An evaluation of key working for families of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities

Abstract

Key working is a way of supporting children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and their families, and is highly regarded by families and practitioners. However, there is a lack of up-to-date research exploring key working in the current context of policy reforms in England. This article reports an evaluation of key working in four sites in England, with a particular focus on the SEND policy reforms. Key working resulted in a number of positive outcomes for children and young people, families and services, including helping services to meet the requirements of the SEND reforms. Challenging aspects included managing transitions and the relationship between key working practitioner and family, but successful strategies were identified. Key working supports the implementation of specific aspects of the English SEND reforms along with more general cultural change in services to align with families' needs and well-established aspects of good practice.

The Role of Care Coordinator for Children with Complex Care Needs: A Systematic Review

“…Sixteen papers reviewed discussed the range of tasks and activities intended to be undertaken by care coordinators: two quantitative studies [ 41 42 ], two qualitative studies [ 4 43 ], three literature reviews [ 36 37 44 ], three guidelines [ 12 45 46 ], four mixed methods studies [ 16 19 38 47 ] and two case studies [ 15 32 ]. Although the models of health systems differ internationally the core expectations of the activities carried out by care coordinators are consistent.…”

“…Although the models of health systems differ internationally the core expectations of the activities carried out by care coordinators are consistent. Findings from these papers highlight the intended role of care coordinator as being one which encompasses tasks under four key headings: coordination of care needs, planning and assessment, information and specialist support, and emotional and practical support [ 12 ]. Coordination of care needs can include improving access, navigating the complexities of multiple service providers, and/or establishing service provision links [ 32 38 44 48 49 ] as well as functioning in a problem solving capacity as required [ 32 ].…”

“…An integrative review of the constituents of complex discharge, drawing from 34 key documents, highlights that “key working (a designated coordinator) is essential for overseeing the entire transition process and ensuring a communication loop across the health system” [ 11 , p. 984]. While the intended role of case managers has been discussed, evaluated and analysed internationally [ 1 12 13 14 ], using interchangeable titles such as Family Care Coordinator, Care Coordination Counselor, Nurse Care Coordinator, and Key Worker [ 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 ], there is no consensus within the literature internationally on the key constituents of this service in practice.…”

Do educational support policies always favour overcoming inequalities? The situation in Spain

“…Research on disability also highlights the beneficial effect of family involvement in support: directed toward students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (Reupert, Deppeler, and Sharma 2015), and with intellectual disabilities (McCloskey 2010;Mengoni, Bardsley, and Oates 2015). This research addresses the role of families as support facilitators or in support evaluation and monitoring (Mengoni, Bardsley, and Oates 2015).…”

Resources for parents raising a disabled child in the UK

“…Key workers can improve and optimise efficiency of how professional resources are utilised, and improve communication, with benefits to families and services. [6,7] Parent carers can also be signposted to the Council for Disabled Children's Expert Parent Training to develop their knowledge and confidence when dealing with the health system and professionals.…”