Due to the forthcoming restructure of the Inclusion Support Services, we are pausing referrals for a short time. If you are seeking support for a child in your school who is at serious risk of exclusion, who is not already on our caseload, please contact Claire Morley, claire.morley@derbyshire.gov.uk.

Depending on the experience and training of staff, and the individual needs of the pupil, it may not always be necessary to refer a child to our service.

Before making a referral:

Schools should have used the information on the Graduated Response page to ensure that quality-first teaching and neurodivergent friendly learning environments are in place as part of the universal offer in your setting. Please view the Autism Outreach Resources to support you in developing targeted autism specific provision as part of your assess > plan > do > review cycle for children and young people with additional needs.

We strongly recommend that you identify an Autism Advocate in your setting and enable them to cascade Continued Professional Development (CPD) to all staff to raise understanding, awareness, and acceptance of autism in your setting.

Referrals to Autism Outreach

Due to the forthcoming restructure of the Inclusion Support Services, we are pausing referrals for a short time. If you are seeking support for a child in your school who is at serious risk of exclusion, who is not already on our caseload, please contact Claire Morley, claire.morley@derbyshire.gov.uk.

New referrals:
Referrals to Autism Outreach can only be made by the school using the ‘Derbyshire Autism Outreach Service Referral Form’ found in the related documents section of this page. Proof of a medical diagnosis of autism must be sent at the same time as the referral form via Perspective Lite using the naming convention shown on the form. Please check that you have completed all the boxes – any referrals submitted with missing information will cause a delay to processing and may result in the application being refused.

Resuming a referral:
Before making a referral to resume a case that was open in the child's current setting, please refer to previous plans from Autism Outreach / Behaviour Support Service (BSS) / Specialist Service for Special Educational Needs (SSSEN) / Educational Psychology (EP) to help you to review the provision in place for the child. Strategies and information from our Graduated Response and Resources pages should also be used to ensure that autism specific provision is in place. Once this has been carried out, schools should use the ‘Derbyshire Autism Outreach Service RESUME Referral Form’ found in the related documents section of this page.

Re-opening in a new setting:
Before making a referral to resume a case, please refer to previous plans from Autism Outreach / Behaviour Support Service (BSS) / Specialist Service for Special Educational Needs (SSSEN) / Educational Psychology (EP) to help you to review the provision in place for the child. Strategies and information from our Graduated Response and Resources pages should also be used to ensure that autism specific provision is in place. Once this has been carried out, schools should follow the instruction for 'New referrals'.

What happens next?

Your referral will be considered by the Autism Outreach Lead and triaged, where necessary, by an Autism Outreach Teacher.

We may offer the following:

  • Signposting to resources
  • Pupil casework
  • Training
  • Strategic support for the setting

Our involvement is needs-led; cases will be closed when schools have been given the tools to enable staff to meet the identified needs of the child.