- Overview
- Available Locations
- Contacting us and opening hours
- The team
- Parents and carers
- Professionals
- Post 17
- How to get involved
- Understanding the language
- Useful resources and links
Type
Looked After ChildrenWe are an integrated service made up of physical health and mental health professionals supported by administrative staff. We work closely with many other agencies to ensure Looked after Children and Young People (LAC) are supported effectively and able to access the support they need.
When needed, we use interpreters to help children, young people and their carers communicate freely with us.
Who is this service for? Our service is for Looked After and Adopted Children and Young People up to the age of 18.
How to access this service: Referrals are accepted from any professional and are made by using the Referral Management Centre form and ticking the box for LAC.
If you would like to discuss referring a child to the 0-19 service please contact the 0-19 Admin Hub for further details on 0800 170 7055.
Available Locations
Contacting us and opening hours
We predominantly offer appointments at one of our two bases Newland House and Sudborough House, our core working hours are 09.00-17.00.
For all mental health team enquiries please contact 01604 658977 (parents, carers, and other professionals can also contact The LAC Duty Line on this number for advice).
For all physical health team enquiries please contact 01604 657728.
The team
Our service is made up of physical and mental health professionals.
This is what our team looks like:
Physical Health Team:
The physical health team undertake Initial and Review Health Assessments for Looked after Children and consists of:
- Advanced Nurse Practitioner
- Specialist LAC Nurses
- Delivery Support Administrator
- Additional administrative support is provided by both Northamptonshire County Council (NCC) and Northamptonshire NHS Healthcare Foundation Trust (NHFT).
Mental Health Team:
The mental health team support the health and wellbeing of looked after and adopted children including those under special guardianship orders. The mental health team is made up of:
- Clinical Psychologists
- Clinical Lead
- Mental Health Practitioners (including specialist and advanced)
- Assistant Psychologist
- Trainee Psychologist
- Family Support Worker
- Secretary
- Students.
Parents and carers
Physical health team
The Initial Health Assessment (IHA)
- Conducted by a doctor, or, in some cases, a Paediatric Advanced Nurse Practitioner.
- Held in a clinic at Northampton General Hospital (NGH) or St Mary’s Hospital in Kettering.
- Depending on the circumstances, the birth parents and / or carers will be invited. The Social Worker is always aware of the appointment and is invited to attend.
- The child / young person’s medical history will be recorded, their height and weight will be measured and, if willing, they will be examined.
- The IHA gives the opportunity for as much information regarding past and present health to be obtained and will result in an action plan to ensure all health needs are fully met. This may include referral to other services or recommendation of actions which will need to be followed-up by the carers, other health professionals or the Social Worker.
The Review Health Assessment (RHA)
- Most RHAs will be undertaken by a Looked After Children (LAC) Nurse or the child’s Health Visitor (if they have not yet started school)
- The RHA may be held in a clinic setting, at school / college or in the home
- The team will try to ensure a degree of continuity and, if possible, the same nurse will see the child for subsequent assessments.
- Growth will be checked if the child / young person is willing but they will not be asked to undress (other than heavy outer garments e.g. coats, hoodies).
- They will not have a physical examination, investigations or treatments e.g. blood tests or vaccinations.
- If a child / young person is living outside Northamptonshire, their case will be looked at individually and, in some cases a Northamptonshire LAC Nurse will travel to visit them or, if more appropriate, a local LAC nurse may be asked to conduct the RHA on the team’s behalf.
- The assessment is holistic and includes physical health, emotional wellbeing and health promotion.
- If appropriate, the carer and child / young person will have the opportunity to be seen on their own for at least part of the assessment to discuss any sensitive issues
- If a young person chooses to attend their RHA alone or wants to be seen in school or college, the carer will still need to contribute to the RHA (possibly by telephone) to discuss their impressions of the young person, any concerns, and to give an update on their physical, behavioural and emotional health and to provide dates of any medical, dental or optician’s appointments attended.
- A Lead Health Professional is allocated for each child and is a named contact in the NHS for the social worker, carers and for young people to ask for advice and information on health concerns and services, and in particular where there are any difficulties in accessing health services.
- Health Visitors are the Lead Health Professionals for Children of pre-school age.
