Early Years SEND Advisory Team 

Initial contact is made by Early Years SEND Advisory Team for all preschool age children who live in Barnet within 3 weeks from referral within school term time, may be longer in holiday periods.

The Early Years SEND Advisory Team provides regular contact for families and visits regularly in the early weeks-months. They are a point of contact for ongoing support and help you liaise also with other professionals.  Sometimes in the early weeks it can be very overwhelming and there are numerous medical appointments. However as the appointments lessen and things settle, the community team will continue to support you and encourage you to meet other families, particularly through our local Down Syndrome hub at Underhill children’s centre. 

What to expect from the Early Years SEND Advisory Team:

• A comprehensive assessment of need

• Discussion and information on local services

• Support and review at key transition stages if required

• Liaison and referral to other services as needed:

  • Children Centre 0-19 support

  • Barnet Mencap

  • Family health visitor

  • GP

  • Community paediatricians

  • Health Visiting and School Nursing (for child transitioning to school)

  • Speech and Language Therapy

  • Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy

  • Community Paediatrics

  • Nutrition & Dietetics

• Provide families with the new parent pack from Down’s Syndrome Association: You and your baby - Downs Syndrome Association

• Ensure families have this Down Syndrome combined care pathway and have received the Down Syndrome insert for the red book.

• Information and invitation to the DS Hub (the BIG-DS Barnet Integrated Group for Down Syndrome). The DS hub gives families opportunities to meet up and supports their child’s developmental needs with early intervention. Families can see a variety of professionals there, who work closely with the Early Years Advisory Team at the hub e.g. paediatricians, speech therapists and feeding specialists, dentists, physiotherapists and more.  The Early Years SEND Advisory Team will give families information about this and together work out when best to access these groups. These groups are held every Wednesday (term time) at Underhill Children’s Centre (Mays Lane, London EN5 2LZ. 0208 349 2423).

• Signposting to additional support services as required e.g.:

  • Down's Heart Group  Children facing congenital heart surgery  Information Sheets - Down's Heart Group   

  • Early Support Information for parents/families https://www.downs-syndrome.org.uk/about-downs-syndrome/lifes-journey/children-families-and-education/#earlydevelopment

  • National Down’s Syndrome Association: Downs Syndrome Association

  • Local health services information:  Barnet Local Offer

  • Early Years Education Services: Home / Info and Advice / Early Years

  • Benefits advice:

    • Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for children: Overview - GOV.UK

    • Carer's Allowance: How it works - GOV.UK

Early Years SEND Advisory Team will continue to work with families until the child has successfully transitioned into school.

If an older child is referred in, i.e. school-aged and moved from abroad or moved into Barnet, they will not see the Early Years SEND Advisory Team but will have input from community paediatricians and the school nurses, school-based SENCo’s and therapists.

Contact information:

Early Years SEND Advisory Team:
Early Years Centre
Oakleigh Road North
LONDON
N20 0DH

Phone: 020 8261 2456 ext 1

Email: admin@eysend.barnetmail.net

Children’s integrated therapy (CIT) services:

Physiotherapy, Occupational therapy, Speech and Language therapy and Paediatric Dysphagia teams are all based together and contact information here:

Barnet Children’s Integrated Therapies (CIT)

Whittington Health NHS Trust
3rd Floor, Westgate House
Edgware Community Hospital
Burnt Oak Broadway
HA8 0AD
Email: whh-tr.barnetcit@nhs.net

Phone: 020 3316 8900

Children's Integrated Care Liaison Officer:
whh-tr.barnetCIT.ciclo@nhs.net

Referral information and forms (See Appendix 1):  

• Barnet Children's Integrated Therapies (CIT) (whittington.nhs.uk)

Accessing the services and referral forms:

• https://www.whittington.nhs.uk/default.asp?c=43508

• https://wwc.barnet.gov.uk/working-children-barnet/practitioner-guidance/child-development-service/child-development-service

All the therapies (physiotherapy, SLT, OT and the dysphagia team) form the Barnet Children’s Integrated Therapies.

Community Paediatrics

(see Appendix 43 for Checklists in DS according to age)

Community paediatricians routinely review children at the following time intervals:

• 3 months

• 6 months 

• 12 months

• Yearly after this until transition to adult services which takes place once a child has left full-time education

Additionally, from 14 years, they also have annual enhanced reviews with their GP.

The hospital paediatrician will also review as planned within 3 months at Barnet hospital children’s outpatients.

Routine reviews can be more frequent if needed.

Contact details:

Child Health HQ, 3rd Floor, Westgate House, Edgware Community Hospital (EGH), Burnt Oak Broadway, Edgware HA8 OAD Telephone: 

020 7794 0500 followed by extension:

Deputy office manager and medical secretary: x26457 or x26382
Audiology secretary and appointments: x82398 (DD: 020 3758 2398)
Clinic coordinator: x82420 (DD: 020 3758 2420)
Office manager: x26217
Medical and SEN secretary: x26272