Coventry and Warwickshire Joint Strategy for Autistic people 2021-2026

• Free online mental health self-assessment tool developed by CWPT for professionals/parents to complete with a child.
• Involves a number of questions which are rated to indicate how the child or young person is feeling.
• The tool analyses the responses, and provides a report of the submitted answers for a professional/parent to use in supporting a child’s mental health where necessary.
• Depending on the young person’s score, the tool may signpost on to relevant services.  

• Pilot project with a small number of schools across Coventry and Warwickshire
• Pilot is a 3 cycle process:
  • Cycle one provides a quick response for young people who have been out of school
  • Cycle two provides specialist support for children and young people, families and schools in understanding the needs of the autism through specialist occupational therapy support and interventions, educational psychology and complex communication specialist interventions.
  • Cycle three includes support available through statutory processes including EHC plans  

• Offer to schools which consist of specialist teachers, educational psychologists and higher level teaching assistants (HLTAs) to address individual, group and whole-school needs.
• Schools are required to buy in this offer (traded).  

In Coventry

• offer to families and school settings from Educational Psychologists and higher level teaching assistants (HLTAs) to address individual, group and whole-school needs.

In Warwickshire

• Delivery of Autism Education Trust training to schools free of charge
• Assessment of communication and interaction needs, recommended provision and proposed outcomes as part of the Education, Health and Care statutory assessment process  

In Coventry, service is available at 2 Enhance Resource Bases (attached to Aldermore Farm and Alderman’s Green Primary Schools) a Special School for children with complex communication needs (The Corley Centre) and a range of broad-spectrum provision.

In Warwickshire, the satellite provision (Exhall Grange Learning Pod) is a therapeutic and nurturing environment which caters for the educational and psychological needs of its students. This six place learning environment caters for a group of vulnerable pupils who present with a combination of mental health difficulties and social communication needs (including those with Autism). The Exhall Grange Learning Pod allows the pupils to reengage with a mainstream curriculum in a sensitively adapted environment. Further to this, Warwickshire hosts ten special schools, supporting a range of needs including autism, and eight resourced provisions for communication and interaction needs.

• Support children and young people and their families to complete the Dimensions tool.
• Signpost children and young people onto appropriate services such as CAMHS to support their wellbeing.

A service in Coventry provided by CW Mind that provides:

• Support for children and young people with autism
• Helps develop confidence, social skills, self-esteem and understanding of their own emotional health

Two services provided by CW Mind for children and adults that provides:

• Targeted outreach community support to children, young people, adults and families who are on the waiting list for an autism diagnosis, or who have had a diagnosis.
• Focused and practical support to the child, young person or adult and their family around sensory integration and processing, behaviour, boundaries and routines, understanding and communicating feelings, managing relationships, eating and sleeping. This could be provided within the home, a community setting or school.
• 1:1, paired or small group support to children and young people or adults with a diagnosis of autism.
• Parent coaching with development of a network for peer to peer support

A service provided by CWPT that provides

• Diagnostic assessments for autism, ADHD and other neurodevelopmental conditions across pre-school, school age and adult pathways
• Online information sessions for individuals, parents and carers, whilst waiting or following a diagnosis
• Post diagnostic education sessions for parents / carers and/or child groups to provide support around understanding neurodevelopmental disorders.
• Ongoing support for people with ADHD to manage their medication