Multi-Agency Forums
There are a range of multi-agency forums that function to make decisions regarding resource allocation.
Child Planning's Framework Locality Teams
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Children and Young People's Single Point of Access (SPA)
The Single Point of Access is the referral route to access the following services:
· Mental Health and Wellbeing Services
· Neurodevelopmental Pathway
· Early Years Response Team
Referral to the Single Point of Access is by way of a Request for Assistance form (RfA) which is embedded below.
Please note that signed consent is required from the young person, parent or carer. Young people aged 12 years and over can consent themselves but wherever possible it is generally beneficial for their family to be involved and aware of the referral. Where appropriate, consent can be given verbally as long as this is recorded by whom and dated on the Request for Assistance form.
The person who made the Request for Assistance will then be informed of the Triage Team’s decision.
Completed RfA's should be sent to cypspa@eastlothian.gov.uk
Mental Health and Wellbeing
Requests for Assistance are considered by a multi-agency Triage Team, which is made up of representatives from MYPAS, Education, Children’s Services, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) and Art Therapies. The Triage Team consider each Request for Assistance and decide on the best available option for the young person. This can include: school counselling, seeking additional information, LIAM (Let’s Talk about Anxiety Management), music / art therapy, youth work support or referral on to alternative supports.
An RfA to the Single Point of Access can be submitted for concerns involving:
Anxiety
Low mood
Self-harm
Suicidal thoughts (where there is no clear planning or active intent)
Peer relationship difficulties
Family issues (such as separation, conflict, domestic abuse, ill health)
Bereavement reaction which appears extreme or long lasting
School issues which are affecting mental wellbeing
Social isolation
Early Years Education Resource Group (EY ERG)
The Early Years Education Resource Group is a multi-agency panel designed to offer relevant and timely support for children with an identified need before they start school. Children who access this service will be deemed to have significant and complex additional support needs affecting their development. Recommended support will be identified using a staged intervention framework, in order to meet specific needs at the right time.
This group will also consider and make decisions regarding requests for an additional funded year of Early Learning & Childcare for those who do not meet the criteria for an automatic deferral.
The Early Years Education Resource Group is the main referral pathway to access a specialist placement in the Green Room at the Hub in Sanderson's Wynd PS, and Education’s 0–3 Outreach Service including ‘Kidz Play’.
The EY ERG has active representation from:
Inclusion & Wellbeing Service
Early Learning & Childcare
Early Years Outreach
Health Visiting
NAMS
Speech & Language Therapy
Occupational Therapy and,
Links with the Community Learning Disabilities Nursing team, Community Child Health, Early Years - Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services and, the Educational Psychology Service.
The EY ERG will review Requests for Assistance approximately every 8 weeks and make recommendations for accessing the most appropriate intervention from the range of services available for that child at that time e.g. home play sessions, parenting programmes, support transitioning to an Early Learning & Childcare setting, Early Years Outreach, Kidsplay, Green Room.
EY ERG panel dates for the 2023/24 school year are detailed below (including the deadline for submissions):
31st Aug 2023 (17th Aug)
26th Oct 2023 (12th Oct)
14th Dec 2023 (30th Nov)
29th Feb 2024 (15th Feb)
25th April 2024 (11th April)
20th June 2024 (6th June)
Requests for Assistance to the Early Years Education Resource Group should be submitted via the Single Point of Access.
SPA Request for Assistance form for MHWB ND EYRT APRIL 23.docxEducation Resource Group (ERG)
Admission to Specialist Educational Provision for East Lothian’s Children and Young People will be decided by the Education Resource Group (ERG) and will take account of the presumption that children and young people will be placed within a mainstream school wherever possible, and support and planning will be delivered in the context of East Lothian Council’s Child’s Planning Framework.
The ERG comprises of senior representatives from Education, Children’s Services and Health, and is chaired by the Education Service Manager for East Lothian’s Inclusion and Wellbeing Service.
This panel will also consider applications for a retained year in school, and other available Targeted level supports.
ERG panel dates for the 2023/24 school year are detailed below (including the deadline for submissions):
12th Sept 2023 (1st Sept)
24th Oct 2023 (10th Oct) - this panel will ONLY consider applications for learners who will begin P1 or S1 in Aug 2024
5th Dec 2023 (21st Nov)
23rd Jan 2024 (11th Jan)
12th March 2024 (27th Feb)
28th May 2024 (14th May)
Early Years ERG and ERG guidance - June 2023.docxInternal Panel
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MARAC
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Neurodevelopmental Pathway
In East Lothian, we are piloting a Test of Change where there is a new process for identifying Neurodevelopmental Conditions such as; Autism, ADHD, Learning/ Intellectual Disability, Developmental Coordination Disorder, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, and Developmental Language Disorder. All referrals for these Neurodevelopmental Conditions now need to come through the Single Point of Access. A multi-agency panel with representatives from Education and Health discuss referrals and support progression on to the Neurodevelopmental Pathway as appropriate.
Senior Officer Resource Group (SORG)
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