Appendix 17 - 0-25 Children’s Disability Team, Children's Social care
MASH (multiagency safeguarding hub)
Barnet’s 0 - 25 Disability Service offers social care support to children from birth to 25 who have a profound disability, severe disability, multiple disability or a complex and long-term health condition resulting in profound disability. Additionally, we offer a service to young people aged 18 to 25 who have a diagnosed learning or physical disability.
What do we do?
we provide advice and can direct families to national and local voluntary services
if a child or young person meets the criteria of the 0 - 25 Disability Service for a social work service, a child and family assessment can be undertaken. This assessment will provide detailed information about the needs of the child and family which will help develop a plan of support for the child/young person
we offer a Short Breaks package to those children aged 0 - 18 who meet the eligibility criteria
we provide a statutory safeguarding role for children and assess families where there are safeguarding concerns or where the parents may be struggling
we provide a statutory safeguarding role for adults 18 – 25 who have disabilities
we support children, young people and their families through transitions to adulthood
we liaise with other agencies such as housing, education, health and occupational therapy and contribute to Educational Health Care Plans and Continuing Health Care assessments.
How to access our service?
For children 0 - 18 families can self-refer or be referred by another agency they are in contact with such as a GP or a health worker.
Referrals are made via the Barnet Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) on 0208 359 4066 or email mash@barnet.gov.uk
The MASH team will then contact us to check if your child is likely to meet our eligibility criteria. You will need to have information that confirms details about your child's disability. This may be recent medical reports or letters from the medical consultants who are responsible for your child's care. We will not see these reports without consent. Once we have this information we will complete an assessment to ascertain your child's needs. This will allow us to make recommendations on support and help for your child and the whole family. For adults 18-25 referrals are usually made via Barnet Social Care Direct 0208 359 5000 or email socialcaredirect@barnet.gov.uk
Support available for children not eligible for social care support through the 0-25 Disability Service
Families of disabled children or those with special educational needs (SEN) not eligible for social care support through the 0 - 25 Disability Service can access information on a range of services aimed at supporting them and their child/ren achieve the best possible outcomes.
https://www.barnet.gov.uk/children-and-families/children-and-young-people-disabilities
Disabled children's activities (short breaks)
Short Breaks are a range of play and leisure services for disabled children and young people aged 0 to 18 who live in Barnet. These services are targeted at children and young people who need additional support in order to access play and leisure services. We have a variety of organisations that provide the short breaks services.
Please visit our Short Breaks Directory
The directory includes a list of providers that have met our quality threshold. You can view what each organisation has on offer to help you decide which activity will be most suited to your child’s needs.
Who can apply?
To be eligible for a short break service, children and young people must be aged 0 to 18, be in receipt of an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) and be in receipt of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) at the middle or high rate.
Barnet's Local Offer
Barnet’s Local Offeer gives children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and their families information about education, health and care services, leisure activities and support groups in their local area.
MASH referral form:
Contacts: Children 0-18 - Duty Social Worker, Tel: 020 8359 4246, Email: mash@barnet.gov.uk Adults 18 - 25: Duty Social Worker, Tel: 020 8359 5608, Email: socialcaredirect@barnet.gov.uk
Down Syndrome Association – social care and support factsheet (2023)
https://www.downs-syndrome.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Social-Care-and-Support-Factsheet.pdf