A ‘My Care Passport’ is a document designed for people with learning disabilities. It contains important information about the person, such as their additional needs, likes and dislikes, and the best ways to communicate with them. This helps hospital staff understand how to provide care that meets individual needs, whether the stay is planned or an emergency.
Having a My Care Passport in place means:
People who work with you can make reasonable adjustments more easily.
You or your young person won’t need to repeat your story multiple times.
The hospital can upload it to electronic records and keep a paper copy at the bedside.
If the information changes, it’s important to let the hospital know so they can update their records. If a paper copy isn’t provided on the ward, families can speak to ward staff.
You can complete a My Care Passport yourself or ask a professional for support. A blank copy can be downloaded from the NHS website.
Useful Links and Contact Details:
Email: [email protected]
Phone:
Email: [email protected]
Phone:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 01305 221016
If your family is not currently known to Dorset Council and you think your child may need additional support, there are a couple of ways to start the process.
You can speak with your medical team, such as your GP or specialist, who can help you make a referral. Alternatively, you can contact Dorset Council directly through the Family Support and Advice Line on 01305 228558. The team will ask you about your needs and provide information advice and guidance if this is appropriate. The Birth to Settled Adulthood team is made up of practitioners from both Children’s and Adults’ services and supports children and young people who have complex needs. You may be referred on to this service if this is the best service to meet your child’s needs.
The aim is to ensure every child and young person has the opportunity to reach their potential. For those who need extra help, we work with health partners and the Dorset Parent Carer Council (the Department for Education recognised Forum for Dorset) to provide coordinated support from birth through to adulthood. By age 25, young people eligible for this service will have a planned and smooth transition into adult services.
If your child has not yet chosen post-16 courses, this can be discussed at the annual review alongside any additional support that might help.
Visiting college and sixth form open days is a great way to see what’s available and understand entry requirements. These visits often help young people picture life after Year 11 and spark ideas about future pathways.
Support that can be included:
The key is to keep the plan person-centred and aspirational, even if the destination isn’t clear yet.
Some sources of information you might find useful are:
We recognise how valued Dorchester Opportunity Group is by local families. While operational decisions ultimately lie with individual settings, we aim to offer support and guidance wherever possible—though this may not always influence the outcome.
We invited the Opportunity Group to share what support they might need to continue operating until at least July 2026. They have chosen to proceed with their original decision to close. We understand this may be difficult news, and we remain committed to supporting the children and families affected. We are working closely with partners to explore alternative options for provision where needed.
Looking ahead, meeting the needs of our youngest children continues to be a key priority. We will maintain our support through early years settings, family hubs, and the Best Start in Life Advisor service.
Below, you’ll find a link to this provision, along with two additional online resources that may be helpful for parents and carers of young children:
We’re really sorry to hear how difficult this has been for your son. When CAMHS cannot offer support, there are still other options to help meet his emotional and mental health needs.
Have an open conversation with your child’s school about what additional support might help. Ask whether they have involved the school’s link Educational Psychologist or Specialist Teacher, as these professionals can work with the school to create a plan tailored to your child.
Many Dorset schools (around 60%) have adopted Therapeutic Thinking, an approach that focuses on supporting mental health and reducing crisis. We’re working closely with schools to embed this approach and encourage all settings to take part.
Some schools also have Mental Health Support Teams, and we are working towards expanding this offer across Dorset because we know early support makes a real difference.
Other sources of help:
If you’ve tried these options and still feel your son isn’t getting the support he needs, please email [email protected]. We’ll work with you to make a plan for next steps.
From 1 March 2025, FE Colleges receive funding from Department for Education (DfE) to support children with special educational needs in college. This is funding known as ‘High Needs Block’.
Funding that is received by settings goes to them in order to support their learners and either comes direct to the setting from the Department for Education (DfE), or from the local authority (LA). It doesn’t go direct to families, as it is specifically for the setting to make reasonable adjustments. It is quite complex, but the best way we can describe this for Further Education settings is:
Element 1 – Core Funding: Standard funding for all students, regardless of SEND. It is provided by DfE direct to the setting and covers tuition and basic education costs.
Element 2 – Additional Support (£6,000) This is funding for students who need extra support costing up to £6,000 and is paid directly to settings by the DfE. This funding can be used for students without an EHCP, especially those aged 16–18.
Element 3 – Top-Up Funding: this is extra funding for support above £6,000 and is provided by the LA. This funding usually covers personalised support, therapies, or intensive interventions and will usually require an EHCP.
By law, the local authority must hold an annual review every 12 months for children and young people with an EHCP and issue a decision letter within four weeks of the review meeting. For children under 5 years old, it is usual that more than one review is held in a year (so 6-monthly) as we know that young children can develop very quickly. This letter confirms whether the plan will be maintained, amended, or ceased. If the plan is being amended, the final version must be issued within 12 weeks of the meeting.
When a change of placement is requested, the process can take longer. Sometimes there is a delay in the school sending the completed review paperwork to the local authority, which affects timescales. Once the paperwork is received, the local authority must consult with the schools being considered. Each school has 15 days to respond. After that, a multi-agency panel may need to review the responses and decide on the most suitable placement and funding. High demand for panel slots can also cause delays. Once a new placement is agreed, we will issue a decision letter and update Section I of the EHCP.
If you’re concerned that you haven’t received a decision letter or that multiple review meetings have been held without a decision, please contact your SEND Provision Lead first. If you’d like to discuss your situation further, email us at [email protected].
