Support for children and young people with physical disabilities
Our specialist teachers help children with complex physical disabilities to be included in your child’s mainstream educational setting.
How we help
For children and young people receiving our support, the team may help with:
- supporting SENCOs and teachers with assessing how children and young people can access the environment and curriculum. For example through access visits or identifying strategies to access practical learning
- reviewing risk assessments, personalised emergency evacuation plans (PEEP), physical disability management plans (PDMP) and therapist moving handling plans
- supporting the education setting with writing targets and implementing inclusive strategies
- identifying strategies that enable independence and empower children and young people.
Who can receive support
We can give advice and guidance for children and young people who have a complex physical need impacting significantly on their gross or fine motor skills such as:
- birth trauma and prematurity
- chromosomal disorders significantly affecting physical development
- complex medical needs like cancer, severe epilepsy, chronic illness, or complex medical needs that affect physical function like cystic fibrosis
- musculoskeletal condition for example, juvenile idiopathic arthritis
- neurological impairments for example, cerebral palsy
- persistent symptoms affecting mobility and physical function although there is no diagnosis
- specific muscle impacting conditions for example, duchenne muscular dystrophy and spinal muscular atrophy
- severe trauma from a road accident, spinal cord injury, or brain injury
- upper and lower limb differences.
Types of support
For our most complex cases, we may work with:
- you and your family
- early years settings
- Portage
- Special Educational Needs Inclusion Fund Practitioners (SENIF)
- health colleagues
- other early years specialist teachers.
Our team may work with the early years setting and you to make sure your child gets what they need. To do this we could:
- give advice and guidance at physical disability surgeries (a 30 minute virtual discussion between us and SENCOs, including written feedback)
- find different ways for the early years setting to access the early years curriculum
- offer access to our core training offer such as moving and handling, effective care planning
- offer advice for tracking the progress of your child
- connect with health professionals for further assessment referrals when necessary (KMCAT referral)
- support practitioners to include therapy targets into early years activities
- signpost the early years setting to find advice from health care professionals including:
- epilepsy nurses
- community nurses
- Nutricia
- Evelina/Great Ormond Street Hospital specialists
- a therapy advice line.
Read what other support is available from early years settings.
If your child attends school, we may:
- signpost for advice to health care professionals including:
- epilepsy nurses
- community nurses
- cystic fibrosis nurses
- Nutricia
- Evelina nurses
- school health nurses
- signpost specific advice for:
- cerebral palsy
- duchenne muscular dystrophy
- spina bifida
- hydrocephalus
- support the inclusion of therapy goals and the safe use of specialist equipment
- find other methods of recording work, for example using accessible keyboards, software, and tools
- connect with health professionals for further assessment referrals when necessary (KMCAT referral)
- offer annual core training, including moving and handling training where a child has prescribed specialist equipment
- find other ways to access to practical subjects such as food technology and PE
- give advice on managing fatigue, getting education after surgery, or living with chronic pain.
Request a referral
Referrals can be requested from your child's education setting's SENCO. Or through their physiotherapist or portage worker.
Or, email PDteam@kent.gov.uk if your:
- child or young person does not attend an education setting or,
- SENCO or health professional has concerns about accessing education safely.
Contact us
We welcome enquiries from both professionals and families with any questions about our service. Email PDteam@kent.gov.uk for any further questions.