Annual Health Checks
NHS – Annual Health Checks for People with Learning Disabilities Comprehensive information on annual health checks: how to get one, what happens, and the importance of reasonable adjustments. Includes videos explaining the process and making health care more accessible.
Healthier Together – Learning Disability Annual Health Checks Explains who is entitled to a health check and how to access one. Includes an excellent video made by young people with SEND about what to expect and why it’s important.
Healthier Together – Annual Health Checks
NHS – STOMP (Stopping Over-Medication of People with a Learning Disability, Autism or Both) Shows how annual health checks can link with STOMP to reduce unnecessary prescriptions and improve quality of life.
Mencap – Don’t Miss Out A video where people with learning disabilities share their experiences of annual health checks, why they matter, and the support you can ask for.
GOV.UK – Annual Health Checks and Learning Disabilities Sets out the evidence for health checks, why they’re needed, and their role in spotting and treating health problems.
GOV.UK – Annual Health Checks Evidence
NICE – Quality Standard: Annual Health Check Quality statements on person-centred needs assessments, future planning, and annual health checks for people with learning disabilities.
Reasonable Adjustments and Access to Care
Mencap – Easy Read Information on Cancer and Screening Provides clear, easy-read information about cancer symptoms, NHS screening programmes, and what to do if you’re worried about health changes.
Mencap – What is a Summary Care Record? Explains what a Summary Care Record is and how you can add extra information during a health check to help get better care and adjustments.
Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing
YoungMinds Information for both young people and parent carers about anxiety, depression, self-harm, school anxiety, neurodiversity, CAMHS and accessing mental health services.
Mind Information about mental health conditions, treatments, rights and accessing support.
Childline Confidential information and support directly for children and young people, including mental health, relationships, bullying, school and safety.
Children and Young People’s Mental Health Service (CAMHS) Shropshire’s NHS emotional health and wellbeing service supports children and young people up to age 25. Support includes mental health needs, eating disorders and some neurodevelopmental pathways. (The service previously operated under the BeeU.)
24/7 Mental Health Text Support – Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin Children, young people and adults can text STW to 85258 for free, confidential 24-hour mental health support. This local service launched in 2026 and is delivered by Shout on behalf of the local NHS mental health provider.
Kooth Free, anonymous online mental health and wellbeing support for young people, including access to information, peer support and online counselling. It can be particularly helpful for young people who find face-to-face conversations difficult.
NHS – Supporting a child or young person with mental health needs Practical advice for parents and carers, including how to support a young person, where to find professional help and links to other trusted organisations.
NHS – Where to get mental health support Explains routes into support through a GP, school nurse, teacher, youth worker, social worker or paediatrician, as well as self-referral where this is available locally.
Contact – Disabled Children and Mental Health Contact provides information specifically for families with disabled children, making it useful where a young person's mental health needs overlap with disability, SEND or complex health needs.
National Autistic Society – Mental Health Information about mental health specifically in relation to autism, including anxiety and accessing appropriate support.
National Autistic Society Website
Mencap – Mental Health Information relevant to people with a learning disability and their families, including understanding mental health difficulties and accessing appropriate healthcare.
Sex, Relationships & Growing Up
NSPCC-Navigating puberty and sexual development Resources for parents and carers of children and young people who have a learning disability
Mencap- Menstruation An Easy Read Guide
Understanding Puberty Resources and information-Childline
Mencap – Relationships and Sex Resources includes accessible and Easy Read information about friendships, relationships, sexuality and gender, as well as resources for parents carers and professionals.
NSPCC – Love Life Resources specifically designed for young people with learning disabilities aged 11–25. Films and activities explore emotions, relationships, identity, staying safe and becoming more independent.
NSPCC – Talk Relationships SEND Resources Free SEND-specific lesson plans and guidance. Topics include friendships, personal space, consent, communicating online and relationships.
Contact – Growing Up, Sex and Relationships A guide written for disabled young people covering friends and relationships, growing up, sexual relationships, contraception, STIs, pregnancy and identity.
NSPCC – Healthy Relationships Resources to help children and young people understand what healthy and unhealthy relationships look like. NSPCC also provides SEND-specific safeguarding information and recommends accessible education about relationships, sex and online safety.
Occupational Therapy
What is occupational therapy and how can it help my child? Occupational therapists in our service help children who aren't able to do the activities of everyday life, at home, due to illness or disability, to allow them to be as safe and independent as possible. This may include looking at new ways of carrying out activities, providing specialist equipment and/or adapting the home.
