Assessments are carried out to help the service establish whether a child qualifies for a service and to identify suitable services to meet their needs. This will be recorded in their plan which is reviewed regularly.

The level of intrusiveness involved in an assessment will be determined by the level of the child's needs and the service aims to keep assessment to the least level of intrusion. 

Functional needs assessments are carried out by medical professionals working with the child in order to establish the level of their functional difficulties against a scoring system as this determines whether the child is eligible for a CYPDS service. 

Short breaks assessments are carried out by the short breaks assessor for children with low level functional needs in order to access short breaks provision.

A CYPDS child and family assessment is carried out by CYPDS social workers where a child is under 5, has complex needs or where there are concerns about parenting capacity.

A preparing for adulthood assessment is carried out by CYPDS social workers for young people from the age of 14 in order to identify their current needs and likely future needs and plan for how any future needs will be met.

The service also carries out carer assessments for parents and carers to identify any support they may need in caring for their child.

Further details on CYPDS assessments can be found in sections 2.2-2.5 and 3.2 of the CYPDS policy and procedures.