SEND Local Offer - Social care

Early Help

Children may need extra support to be healthy, safe and reach their potential.  

Early Help is about identifying where a child and their family might need support in either the early years of the child's life or the early stages of a problem at any time in their childhood.  

Contact our dedicated team of help and support professionals on 01642 524188 or 01642 526123.

Find out more about how to access Early Help. 

Disabled Children's Team

The Disabled Children's Team is a social work service that helps children and young people who have a substantial and permanent disability. They provide specialist and statutory social care services when children and young people need more support than our universal and targeted services. They support children and young people who have severe learning disabilities, severe physical disabilities, a life limiting or life threatening condition or a combination of these.

The Disabled Children's Team:

• provide an assessment of need under Section 17 of the Children's Act 1989 
• provide support services to help families where need has been identified in the assessment
• work with specialist services to support families
• undertake safeguarding duties to ensure the safety and wellbeing of a disabled child and their siblings
• support the assessment process for an education, health and care (EHC) plan. Find out more about EHC plans 

Children and young people with a disability are classed as a Child in Need and they are entitled to an assessment of need. There is also lots of additional support available without one if you feel this is not what you want.

If you would like to request an assessment of need the process is the same as requesting any children's social care referral. All referrals come through the Children's Hub.

You can contact them on 01642 130080 or email childrenshub@hartlepool.gov.uk

Find out more about our Children's Social Work services

Safeguarding

If you have concerns about the welfare of a child you can contact our Children's Hub to report a concern or the Emergency Duty Team if out of hours.

Find out how to report a child safeguarding concern

If a young person has transitioned into Adults Services, safeguarding concerns can be reported to our First Contact Team or the Emergency Duty Team if out of hours.

Find out how to report an adult safeguarding concern

We are part of the Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees Safeguarding Children Partnership the which works in partnership to provide further information and support on safeguarding.

Safeguarding information for parents and carers

Safeguarding information for children and young people

Safeguarding information for professionals

Transitions

 When any young person reaches 18 years old and they require care and support as an adult they can apply to Adult Services for a Care Act Assessment.  This is only when the time is right for the young person and Adult Social Care are confident of the young person's needs for care and support.

If the young person is active to a social worker then they will receive transition support into Adults Services from them.

It is important that young people are supported by the right team. A social worker will complete an appropriate assessment to understand what advice and support the young person will need when they move into Adult Services. 

There are a lot of adult social care teams including: 

• the early intervention and prevention team 
• the sensory loss team
• the mental health team
• the learning disability team
• the long term support planning team

The assessment and planning take into account the wellbeing of the young person and is all based around the individual's needs, wishes and outcomes.  

For more information you can visit the Adult Social Care section of the Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council website or read our services for adults explained guide.

Designated Social Care Officer (DSCO)

The primary aim of the DSCO is to strategically lead in framing and developing social care elements of the SEND strategy across the local authority, in compliance with legislative requirements of the SEND Code of Practice (2015). The DSCO has in-depth knowledge, and understanding of both social care operations and the SEND reforms agenda and will identify areas where social care is weak or noncompliant with the SEND Code of Practice.

Within Stockton-on-Tees the DSCO is a registered Social Worker who sits within the SEND Service. The DSCO sits on multi-agency decision making panels, meets regularly with parents and carers, encourages the improved quality of social work input into the EHCP process and leads on a number of strategic areas.

Visit the Stockton Information Directory for social care services and organisations that support children and young people with SEND