Kirklees Families Together offers information, advice, help and support from a range of services. This can include access to:

• help being a parent or carer
• emotional wellbeing and mental health support
• services for children under 5
• support and activities for children and young people
• adult learning and support for employment

Referral criteria: 

• Family must have a child aged 0-18, or 25 with SEND. 
• Primarily support families, but will also support professionals.
• No diagnosis needed.
• Referrals accepted by families and professionals: Families Together

Kirklees and surrounding areas offer a wide variety of support groups that parents and carers can access. These groups provide a community where parents can connect with others with similar experiences, open up in conversation, and receive support. You can view all the support groups available on our support groups page. 

Home-Start Kirklees uses fully trained peer support volunteers to work alongside families and help parents/carers build the confidence to be the parents they want to be. Volunteers support parents in their own homes to help them cope with the stresses and strains of everyday family life. 

Home-Start can provide information, advice and guidance as well as signposting to specialist services.  Support is relational, based on trust.  We offer help to access appointments and engage in community-based activities.  

Referral criteria:

• Families with a child under 11, or are expecting a baby/post 20 weeks pregnancy.
• No diagnosis needed. 
• Families can refer; more information here: Home-Start Kirklees | Because childhood can't wait

The Kirklees Young Carer Service provides assessed 1:1 and group support to young carers aged 8-17 who help care for someone (usually in their family) with an illness and/or disability. The caring responsibilities may be;

• practical (cleaning, cooking, shopping)
• emotional (calming someone down, encouraging someone to do things, supporting someone to feel happier)
• personal (feeding, bathing, dressing).

These tasks are above and beyond what a child their age would be expected to do. The service aims to reduce or remove the impacts of the caring role and also considers whether other services are available to support the young carer and the person they care for.

Referral criteria:

• Young person aged between 8-17 with caring responsibilities. 
• No diagnosis needed.
• Referrals accepted by professionals or parents here: Kirklees Young Carers - Banardo's Service (opens in a new page)

Kirklees Council Children's Services Assistive Technology provides equipment to support neurodivergent children and young people to communicate, learn, and take part in daily activities.

Assistive technology is supported across education, health and social care to make sure that technology is considered early in a child's development, as part of assessment and ongoing support.

Referral criteria:

• Young people aged 0-18
• Support is available for families and professionals. 
• No diagnosis needed. 
• Further information on referral is available here: Assistive Technology overview

PEGS aims to reduce the impact of child-to-parent abuse. They have developed a range of free virtual services for parents and aim to create safe online spaces where you can talk openly about experiences, with an open ear and without judgment. The services are free, and open to any parent, carer or guardian experiencing child-to-parent abuse, regardless of the age of their child (including those with adult offspring).

Once a self-referral form is completed (or a professional submits a form), PEGS will be in touch to advise which services are available. 

The services are specifically for parents - they don't work directly with children displaying child-to-parent abusive behaviours; however, they have a network of partner services who specialise in child-focused support and can signpost or refer into these as necessary.

Referral criteria:

• Parents.
• Self-referral form by parent or professional.
• No diagnosis needed
• Referral and further information available on our courses page.

This is a 5-week course for parents and carers to learn strategies for supporting their child with SEND, how to advocate for their needs and connect with a community of like-minded parents and carers:

• understanding SEND and what it means for your child
• practical strategies to help with daily routines
• support with speech, language, and communication
• navigating the education system and accessing support
• building resilience and self-care for parents and carers

Referral criteria: 

• Families with children aged 0-25.
• No diagnosis needed. 
• More information available on the courses page, under 'Speech Stars'.

The Sensory Occupational Therapy team works with children whose sensory needs make day-to-day tasks more difficult. They work closely with education and health to ensure adults working with children and young people have the skills they need to recognise their sensory needs. They work alongside other professionals to adapt environments and implement strategies to meet sensory needs. This helps support a calm environment and encourages attention, participation, and independence. They also offer a training package for parents and professionals, free of charge, on their website below. 

To view referral criteria and how to make a referral, please visit the Sensory OT website.

Home Portage visitors work with parents and carers to identify what matters to them and their child, and to plan home learning goals. Teaching targets are delivered through a small-steps approach based on the Portage and Early Years Foundation Stage principles, usually through weekly home visits. Empowering parents to support their child’s learning is central to home Portage. Sensory audits and passports are offered for all children who would benefit, and one-page profiles are developed for all children through a strengths-based approach. 

Referral criteria:

• Families with children aged 0-5.
• Primarily support parents, but also support professionals in childcare settings that the child attends. 
• No diagnosis required. 
• Referrals accepted from professionals and parents; information here: Early Years SEND

Inclusion officers work with parents, carers, and practitioners in early learning and childcare settings for children up to age 5. Through a consultation-based approach, we identify early learning needs and plan appropriate teaching strategies. Teaching is delivered through a small-steps approach based on the Portage and EYFS principles. Our Inclusion officers also offer support in identifying and accessing appropriate childcare for children with complex needs.

Referral criteria:

• Childcare settings for children up to age 5.
• Primarily supports PVI settings, but will offer one-off additional and bespoke support for families, where identified as appropriate. 
• No diagnosis required. 
• Referrals accepted from professionals and parents; more information available here: Early Years SEND

Portex Teachers work in partnership with parents, carers, class teachers and SENDCOs within maintained mainstream schools. A consultation-based approach is used to identify early learning needs, and appropriate teaching strategies are planned. Teaching is delivered through a small steps approach.

Referral criteria:

• Childcare settings with children aged 3-5 years. 
• Primarily supports professionals, but will support families through the setting. 
• No diagnosis needed. 
• Referrals by professionals; more information here: Early Years SEND

   

Whole-school offer
Specialist teachers provide support to mainstream schools to meet the needs of pupils with SEND, working in partnership with school staff and other professionals to support inclusive, high-quality teaching and the graduated approach to meeting needs. The service provides regular planning and review meetings with the SENDCo.

Cluster offer
Outreach staff form part of the Team around the Cluster, working collaboratively and supportively following the solution-focused approach. The training offer can also be provided at Cluster level.

Individual referrals

Some young people may be identified as needing bespoke input from a specialist teacher beyond whole-school and cluster services; for these, the service provides a school referral-based service. 

Referral criteria:

• School setting for children in Year 1 to Year 11. 
• Support for education settings. 
• Links will be made with families to ensure pupils' strengths and needs are considered holistically. 
• No diagnosis needed. 
• Referrals from school/SENDCo only; information here: Specialist Outreach