Sensory Information NHS Information and Resources
Incontinence Services
Children and young people's continence team Support children and young people from 6months of age to 18 years. The service offers specialist assessment and management of continence issues including:
- Advice relating to diet, fluid intake, sleep patterns and routines relating specifically to help with continence
- Provision of a range of interventions and treatments including night time wetting alarms and medication
- Bladder scanning
- Support and education into a child's school
- Referral to Paediatricians where needed
- Continence product assessment
ERIC ERIC is the national charity dedicated to improving children’s bowel and bladder health.
Contact- Potty and Toilet Traning All children learn to use the potty or toilet at a different stage in their life. Most children start to show an interest in moving on to a potty or toilet at about two years old. If your child has a physical or learning disability they may not be ready to start until they are older. On this page we explain how to start toilet training and what you can do to deal with common issues.
Seashell- Toilet training for children with additional needs Toilet training can be a stressful time for any parent or carer as they attempt to teach their child how to transfer from using a nappy to using a potty. Every child is different and each family’s experience will be unique, and there may be challenges. The same can be said for parents of children with additional needs. Continue reading our how-to on toilet training for additional needs children.
National Autistic Society- Toileting and autistic children Lorraine MacAlister is an autism training consultant for The National Autistic Society and co-author of the book Toilet Training and the Autism Spectrum. Here Lorraine discusses some of the difficulties that autistic children may experience when toilet training, and what can be done to support them.
Speech & Language Therapy
Healthier Together – Speech, Language and Communication Needs A useful overview bringing together the different levels of SLCN support available across Shropshire
Speech and Language UK – Help for Families Information about speech and language development, signs to look for, Developmental Language Disorder and practical strategies families can use at home.
Communication Matters A national UK organisation specialising in AAC. It provides information about AAC systems, assessment services, communication support, peer support and resources for AAC users and their families.
Shropshire SEND Local Offer – Speech and Language Therapy Explains the local SLT offer and how families can seek help or make a referral.
Wheelchair Services
Wheelchair and Posture Service Shropshire Wheelchair and Posture Service is a clinically-led service which meets the posture and mobility needs of people with a long term disability of all ages across the whole of Shropshire.
Local Offer- Wheelchair and Posture Service New patients are referred to the Shropshire Wheelchair and Posture Service by an educational, health or social care professional involved with the child/young person, eg a teacher, GP, nurse, occupational therapist, physio or social worker. They'll complete the dedicated referral form and send it to the service. A clinician will then decide if an assessment is required.
Health's role in EHCP's
Health is a core part of the EHCP process, not an optional add-on. An EHCP should bring education, health and social care together to identify a child or young person’s needs, agree outcomes and specify the provision required. Government guidance specifically requires health partners to contribute to EHC needs assessments and plans.
Section G – Health provision
This sets out health provision reasonably required by the learning difficulties or disabilities that result in the child or young person having SEN.
Guidance says this provision should be detailed and specific and should normally be quantified, including the type of support and who will provide it. It should also be clear how the provision supports the outcomes in the plan.
Code of Practice for Health Professionals
Further Reading
Contact- EHC Needs Assessment Process
Eating, Drinking & Feeding Support
Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust – Eating, Drinking & Swallowing The Children's Speech and Language Therapy service supports children and young people with physical, neurological and developmental eating, drinking and swallowing difficulties, including dysphagia. The service covers birth to 19 for this pathway and works with families, education settings and other health professionals.
Shropshire Children's Speech & Language Therapy Useful if there are concerns about chewing, swallowing, drinking, oral-motor skills or developmental feeding difficulties. The service provides information for families as well as routes to further help and referral.
CAMHS The Children and Young People Community Eating Disorder Service (CYP-CEDS) is part of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin (CAMHS STW). We provide specialist community assessment and treatment for children and young people with a suspected eating disorder. We support young people with Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa, including atypical presentations of these.
Eating - a guide for all audiences Eating a varied diet is good for your health, but many people don't achieve this. Some autistic people have a restricted diet, eating only a limited range of food. Others may over-eat. This guide explores common issues, including pica, and ways you can help.
Contact- Feeding and eating If a child refuses food or has difficulty with eating, it can leave parents feeling very anxious, helpless and frustrated. On this page you’ll learn about the reasons your child might be having difficulty eating and find out what you can do to address common issues.
ARFID Awareness UK The following resources are for individuals with (or with suspected) ARFID, parents/carers and medical professionals. These resources are free to download and be used to help understand, support and educate.
PICA Pica refers to eating objects which are not suitable to be eaten, such as stones, faeces and clothing. Polydipsia involves the constant desire to drink any type of liquid (for example, bleach or toiletries) even if the individual is not thirsty.