South Tyneside and Sunderland Children and Young People’s Service – Under 5’s Pathway – Information for referrers
The Under 5’s Pathway is about supporting children in their earliest years, from conception to age two - a time known as the 1,001 critical days. These first years are crucial for a child’s emotional, social, cognitive, and overall development, shaped by the people who care for them.
-
About under 5s pathway
The under 5s pathway is part of the wider Children and Young People’s service. We are a specialist multidisciplinary team, providing assessment and therapeutic intervention for children under 5 years of age, their families and carers.
Our team’s work is a vital part of the Government’s vision to invest in the 1001 critical days from conception to two years and the NHS long-term plan which supports this.
The early years of a child’s life are critically important in terms of a child’s psychological, social, neurological, cognitive, and emotional development, within the context of the emotional worlds of those who care for them.
-
What we do?
We offer consultation, initial assessment and specific interventions as clinically indicated. This may involve direct or indirect forms of working together with the infant/child, their families, carers, and professional networks.
Our work with parents and carers is undertaken with consideration and focus on their mental health, emotional state and relationships within the family. We have in mind everyone’s emotional world, as opposed to ‘treating’ the infant/child in isolation.
The focus of our work is on the relationships which very young children have within their families, with the people around them.
Our aim is to understand the internal emotional worlds, both conscious and unconscious, of the infant/child and to work with this understanding within the context of home, family and the role of professional networks.
The under 5s pathway is not one which offers advice relating to the parenting or strategic management of the infant/child’s behaviour. Families have in our experience had previous support in relation to this from health visiting and community nursery nurse services for example.
The work we offer includes:
-
-
- Consultation
- Working psychodynamic / psychoanalytically with parents/carers and infants/young children together
- Individual work may be with a young child with parallel parent / carer work carried out by a separate clinician
- Parent/carer work
- Joint work with other clinicians
- ‘Watch me Play’ Tavistock Model of working, particularly with Cared for Children
- Clinical supervision
- Liaison with and work into professional networks
- Training and CPD events
-
The team has input from:
-
-
- Clinical Lead
- Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist
- Senior Clinical Psychologist
- Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist
- Trainee Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist
- Assistant Psychologist
- Administrators
-
-
-
How to make a referral?
Referrals reach the Under 5s pathway via the usual children and young people’s referral route.
The referral is discussed within the Under 5s pathway and will be accepted, declined, or signposted.
Professionals are sometimes invited to the Under 5s meeting for consultation on the referral. The referral can then be discussed in more detail and a decision made as to the appropriate pathway for the referral.
Referrers may be asked as part of this for additional information, such as:
- A child’s legal status
- Details of any historic or current safeguarding concerns
- Details in relation to a parent’s/carer’s health and wellbeing
- What help the family are seeking
- What interventions have been tried previously
- Who else is currently working with the family
Once a referral has been considered further within the team and accepted, the infant/child will be allocated to a clinician within the team, who will offer the child and their family member(s) / carers an initial assessment appointment.
This initial assessment appointment will normally be about 50 minutes. This meeting is an opportunity to reflect and understand the infant/child’s emotional world, including their early life emotional relationships and experiences. During the assessment process decisions will be made as to the most appropriate way forward and who needs to be involved.
Ongoing therapeutic work will be decided upon with parents(s) / carer (s) following a comprehensive assessment process.
-
Contact
The service is happy to discuss any potential referral. Please contact us by Telephone: 0191 566 5500 or freephone 0800 652 2868.
Our Address is Monkwearmouth Hospital, Newcastle Road, Sunderland, SR5 1NB.