Children with Additional Needs
Ensuring all children and young people feel valued, included and supported – no matter their background, needs or abilities.
Here is a list of contents for this page:
- The Index
- Online Directory for Childcare, Activities and Support Services
- Help with Childcare Costs
- Support with Education
- Sports and Play
- Support for Unpaid Carers
- Child Health and Disability Team
The Index
We provide information to families of children and young people with disabilities or additional needs.
This includes ages 0-18 and whether you’re starting to explore a diagnosis or already have one. Covering neurodivergent and neurological conditions.
What is The Index?
The Index is a register of children and young people with disabilities or additional needs. This includes ages 0-18 and whether you’re starting to explore a diagnosis or already have one.
It is a voluntary register run by the Family Information Service. The Welsh Government’s Families First Grant funds The Index.
What do we do?
We help families find local services, clubs, and activities. We offer tips, guidance and point you to helpful services. We also keep you informed about any changes that might affect your family.
The Index helps service providers understand what local needs are. This can assist them in planning better support.
We also have a Professionals Mailing List. This keeps them updated with services that they can share with the families they support.
Enter your email address to subscribe to the Professionals Index Newsletter:
Why sign up to the Index?
Once signed up to The Index you will receive:
The Index Newsletter is produced twice a year. It contains information about relevant services, support, and activities.
The Index e-News. We also send regular emails with updates between newsletters, so you don’t miss anything.
You can also share your views through surveys and consultations. This will help to shape local services.
How to sign up to The Index
You can sign a child up for The Index if you are a parent, carer or a professional with consent. This can be done by completing our registration form. It takes less than 5 minutes.
You can also sign up over the phone by contacting the Vale Family Compass on 0808 281 6727 and press option 2 which will take you to the Family Information Service.
To be eligible for sign up the child or young person must:
- Be aged between birth and 18 years old
- Either have a diagnosis, be awaiting assessment, or have an ongoing additional need.
- Live in the Vale of Glamorgan
What information will I need to complete the form?
- Child/young person’s name, gender, date of birth, ethnicity, and home address
- What school they attend
- Do they have a Statement of Needs or IDP? (Yes/No)
- Do they use a wheelchair (Yes/No)
- How do they communicate? Tick boxes are provided
- Are they in receipt of Disability Living Allowance / PIP?
- Have you had a formal diagnosis for the child/young person? (Yes/No/Under Assessment)*
- Brief details of the disability or additional need
- Parent / carer name, telephone number, email address and relationship to the child/ young person
You can also register a second parent/carer.
* Please note: This does not affect their eligibility for The Index register.
Would you like to have your say about the material we produce?
We have an Index Consultation Group made up of parents, carers, and professionals. They review our information and share their thoughts before it’s published.
Send an email to Theindex@valeofglamorgan.gov.uk to get involved.
These are some examples of the types of things you would be reviewing:
Online Directory for Childcare, Activities and Support Services
Did you know there’s a website with free, trusted information on childcare, activities, and family support?
It’s called the Childcare Information Wales website. The Index team has created a step-by-step guide on how to use it.
We have also reviewed the information held for inclusive service providers. This should help you identify if a service or activity is right for your child.
Here is an example below:
Can you support children with disabilities / additional needs?
- Yes, Cadets follow a set syllabus involving a lot of physical activity. We have experience with a wheelchair user but they could stand for short periods of time. Due to the nature of some activities, we are unable to support children with hearing impairments
- All volunteers receive Safeguarding training which covers inclusion, disability awareness and neurodivergence.
Resources:
- Step by Step Guide for using the Childcare Information Wales Website
- Childcare Information Wales Website
- Direct link to specialist support
- Direct link to inclusive activities
- Index Annual Report
- Index Annual Report Easy Read
- Index Inclusive Services Padlet
Help with Childcare Costs
As a parent or carer of a child with additional support needs, we know you have a lot of things to consider. Explore the link below to find ways that could help you:
Support with Education
Does my child have an additional learning need (ALN)? A child or young person has an ALN if they:
- have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than most children their age, or;
- Has a disability for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010 which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities for education or training of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream maintained schools or mainstream institutions in the further education sector.
The Index team has co-produced a video for parents. It’s helpful for anyone with a child who has an Individual Development Plan (IDP) or is having one in the near future.
The Index team has also co-produced an Education Guide. It looks at different learning options and shows what support is available. It also shares helpful tips, like questions to ask when visiting schools or services.
Need help? Navigate the links below to explore more:
- Additional Learning Needs
- Specialist Provisions
- Home Education
- Welsh Government’s Additional Learning Needs Transformation Programme
- Snap Cymru: Free advice and support on ALN, Disabilities, and Education-Related Issues
Sports and Play
The Vale Play Team provide inclusive provision. All sessions have trained playworkers.
The sessions include sensory, play, group games, messy play, muddy kitchens, multi-sport, and junk modelling.
There is a high demand for this provision. Children with additional support needs must have a referral. This should be from either a Social Worker or the Early Help Team.
However, they find that some children who usually need extra support may not need it while they’re with them. This is due to their Playwork approach. Please feel free to get in touch with the team to discuss the suitability of the provision for your child’s needs.
- Disability Sport Wales Insport Directory
- Vale of Glamorgan Play Team
- Sports and Physical Activity Development
Support for Unpaid Carers
Am I a carer?
An unpaid carer is someone who looks after a family member or friend who couldn’t cope without their help.
This might be due to a long-term illness, disability, mental health issue, or addiction. The care they give is unpaid.
The Unpaid Carers Hub
The Vale Unpaid Carers Hub is a place where unpaid carers can get help, advice and information.
The service gives unpaid carers practical and emotional support. It helps carers stay healthy and understand their role.
It offers a financial wellbeing service to support carers with money-related challenges. They can help with any of the following:
- Help with creating a financial support plan
- Benefits
- Grants
- Further support
Vale of Glamorgan Unpaid Carers
This service provides information for unpaid carers, including details of where they can find help through local services and support. This can be in their local community or through the Council.
Parent Carer and Young Carer Assessments
If you are an unpaid carer for a child with additional needs, you can get a carer assessment.
This will assess your own needs for help and support. The child’s brother or sister is also entitled to a Young Carers assessment.
The Early Help services can offer a referral for this service.
Child Health and Disability Team
This team supports families of children and young people who have:
- A severe or significant learning disability
- Physical disability
- Sensory impairment or profound communication impairment
They have strong links with many other agencies, particularly with Health. The team work with other organisations in the region to support families.
