All children with disabilities can be defined as ‘Children in Need’ (CA 1989 Section 17) Portsmouth is committed to providing a proportionate and child-centred service which recognises that many families do not want or require a Social Work service simply because they have a disabled child.

Within our Targeted Early Help and Prevention Service, we have 2 Social Work Assistants and Senior Occupational Therapist who provide an ‘Early Help’ service for families of disabled children, and will create a package of support for a family based on an Early Help Assessment and multi-agency plan.

The Children’s Disability Social Work function will be the preferred service where families, in addition to requiring support for their disabled child or young person, require additional support because of issues in relation to family functioning, risk of family breakdown or other complex needs.

Parent carers should speak to a professional who is known to them.

The professional can refer the child to the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH). MASH will look at the information sent to them and if appropriate, the child will then be referred to either the Early Help Service or one of the Social Work Teams. The needs of the child and family will then be assessed.

The pathway for those children with disabilities will require the professional who makes the contact to refer to the threshold document for children with complex needs – pathways to support. The professional making the contact will be expected to complete an Inter-Agency Contact Form (IACF), and a Recommended Support Tool (RST) or Early Help Assessment (EHA). Children with disabilities will follow the same pathway as any other child. However, the children with disabilities threshold document will be used to provide additional support to aid practitioners in their decision making.

When a child has a neurodevelopmental condition, violent and challenging behaviour is very common. Around one in four of all children with a diagnosis of autism or a learning disability, will develop behaviour which is both violent and challenging, also called VCB. Children with other conditions such as ADHD ( Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity) and PDA ( Pathological Demand Avoidance) can also present with these behaviours.

Challenging behaviours can impact on family life and we have a number of local and national services that can support with this.

In Portsmouth City,  Family Hubs currently run a series of parenting courses. Contact the hubs directly for more information. 

For help in school and at home the Portsmouth Multi-Behaviour Support Service provides a range of interventions which can involve work with the child/young person, parents and carers and professionals. Click here to find out more.

There are also a number of national organisations that also offer advice and support with challenging behaviour at home ( please note that these organisations are not endorsed by PCC and links are for your information only). These include:

Yvonne Newbold – SEND VCB , The Challenging Behaviour Foundation, MENCAP,  Ambitious about Autism,  Pathological Demand Avoidance Society,

The Children’s Disability Social Work function provide a paediatric occupational therapy service in order to discharge the council’s duty in relation to adaptations and provision of specialist equipment for disabled children. This work is undertaken alongside, and in partnership with, the community occupational therapy service hosted by Solent Health, which also includes a joint funded OT post.

Follow this link for more information on the Children’s disability social work function  or you can contact the NHS Solent Children’s Therapy Team single point of access service by calling 0300 300 2019 ( Mon-Fri 8am to 6pm)

There are Parenting Surgeries in each of the six Family Hubs which are available for families where the behaviour issue is for children over five years old. Appointments can be made by calling your local Family Hub.

There are also a range of discussion groups available which target a specific problem or behaviour issue.

There are topics for parents of children aged 5 – 12:
Dealing with Disobedience
Managing Fighting and Aggression
Developing Good Bedtime Routines
Hassle-Free Shopping

and topics available for parents of children aged 13 – 16:
Coping with Teenagers’ Emotions
Reducing Family Conflict
Getting Teenagers to Cooperate
Survival Skills

These can be booked by calling your local Family Hub.

We would first encourage you to discuss your concerns with a manager to try and resolve these quickly. If this cannot resolve the issues you should contact the Complaints Department, https://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/ext/your-council/your-say/complaints/comment-compliment-or-complaint