- LAC Nurses are the primary Lead Health Professionals for all other Looked after Children but there may be times when the role may sit with a member of the LAC Mental Health Team or a Special School Nurse (in the case of a child having an Education, Health and Care Plan). In these cases and when this health professional has an on-going positive relationship with the child / young person or sees them on a regular basis, they may be involved in conducting some or all of the RHA, to avoid the need for the LAC to attend an additional appointment .
- Carers should maintain and have easy access to a health record for the child in their care. This should include any significant health event e.g. periods of illness, and details of any health appointments attended including the date seen, where the child was seen and by whom.
- The child / young people should be given every encouragement to attend and be reassured that it is time for them and an opportunity to have a chat about their health, ask any questions, seek advice and see how much they have grown!
- It is important to let us know if the child has recently had a medical e.g. a permanence medical, or seen a paediatrician or other specialist. It may be possible for us to access a report from that appointment and, if the child / young person and carer would prefer, we can then simply conduct a telephone update to ensure that there have been no health changes or new concerns. This can avoid the need for repeated medical appointments.
Six weeks after the RHA the LAC Delivery Support Administrator will contact carers to ensure that they have received a copy of the Action Plan and to discuss its progress. If there are any difficulties with the action points, the Lead Health Professional is contacted to assist or give support.
In some cases, a Northamptonshire LAC Nurse will be asked to conduct the RHA for children who are placed within the county by other local authorities. If this is the case, the full report will be returned to the originating health authority who remain responsible for the child’s overall care and will pass the summary and health recommendations to the Social Worker to ensure that it they are progressed.
When a child / young person changes placement, as much medical information as possible should be passed on to the new carers to ensure that all health needs continue to be met. This should include copies of all Health Action Plans held, details of any on-going medical care or appointments required and dates when the child / young person was last seen by the dentist and optician.
Here’s how you can help us:
- Keep accurate records of any health issues or appointments your child / young person has had
- Be flexible around appointment times but ensure we are aware of any preferences or reservations
- Let us know if an interpreter is required or whether you would predict any other issues regarding the appointment
- Explain to your child / young person that their Health Assessments are “their time” to be able to discuss any concerns or ask questions
- Support attendance at appointments but accept that many young people prefer to be seen alone although your input will still be required to provide appointment details etc. and your impression of how the young person is getting on
- Ensure that any actions identified at health assessments are followed up and contact our team if you are having any difficulties in doing so.
Mental health team
We offer support for parents / carers of children who are looked after, adopted or under a special guardianship order.
To access support from the team a referral would need to be made to the team this can be made via a professional such as GP or social worker.
Following the acceptance of a referral a consultation or initial assessment appointment would be made to discuss the current situation and what support you think you/ young person may need. All consultations and initial assessments are discussed at a team meeting to agree on what should happen next. Usually the most appropriate outcome is for you to attend our managing behaviour with attachment in mind group. (See leaflet)
Following the group a review appointment is offered to see if there is further support required, this can come in a variety of formats:
- Initial assessment with young person
- Cognitive Assessments
- 1:1 with the child working with attachment as the focus, such as
- Anxiety
- Self Esteem
- Trauma
- Emotional Regulation
- Family Work
- Intensive work within the home
- MBAM 1:1
- Groups – self soothing, stories
- Theraplay
- DDP (Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy)
The team also has ‘LAC duty line’ this line is staffed by a senior clinician who will be available to take calls to respond to queries, request advice or if you have any concerns. Please see our contact details tab.
Here’s how you can help us:
- Be flexible around appointment times but ensure we are aware of any preferences or reservations.
- Let us know if an interpreter is required or whether you would predict any other issues regarding the appointment.
- Explain to your child/young person why they are attending the appointment
- Support attendance at appointments but understand that we often ask to see young people on their own to ensure that their voice is being heard.
- If you are unable to attend to an appointment please let us know.
Professionals
PHYSICAL HEALTH TEAM
To request an Initial Health Assessment (IHA) and a Review Health Assessment (RHA) a referral is made from Northamptonshire County Council (NCC) to Northamptonshire Healthcare Foundation Trust (NHFT).
