Integrated Disability Service 0-5 referral form has moved online
The Single Point of Access (SPA) referral form for requesting pre-school support from Warwickshire County Council’s Integrated Disability Service (IDS) has moved online.
It has been developed as part of a wider project looking to expand and improve access to early intervention in the early years for children with severe and complex long-term needs.
The new electronic single point of access (e-SPA) form will speed up the referral process when requesting support for children aged 0-5 years to access one of the following IDS services:
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Birth to 3 home learning and portage
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SEND childcare for children accessing childcare including childminders
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Specialist teachers for children accessing nursery and transitioning into school
Anyone making a referral will now need to use the e-SPA form, available online on the Local Offer.
Providing information in this way, instead of using the current paper form, will enable more accurate and consistent capturing of information, therefore reducing the chance of duplication or errors during the process. This will allow IDS to process referrals much more quickly and efficiently, meaning that the most appropriate support can be put in place for pre-school children sooner.
The form will also provide an immediate response to the person making the referral to let them know if the child does not meet the criteria for support and will signpost to alternative services wherever possible.
After completing the e-SPA form, the referrer will be able to print a copy for their records and will receive a confirmation email when this has been submitted successfully.
We would suggest gathering all the information needed to complete the form before starting as there is no option to save and come back to it later. It is also recommended that the person making the referral gets a parental signature to confirm the referral has been seen and agreed by parents or carers.
Over the coming months the paper-SPA (which you will find in your Early Years SEND ‘Green File’) will be phased out. We would therefore encourage anyone making a new referral to use the new e-SPA form (you will find the link at the bottom of the IDS page).