You can also reach out to Dorset SENDIASS, which provides free, confidential advice to families in Dorset. The Dorset Special Educational Needs and Disability Information, Advice and Support Service, provided by Family Action, offer free, confidential, accurate and impartial advice and support to families living in Dorset.
You are welcome to contact the SENDIASS team directly. Their response time is up to five days, and they work on a triage system. When you contact them, please provide further information. Include any urgent deadlines or need, phone number and email plus availability.
Contact them directly via:
Website contact form: Contact Dorset SENDIASS
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 01305 595477 (answer machine service)
Parents do have legal responsibilities for their child’s education under Section 7 of the Education Act 1996, even when attendance is affected by anxiety or SEND. If your child’s attendance is likely to fall below 90%, you are expected to work with the school and the local authority to understand the barriers and agree a plan to improve attendance. Engaging with the support offered, such as an Education Planning Meeting with clear actions, can help prevent the need for more formal measures.
If you believe your child’s attendance difficulties are linked to SEND, speak to the school’s SENCo as soon as possible to discuss reasonable adjustments and support. If anxiety is a factor, talk to the class teacher, tutor, or Head of Year. All schools have a link Inclusion Lead who works with the senior lead for attendance and meets regularly to review cases where attendance is a concern.
Dorset takes a relational approach and has fewer fines and prosecutions than neighbouring authorities. Legal action is always a last resort and only considered after all other options, such as a learning centre or alternative provision—have been explored. However, we do have a legal duty to follow statutory guidance: Working Together to Improve School Attendance.
Schools also have access to a link Educational Psychologist and Specialist Teacher, who meet with the SENCo termly. You can also book an appointment with an Educational Psychologist yourself.
If you’re concerned your child may have SEND, ask the school how they are using the Dorset Graduated Approach to support them. Schools can also request support from the Dorset Council Inclusion Team.
You may also want to consider whether a Family Worker could help support you and your child, your school can advise on this.
You can also reach out to Dorset SENDIASS, which provides free, confidential advice to families in Dorset. The Dorset Special Educational Needs and Disability Information, Advice and Support Service, provided by Family Action, offer free, confidential, accurate and impartial advice and support to families living in Dorset.
You are welcome to contact the SENDIASS team directly. Their response time is up to five days, and they work on a triage system. When you contact them, please provide further information. Include any urgent deadlines or need, phone number and email plus availability.
Contact them directly via:
Website contact form: Contact Dorset SENDIASS
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 01305 595477 (answer machine service)
There are several options for transport support for young people with SEND attending college after age 16. These can range from a Personal travel Budget for the family to arrange their own transport to sharing transport with other college students. The range of options are available on the website Types of SEND travel assistance - Dorset Council.
If you want to apply for, SEND travel assistance, please note the deadline is 31 May each year. Find out more at: Travel assistance for young people over 16 with SEND - Dorset Council
You may be eligible if your child:
You must reapply each year. Assistance covers one inward and one outward journey per day between the same pick-up and drop-off points.
Other options:
Thank you for raising this with us, we really appreciate you highlighting organisations like Genius Within.
In addition to what we’ve previously shared around post-16 options and planning for adulthood, there are local services in Dorset that support individuals into employment beyond school and college. These include:
If anyone is aware of other services or have more details about referral processes or eligibility, please do share this with us at [email protected]. It helps our teams build a fuller picture of what’s available locally.
We understand that you absolutely want the best for your child. Not every child with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) requires an Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHCP). Most children with SEND can have their needs met in inclusive, mainstream schools, early years settings, or further education. These settings receive funding to support children without an EHCP and are expected to use this to meet individual needs through the 'Graduated Approach.’ This is as way of meeting a child’s through ordinarily available provision,' which outlines available support and how to adapt it as needed.
An EHCP is for children whose needs cannot be fully met by the support ordinarily available at their setting. It outlines their educational, health, and care needs, with goals to help them progress toward independence, employment, and being an active member of their communities.
When a needs assessment is requested, we have up to 6 weeks to inform you if we’ll proceed. If approved, the assessment must be completed within another 6 weeks, involving us requesting reports from professionals working with your child. It is important that we capture all the information at this point so we can make a decision. If we try to do this too quickly, we could miss something important that could affect the decision. If we decide to issue a plan, it should be sent to you within 20 weeks of your initial request.
We know that some children need additional support, but for others it is possible for schools to meet your child’s needs. As part of the process, our team will work with you to determine the best place for your child to be. For a lot of children, being in their local school with their friends, is the best option and with support this can be made entirely possible. We advise parents/carers to work with staff in the child’s current school initially as they will know the child well and should be able to talk you through what they can offer and what more they might need.
If you've explored the support your child is receiving but would like to discuss further, please contact us at [email protected] for a personalised conversation.
You can also reach out to Dorset SENDIASS, which provides free, confidential advice to families in Dorset. The Dorset Special Educational Needs and Disability Information, Advice and Support Service, provided by Family Action, offer free, confidential, accurate and impartial advice and support to families living in Dorset.
You are welcome to contact the SENDIASS team directly. Their response time is up to five days, and they work on a triage system. When you contact them, please provide further information. Include any urgent deadlines or need, phone number and email plus availability.
Contact them directly via:
Website contact form: Contact Dorset SENDIASS
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 01305 595477 (answer machine service)