Health Assessments are a legal requirement, and are directed by The Department of Education and The Department for Health, for all Looked after Children. There are strict time frames that have to be adhered to:
- An IHA must be done within 25 days of referral from NCC.
- A RHA must be done on the anniversary of the child entering care, every six months when the child is under five years old or annually between the ages of five and seventeen.
As much information as possible should be provided by NCC to ensure all health assessments are done efficiently and meet the health needs of the child of young person who is involved.
What is an IHA?
An Initial Health Assessment (IHA) is done by an Advanced Nurse Practitioner and other colleagues in the Community Paediatric team.
When a child becomes a Looked After Child the NCC will need to refer the child. As part of this referral we need the following information:
- Placement details
- Background information
- Signed valid consent – this will depend on the legal status of the child and can be signed by a person with parental responsibility or the local authority.
Once we have this information we will book an appointment with the child via their carer. These appointments must be attended by the child’s social work or duty social worker where possible.
Appointments are held in Northampton General Hospital (NGH), Isebrook Hospital in Wellingborough and St.Mary’s Hospital in Kettering.
Once the child or young person has been seen, the clinician will write a report which will include Parts A and B which remain within the health record, Part C which is a summary report and health recommendations for the child’s care plan.
This will be sent to the LAC Health Admin Team at NCC and placed on Care First as the social worker will have responsibility to create the health care plan. It will also go to the Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) / reviewing offer who has a duty to review the care plan.
The social worker will give a copy of the health recommendation to the child or young person and their carer. This should be reviewed at each LAC review to ensure all health needs are met.
What is an RHA?
A Review Health Assessment (RHA) is done by one of our Specialist Nurses.
When a child or young person has been seen, the specialist nurse will write a report which will include Parts A and B which remain within the health record, Part C which is a summary report and health recommendations for the child’s care plan.
This will be sent to the LAC Health Admin Team at NCC and placed on Care First as the social worker will have responsibility to create the health care plan. It will also go to the Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) / reviewing offer who has a duty to review the care plan.
The social worker will give a copy of the health recommendation to the child or young person and their carer. This should be reviewed at each LAC review to ensure all health needs are met.
The final RHA will be held after the young person’s 17th birthday and will include a Health Passport which has details of significant medical history that will important for the young person to have independently as they reach adulthood.
MENTAL HEALTH TEAM
The mental health team support families where children are emotionally dysregulated / chaotic and placement is becoming unstable.
This support is offered in various ways:
- Initial assessments
- Consultations with carers and other professionals
- Cognitive assessments
- 1:1 (one to one) support with the child focussing on:
- Anxiety
- Self esteem
- Trauma
- Emotional regulation
- Family work
- Intensive work within the home
- Managing Behaviour with Attachment in Mind (MBAM)
- Group work – self soothing, stories
- Theraplay
- Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP)
- Focus groups
Model of working:
- Stage 1 - multi-agency screening, consultations, training
- Stage 2 - Indirect interventions with parents and carers. Initial assessment with child if appropriate
- Stage 3 - Specialist Assessment and direct work with child or young person
The team will usually offer to meet via a consultation or initial assessment before meeting a young person The team do this to gather information whilst avoiding the introduction of another person to the child or young person’s life unnecessarily.
Depending on the outcome we would then offer MBAM.
Professionals: If you know someone who may benefit from support be that child, parent or carer, the way to refer is via submitting a referral via the Referral Management Centre. There is no option for self-referral.
If you would like some advice prior to making a referral we have a ‘LAC duty line’ this line is staffed by a senior clinician who will be available to take calls to respond to questions, request advice or if you have any concerns. Please see our contact details tab.
Post 17
Physical health team
A final Review Health Assessment is conducted after the Young Person’s 17th birthday and around the anniversary of the care start date. This gives an opportunity for the Young Person’s past history to be discussed and advice given on how to access health services independently in future. A Health Passport will be given to the Young Person so they have access to their own health information and information regarding Northamptonshire health services and how to access them.
Mental health team
As a young person approaches the age of 18 years of age (usually around 17.5yrs) they will be supported to move over to adult services where appropriate, or signposted to services that may be helpful in the future. Moving over to adult services can be a daunting experience and we aim to offer our young people full support, reassurance and listen to their wishes about on-going support for their emotional and mental wellbeing.
