We want children and young people to have the best possible start in life.

We are working together to reduce inequalities (reducing the differences in health, care and life chances based on where people live or social circumstances) and looking at how we can improve outcomes for our most vulnerable children, including those with additional needs, disabilities and illnesses.

Community services

Services in the community for children and young people are run by Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust. This includes health visitors, school nurses, children’s physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and children’s complex care. Find out more about the services here.

Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust also provide the School Aged Immunisation Service, offering immunisations to all school age children, including those that are home educated and in special education schools. Find out more, including details of any catch up clinics, here.

Hospital care

If your child is seriously ill or requires hospital based care for surgery, paediatric services are mainly provided at The Children’s Centre run by Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

For some specialist conditions children may be treated in other hospitals further away from home such as Birmingham or Bristol.

Mental health

For information on children and young people’s mental health services, click here.

Special educational needs and disability (SEND)

We work with Gloucestershire County Council and other partners to improve support and care for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Everyone aged 0 to 25 with SEND who needs extra support will have a single plan setting out all the help they will receive from education, health and social care and who is responsible for each part of the plan.

This means that individuals and families will be more involved in identifying the support they need to get the most out of life, whether that’s from school, college, health services or the county council.

The leaflet, My Child has additional needs, what does this mean and what can I do? gives information for parents and carers about what we call the ‘graduated pathway’ which enables the right level of support to be provided when needed.

More information about SEND can be found on the Gloucestershire County Council website here.

The Gloucestershire Dynamic Keyworker Service

We are a small team with specialist knowledge and skills in working with children and young people who are on the Dynamic Support Register and have been diagnosed with a learning disability and / or autism. Dynamic Keyworkers will work with children and young people (aged 0-25 years old) who are currently in a mental health specialist unit or are at risk of being admitted.
Dynamic Keyworkers will not replace any existing professionals in your network. The Dynamic Keyworkers will work closely alongside other agencies involved and look to onboard other professionals where possible.
For further information about this service please contact the Dynamic Keyworker Team by email: glicb.dynamic.keyworkerteam@nhs.net

Care (Education) and Treatment Reviews (CETRs)

Community and Inpatient CETRs focus on those who either have been or may be about to be admitted to a Specialist Mental Health/ Learning Disability specialist unit either in the NHS or in the Independent Sector.
CETRs bring together professionals who are involved with the young person’s care (alongside Strategic Commissioners where appropriate).
Gloucestershire’s Dynamic Keyworker Service will organise and attend community CETRs to support children, young people, and their family to help advocate on behalf of you and your Child and support with making sure that recommendations from it are followed up by the agencies involved.

Inpatient CETRs will be arranged and organised by NHS England. Gloucestershire’s Keyworking service will attend and support children, young people, and their families during these CETRs.

Local Area Emergency Protocol (LAEP) meetings

Some people with learning disabilities or autism also have mental health needs or behaviours that are challenging.
Most people are supported at home and do not need to stay in a specialist hospital. Local Area Emergency Protocol (LAEP) meetings can stop people needing to go to a specialist hospital.
Sometimes support needs to change quickly. This means there’s no time to have a Care Education and Treatment Review so a LAEP will be held instead. LAEP meetings will look to work together with the professionals around the individual to determine clear plans for the care.

Children in Care

The Children in Care service promote and look after the health of children in care.

More information