Introductory meeting
The introductory meeting is where the Education Health and Care Inclusion Officer or the independent supporter, if allocated, meets with the parents, carers or young person to:
- Explain the assessment process
- Building on information already received, find out further information about the child or young person’s needs by completing a personal profile
- Where relevant explaining support available through the Local Offer
- Help the parents, carers and the child or young person plan for their involvement in the statutory assessment and the Integrated Assessment Meeting (IAM).
The child or young person’s personal profile is a document that is compiled by the independent supporter with the parents, carers or young person and records the following information:
- Contact details for the child and parents, carers or young person
- Information about the child or young person’s education, health and care needs
- Child or young person’s interests, strengths and aspirations
- What is important to and for the child or young person
- What is working and not working for the child or young person
- Outcomes that are important for the child or young person
- Details about professions currently involved with the child or young person.
The Education Health and Care Inclusion Officer or independent supporter will write up this information and send this to parents, carers or young person in order to ensure that they are in agreement with how their views and information have been recorded.
Subject to the parents, carers or young person’s permission to share this information, the Personal Profile is circulated to all the professionals who are providing advice to the statutory assessment. This is to ensure that parents, carers and the young person do not have to repeat this information to each professional as part of the assessment process.
Additionally, parents, carers or young person have the option of putting their views and information in writing where they wish to do this. The Education Health and Care Inclusion Officer will let the parents, carers or young person know the date by which this written advice will need to be submitted by.
The Education Health and Care Inclusion Officer then organises the Integrated Assessment Meeting in line (as far as possible) with the parents, carers or young person’s preferences for dates, venues and person to facilitate the meeting.