5:14. Health authorities and Trusts must give parents the names of voluntary organisations which might be of assistance when they consider that a child under five may have special educational needs.  The health services should give parents information on the full range of local statutory and voluntary services which might help them.  Under the Children Act, local authority social services departments must produce written information on the full range of services in their area for children 'in need' and ensure that such information reaches those who might need it.

5:15. When a child under five is referred to the LEA by social services or the health services, there should be agreed procedures for acting speedily in order to ascertain whether the child's needs require specific intervention by the LEA.  In the first instance the LEA may wish to invite a pre-school adviser or an educational psychologist to discuss with the service in question how best to take the matter forward.  At this stage advice may be all that is required.  In some instances referral to a child development centre or team may be the best way forward in order to clarify the nature of the child's difficulties.  In other cases it may be clear that a child's difficulties warrant a statutory assessment.

Criteria for statutory assessment of children under five

5:16. When a child under five is already attending a maintained nursery school or class the LEA may expect that the broad principles of the school-based stages of assessment, action and review, adapted as appropriate in the light of the circumstances of the school concerned, will be followed as for older children.  However, many young children will be attending provision made by social services, the health services or the voluntary or independent sectors when concern about a possible special educational need is first raised.  Because early identification should lead to a more timely assessment and intervention which in turn should avoid the escalation of a difficulty into a significant special educational need, it is important that any concern about a child's development and progress should be shared at the earliest possible moment.

5:17. Staff working in non-educational settings for children under five may be uncertain about the basis for referral to the LEA and about the nature of the information or record keeping which would be most helpful in determining the best way forward for a particular child.  Where referral for statutory assessment is made, the child will have demonstrated significant cause for concern.  The LEA will seek evidence from the referring agency that any strategy or programme implemented for the child in question has been continued for a reasonable period of time without success, and that there is clear documentation of the child's difficulties and any action undertaken to deal with those difficulties.

5:18. In considering statutory assessment, the LEA should ask the following questions:

i. where the child is at school, what difficulties have been identified by the school? Has the nursery class or school developed school-based strategies to assist the child?

ii. where the child is attending health services, social services, voluntary or private provision, have any concerns been raised about his or her development and has an)outside advice been sought, regarding the child's: