue the Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan if it is agreed that one is needed. A team within SEND Services will continue to be involved with the maintenance of an EHC plan until it ceases, or the young person becomes 25.

Within SEND Services there is:

• The Assessment Team. While most children and young people with SEND will have their needs met within local mainstream schools or settings, some will need an EHCNA to decide whether they need an EHC plan. This team oversees the EHCNA process
• Area teams. Once it’s agreed that a child or young person needs an EHC plan, these teams are responsible for the writing and maintenance of them, including any updates following an annual review
• SEND Tribunal case work officer and business support officer

Inclusion Support Services

Principal Educational Psychologist and Head of Inclusion Support Services is Dr Louisa Jones

Inclusion support services primarily deliver support to educational settings, including early years, schools and post-16 settings, but some also work directly with families. Much of the information and resources they include on their webpages is useful and available for families, as well as schools.
The specialist teams are:

• Autism and Complex Communication Needs Team – Qualified specialist teachers and specialist practitioners with vast experience of addressing the needs of autistic children and young people from early years to higher education.
• Educational Psychologist Service – Educational Psychologists provide professional psychological services for children, young people and families in a wide range of educational and community settings.
• Early Years Inclusion Team – the team offer support to early years settings who have children that have been identified with additional needs.
• Hearing Impairment Team - the team provides advice and support throughout the county to schools, settings and families, regarding the educational needs of hearing-impaired children.
• Learning Support Service – Qualified, specialist practitioners providing support to meet the needs of pupils with Specific Learning Difficulties (SPLD) and those struggling to engage or unmotivated to learn.
• Multi-Sensory Impairment team – they support deafblind and multi-sensory impaired babies, children and young people (0 to 19 years), their families and carers.
• Visual Impairment Team – the team supports babies, children and young people with a vision impairment, their families, and carers.

In addition to these specialist services there is also a section on the website called Inclusion in Educational Settings, which contains resources and information which families may find useful.

Social Care 0 to 16

Group Manager is Daniela Carson

The Children with Disabilities Social Work Team provide services designed to meet the needs of children and young people who have complex disabilities.

The Children with Disabilities Social Work Team is one of a range of services that can provide support to children and young people with disabilities and their families. Other services available are those provided by health, education, play and youth services as well as community resources provided by voluntary agencies.

The Children with Disabilities team offer services to those children and young people requiring additional resources in respect of their disability, where the disability has a profound impact on the child or young person’s life.

Any assessment will consider the specific needs of parents and other family members in their role as carers (this is sometimes known as a parent carer needs assessment).

Social Care 16 to 25

Group Manager is Jill Hughes

The Young Adults Team provide a specialist service to those young people, aged 16-25, who have profound and complex disabilities. The support is from 16 years of age and is to undertake transition planning to support the young person and their parents/carers, to ensure a seamless transition from children’s to adult social care.

The team is made up of specialist social workers, family support workers, a carer support worker and an administration support team.

Specialist Short Breaks and Children’s Residential Home

Group Manager is Daniela Carson

There are three overnight short break units in Worcestershire. Two are run by Worcestershire County Council (Providence Road in Bromsgrove and Moule Close in Kidderminster) and one run by Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust. These units provide overnight short breaks to children and young people with complex needs across the whole of Worcestershire.