Learners' Single Point of Access
The Learners' Single Point of Access (L-SPA) offers help and support if you have a concern about the development and/or learning needs of a child in Surrey. It creates a single point of access to services that support children and young people from 0 to 25 years old with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) in Surrey.
Our helpful team of dedicated L-SPA advisers are available from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, all year round (except Bank Holidays) on 0300 200 1015. In most cases the L-SPA call advisers will be able to answer your query or offers signposting to the most appropriate service and help you navigate to the information that may be helpful on the SEND Local Offer
If you have a complex query the L-SPA advisers will refer your concerns to the L-SPA multi- disciplinary team who may be able to offer bespoke or specialist advice and information. Alternatively, you can complete the Learners' Request for Support (0 to 25 years) form. The L-SPA does not replace existing services.
Where services, for example, STIPS, EPS and Therapies, have existing service level agreements with schools and settings, these continue to apply. However, you can use the L-SPA if you are making a request for support for one of those services outside the scope of existing service level agreements.
If you wish to submit a Request for an EHC Needs Assessment, please use the Request for Assessment forms published on the Local Offer.
Any concerns about the safety or wellbeing of a child or young person must be made to the Children's Single Point of Access (C-SPA).
- How to contact the L-SPA
- Request for support pathway
- Learners' request for support form
- Learners' request for EHC needs assessment
- Way Forward meetings
- Feedback
The Learners' Single Point of Access (L-SPA) creates a single point of access to services that support children and young people from 0 to 25 years old with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) in Surrey.
The L-SPA can help professionals meet the special educational needs of children and young people from 0 to 25 years old through two quick and accessible pathways; Request for Support and Request for Assessment.
We also work collaboratively with the Professional Helpline service.
The L-SPA does not replace existing services. Where services, for example, STIPS, EPS and Therapies, have existing service level agreements with schools and settings, these continue to apply.
However, you can use the L-SPA if you are making a request for support for one of those services outside the scope of existing service level agreements.
How to contact the L-SPA
Practitioners and professionals working with children and young people in Surrey can call the L-SPA on 0300 200 1015.
We are open from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, all year round (except Bank Holidays) on 0300 200 1015.
If you want to talk about a specific named child, you will need parental permission to contact the L-SPA.
Request for support pathway
The Request for Support pathway allows professionals to access advice around complex problems likely to have an impact on the child's attainment, attendance or progress.
A request for support is free to use and gets you to specialist advice quickly so that children and young people can be supported faster and with less disruption than applying for an EHC plan.
Please note that any concerns about the safety or wellbeing of a child or young person must be made to the Children's Single Point of Access (C-SPA) without delay and should not be submitted via the L-SPA Request for Support form.
Request for Support form
Practitioners in Surrey can access the Request for Support pathway by filling out:
They should then submit these documents, along with any other supporting documents, by using the Request for support online form portal.
Please note, that the online portal cannot accept Zip (.ZIP) files. If you have additional documents that you are not able to upload, you can email them to learnerssupport.triage@surreycc.gov.uk.
What happens next?
Submitting a Learners' Request for Support provides access to a wide range of professionals, including Occupational Therapists, Specialist Teachers, Speech and Language Therapists, Educational Psychologists and a Qualified Social Worker.
Using the Request for Support form does not offer an alternative route to accessing direct support or services, nor can it allocate any additional funding.
We hope that by working with you, the L-SPA can offer relevant and personalised advice that will help you meet the needs of learners without having to undertake the process of applying for a statutory assessment.
Alternatively, if you are concerned that a parent or carer is considering requesting an EHC Needs Assessment when one is not needed, please contact the L-SPA via the Request for Support online form.
Request for Statutory Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment
Occasionally, children and young people's needs are so complex that a statutory assessment of their Education, Health and Care needs may be appropriate.
If you are a professional or practitioner working with children or young people in Surrey, you can use the L-SPA to submit a request for Statutory Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment.
Learners' request for support form
SEND practitioners can find the forms they need to submit a Learners' Request for Support to the L-SPA on the Learners' Request for Support (0 to 25 years) page.
Learners' request for EHC needs assessment
If you are a practitioner or professional in Surrey supporting a child or young person with complex needs, then you can submit a Learners' Request for Statutory Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment (0 to 25 years) to the L-SPA, using the forms on the Learners' Request for Assessment page.
Way Forward meetings
A Way Forward meeting is a meeting between families and SEND professionals to discuss how best to support a child with SEND going forward when an EHC Needs Assessment has not been agreed.
The meetings are voluntary for parents and do not prevent them from accessing mediation or their right of appeal.
The Way Forward meetings will be held as soon as possible after a decision not to assess has been made. We hope that they will offer a forum for everyone to work together to create a Way Forward Plan that supports the child to make progress and thrive.
Feedback
The L-SPA are always willing to improve our service offer and adapt.
Please contact the L-SPA with your ideas on how we can improve.