Making successful referrals to other services
It is very frustrating when you have spent a considerable amount of time compiling evidence and completing a referral to an external agency such as the occupational therapy service or the speech and language therapy team, only to have it rejected at the triage stage.
You may feel that you described in great detail the difficulties that the child or young person is experiencing in school and at home, and that - without a doubt - they warrant assessment or intervention by a specialist. So why was your referral declined?
More often than not, NHS services and other specialist teams want to know the impact of the challenges being observed. For example, if a child has a notably short attention span, how is this affecting them? Maybe it means they are unable to start or complete work independently, or they have difficulties seeing a game with their peers through to the end. If a child in year 3 is struggling to develop fine-motor skills, so what? Could you explain about the impact this is having on their self-esteem given they still need assistance to do up their buttons after PE?
Also, external agency referral paperwork usually provides space for you as a SENCO to explain exactly what support the child or young person has already been provided with in school as part of the graduated approach. Rightly or wrongly, that this part of a referral form is lacking is often the reason cited for a request being turned down. Schools need to be able to evidence that they have already implemented what reasonable adjustments and targeted interventions as part of a package of increasingly personalised support. This is effectively to demonstrate that the child being referred is still experiencing difficulties despite appropriate support - as many children will make progress in response to evidence-based interventions.
An example of this might be that a child who displays sensory-seeking behaviours and social communication difficulties has been given a wobble cushion, fiddle toys and theraband to try and help them manage their sensory differences, a weekly social skills group to support their understanding and use of social language, as well as daily support from an adult to help them participate in activities with their peers at unstructured times - but this is having little impact upon their ability to manage their sensory needs and to integrate socially.
If you are new to the SENCO role or feel you might benefit from some support to put together the evidence and information required for robust referrals to external agencies, please complete the contact form below and I will get back to you for an initial informal conversation.