What is a DCO?
The Designated Clinical Officer for SEND (DCO) helps local Health services to make sure they are meeting the needs of children and young people with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND), and supports the Local authority in understanding how health provision supports children in education as part of the holistic needs a child may have. The DCO plays a key part in supporting joined up working between health services, education settings and local authorities.
The day to day role of a DCO can be different between each area (e.g. Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield), but in South Yorkshire their aims include:
To provide training and/or advice for health professionals on EHCPs and SEND law, and how services should provide good quality assessments and provision.
To attend meetings with educators and the local authority, representing the NHS.
To represent the Special Educational Needs & Disability law and landscape within the NHS.
To attend EHCP decision making panels, mediation or Tribunals as required.
To improve the way services work together.
To identify gaps in services, so that improvements can be made.
To coordinate and prepare for Ofsted / CQC inspection, and make improvements based on any recommendations.
The Council for Disabled Children has some useful examples of the role of a DCO available here