Front Door referrals
If a pupil with additional needs or SEND requires enhanced support you can refer to the Education Front Door.
When to refer via the Front Door
Referral to the Front Door is part of the final stages of the graduated approach.
Before making a referral, you should use universal and targeted support, such as:
- Link Adviser meetings
- consultations
- drop-ins and training
- advice from named service contacts
- Inclusion Helpline 01273 337 660 (Mon – Fri 8:30am – 2:30pm)
We will not accept your referral if you have not already accessed this support.
You only need to refer once. We will involve all relevant services.
Only refer to the Front Door if the pupil is not already receiving enhanced support.
When not to refer via the Front Door
Do not refer to the Front Door if:
- Your referral is only for support with behaviour or attendance. Instead, speak to your Inclusion Adviser or attendance contact.
- We are already supporting the pupil through group targeted core activity. For example, early intervention educational psychology work. We monitor this alongside Front Door cases.
The Front Door does not replace referral processes for traded work.
How to refer to Front Door
Please note that, with the exception of EALS, SNS DST and SNS VIST, referrals will only be accepted if a conversation with a Link Adviser (or DSM for TLP) has already taken place. If you have not spoken to the relevant Link Adviser/DSM, please contact them prior to completing the referral form.
Complete the relevant referral form:
Early years referral form [157.7 KB] [docx]
( Advice and Guidance prior to submitting a SEND Early Years referral [104.9 KB] [docx])
School referral form [151.5 KB] [docx]
The form does not ask you to name the service you need. Instead, you should describe the areas where the learner needs extra support. We will use this to allocate work to the team which is best placed to help.
Use secure email to send the completed form and further information or documents to education.frontdoor@eastsussex.gov.uk
We log all referrals.
If your referral is incomplete or we reject it, we will return it and offer advice.
If we accept your referral
Once we have allocated your referral, the service will contact you within 5 working days.
If your referral needs joint service support, we will discuss and allocate support. We will respond within 48 hours of our decision.
The Locality Multi-Service Group, chaired by the Team Around the School and Setting (TASS) area manager make the decision.
How to contact us
If you do not get a response within these timescales, contact the Education Front Door:
Email: education.frontdoor@eastsussex.gov.uk
Phone: 01273 337 660