How to get involved
As a team we are always looking for ways to improve what’s on offer. In order to ensure we are offering an effective service we seek the views of our service users. These can be given via our iWantGreatCare feedback form. The team also currently runs a young person’s forum and a forum for the parents of adopted children. If you are interested in joining one of the forums please contact the team.
Understanding the language
Consultation: This is a meeting often between one of our senior team members, social worker and parent/carer. This is usually the first appointment offered after a referral is received and is an opportunity to discuss the current situation.
CYP: Children and Young People
DDP: Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy
IA - Initial assessment: This is an assessment to gather further information about the young person and gives an opportunity for the young person’s voice to be heard. The assessment consists of various different questions.
IHA: Initial Health Assessment
IRO: Independent Reviewing Officer
LAC: Looked after children
MBAM: Managing behaviour with attachment in mind. This is the name of the 6 week course the team offers to adoptive parents and carers.
NCC: Northamptonshire County Council
NHFT: Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
OOC: Out of county. CYP who are the responsibility of Northamptonshire County Council but are placed in care outside of Northamptonshire.
OLA: Other local authority. CYP who are the responsibility of another local authority but cared for within Northamptonshire.
RHA: Review Health Assessment
SGO: Special Guardianship Order
Useful resources and links
Urgent Help
Call 999 or attend to the closest Accident and Emergency Department in a medical emergency – For example someone is seriously unwell or injured and their life is at risk.
If you require health advice, but it is not urgent, you can contact your GP, pharmacy or dial 111 for advice.
General Health
Stop Smoking support
Telephone 0845 601 3116 (local charge) for your local stop smoking service.
For extra help to quite smoking including a quit kit, smoke free app and emails go to click this link Smoke free
Drug and Alcohol Support
For support around concerns relating to alcohol phone 0300 123 1110 or visit the Drink Aware website by clicking here.
For support around concerns relating to drugs phone 0300 123 6600 or visit:
Aquarius previously known as CAN is a local service that offers a range of services for Young people concerned about drugs and alcohol phone 01604 633848
Sexual Health
NHFT's sexual health service is available to access by clicking here.Young people can access this service for any aspect of sexual health or contraceptive care, including ordering a free postal testing kit for chlamydia visit and emergency contraception:
Emotional Wellbeing
The Lowdown is a local service for CYP and supports CYP with counselling, sexual health and LGBTQ support.
Service6 is a local charity offering therapy and counselling to CYP
Youth Works offer a range of counselling, therapeutic and support services to meet the needs of children, young people and adul?ts.
Time2Talk offer a range free services for young people aged 13-25 that can be accessed by drop in. The counselling service is strictly by appointment only, and is available for people aged 13-19 and up to 25 for people with special needs in Daventry and Towcester.
The Samaritans offer a safe place for you to talk any time you like, in your own way – about whatever’s getting to you. You don’t have to be suicidal, offer 24/7 support.
This website teaches young people all about meditation and mindfulness. Which can be a valuable coping skill when feeling over whelmed or unable to control strong thoughts and feelings. Users can sign up for free and take part in guided meditation and mindfulness session.
the UK’s leading charity committed to improving the wellbeing and mental health of children and young people.
This is a confidential service (unless the advisors think the young person is at risk) advisors are available from 9.30-4 pm Monday to Friday. The advisor will listen and give some practical guidance on how to help, if you need further help If you need further help, they’ll refer you to one of our specialists whether it's a psychotherapist, psychiatrist, psychologist or mental health nurse. They’ll arrange a phone consultation within 7 days.
This resource is designed to help young people resist the urge to self harm, it is free and password protected.
HeadMeds is a website powered by young minds for young people about mental health medication. It has list of medications, what they are used for and side effects explained without medical terms or jargon.
Website for anyone that is interested in the mental health and emotional wellbeing of young people in Northamptonshire. It contains a search tool and links to a directory of services.
BEAT is the UK leading charity for supporting those with Eating Disorders, the website contains lots of useful information about types of eating difficulties as well as support helplines.
Rethink is a mental health charity which provides advice and information and a list of available support in your area.