Child development service
The Barnet Child Development Service is a multi-agency collaboration between local teams with expertise in child development (medical, nursing, therapy, education and social services).
The service aims to ensure that all referrals are dealt with as promptly as possible and that children are seen by the right people in the right place. Professionals and parents/carers should complete the referral form and also attach all other relevant reports/documents.
Please note: Data Protection and GDPR Privacy Notice
For confidentiality purposes, the completed referral form can only be sent to some of the services via their secure email address .
You can find the contact details and GDPR privacy notice are also shown at the bottom of the referral form.
Please see the referral information page for more detailed guidance.
How does it work?
Referrals are made to the Child development service by professionals or parents for any concern relating to a child's development.
All these referrals are discussed at a weekly multi-agency intake meeting. This meeting is attended by senior practitioners from Speech and Language Therapy, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Early Years SEND Advisory Team (EYSEND), Neurodevelopmental Paediatrics and Community Nursing.
Each referral is discussed and a decision made based on the information included on the referral form. Decisions will be made as to:
- whether the referral is appropriate and can be accepted
- whether further information is needed
- which services are required
- which service will make initial contact with the family.
Please note that all referrals must relate to children and young people resident in Barnet and must only be made with the agreement of the child/young persons' parents/carers with consent boxes on the form completed.
What does this mean for referrers?
You will only have to complete one referral form, even if the child needs to access several of the above services.
You will know that your referral is being considered by a senior multi-disciplinary and multi-agency forum and that subsequent involvement of additional services, if appropriate, will take place without needing further referral(s).
What does this mean for families?
It will be clear to the family and the referrer which service(s) will offer the initial contact.
The referral can be accepted by all relevant services at the same time. The child/family do not have to wait until they have seen one service in order to get onto the waiting list for another.
If you are a professional working with children or you are a parent/carer and are concerned about a child's development, a referral can be made to the Child development service.