Our service works in partnership with the student, parents or carers, medical health professionals and the named person in the on roll school to provide a high quality core education and pastoral package for young people with medical health needs. Where a young person has, or is likely to have, long-term medical needs (including mental health) that are preventing their access to education, parents or carers and their school will work together to create an action plan to support the young person. This may involve using an intervention within our Service’s offer and/or requesting an assessment for an Education, Health and Care Plan

Support for Children and Young People with Health Needs

Medical Tuition Service follows the pathways listed below to ensure clarity and fairness of admission procedures. Following these pathways, all children and young people with health needs will receive consideration and appropriate support based on their individual needs. To access MTS support, the child or young person:

  • Is a Torbay resident
  • Is of a secondary school age
  • Is (or due to be) temporarily absent for medical reasons, including mental health difficulties.

Admissions process

A child or young person of secondary school age has a health need that is disrupting their education.

  • Long-term health need (intermittent absence)
  • Emotional and mental health
  • Complex needs/Other
  1. A referral is made to the Torbay Medical Panel (prp@torbay.gov.uk) which assesses each individual case and decides on the most appropriate placement for the young person.
  2. When the young person is offered a place at MTS, the MTS team will convene a meeting of all the relevant professionals. They will discuss the young person’s needs and agree to a support plan, setting out how the student’s health needs are to be met and what outcome would be best for them in the agreed time frame.
  3. A key professional will be identified as the first point of contact at MTS and the on roll school.
  4. The on roll school completes the necessary admissions forms and sends them to jhunter@medicaltuitionservice.org.uk. These need to be completed within two weeks of the placement agreement, when the placement will begin. A letter from the medical consultant referring the young person must be provided.
  5. A meeting is set between the MTS Admissions Team and the young person, including the parents or carers – in the two week admissions period. The young person will complete the baseline assessments either on site or remotely, to help us create an individualised learning and therapeutic plan.
  6. In the first instance, the MTS placement is offered for two terms. Regular six weekly Transition Review Meetings are held to check and review progress.
  7. The transition process begins two weeks before placement is due to end. Reintegration into the on-roll school or suitable alternative provision is supported by our reintegration team.

Admissions team

The internal MTS Admission Team is made up of the following members:

  • Nikki Shuttleworth – Whole Setting Lead, SENDCo, DDSL, Interventions
  • Kim Hulme – Whole Setting Lead, Personal Development, Aspirations

Half-termly Transition Review Meetings will be scheduled upon admission. In these meetings, future steps and successful transitions will form the agenda. Places at MTS are not permanent and it is the teams’ priority to secure a safe pathway to integration for our young people.