What is the tool?
The Dynamic Needs Assessment (DNAT-SEN) tool is to be used at universal services level for children or young people not known to services, or for referral to a single point of entry to a multi-agency service (Wee et al., 2021). It would be used to identify children who may not be receiving a service but may have unrecognised needs requiring one or more different services – including a combination of unidentified neurodevelopmental needs, mental health, special education needs or community/social care needs.
It has been designed to be completed using objective information known from educational records and to be used with children of school or college age primary or secondary or 6th form).
The DNAT-SEN tool contains questions relating to factors related to needs in four areas.
• Neurodiversity needs
• Mental health needs*
• Other special educational needs
• Community needs **
* Mental health needs come under special educational needs according to the code of practice of the Children’s and Families Act 2014.
** Community support including social care support, commissioned local authority services such as short breaks, or the Early Help Offer.
Neurodiversity needs refer to either; a profile of cognitive, sensory or communication needs requiring reasonable adjustments, that are consistent with an inclusive approach to neurodiversity or the presence of possibly one or more neurodevelopmental conditions that require diagnostic assessment. These are separate from mental health conditions but may co-occur with them.
Mental health needs indicates that support or referral for local mental health / emotional wellbeing support is required, either within the educational setting, or the local Thrive offer including the Voluntary Community Faith Sector (VCFS) or formally commissioned by the NHS.
Special educational needs refer to other special educational needs apart from mental health needs as defined by the code of practice of the Children’s and Families Act 2014.
Community support needs includes support required by the family in order to access the community, or function on a daily basis, including social care support, commissioned local authority services such as short breaks, or the Early Help Offer.
The tool can be completed by any professional that knows the child. The items are scored based on objective knowledge, based on what is in the child s’ records or known to the professional. It can also be completed by professionals and parent carers together.
Completion of the tool will produce a visual profile – in the pilot version , this shows the proportion of each area , that the child scores as having needs in. In the final version it will show low , moderate and high levels of need for each area.
How can the tool help?
The tool provides a profile of needs across the 4 areas for each child, encouraging a more holistic approach, earlier identification of needs and intervention.
The tool includes guidance on what support should be considered for low, moderate, and high needs in each of the four areas.
A validation pilot is being carried out to determine the cut off scores for low, moderate, and high needs in each of the four areas.
To take part in the pilot or find out more please email: jasmine.
