Preparing a
Co-ordinated support plan (CSP)
If the local authority decides that your child needs a CSP, an officer in the education department of your local authority will have lead responsibility for preparing the plan. Sometimes they ask another professional (this could be someone at your child’s school) to put together the contents of the plan.
This page explains what should be included in a CSP, the stages that are usually involved in preparing the plan, and further information on the time limits on preparing a CSP.
What should be included in my child’s CSP?
The CSP must include:
- information about your child (e.g. name, age, gender), their contact details and preferred language and form of communication
- your contact details and preferred language and form of communication
- a profile focusing on your child’s strengths and abilities, activities they like, and how they like to learn
- the factors that have led to your child needing additional support
- the educational objectives your child is working towards
- the additional support your child needs to reach these objectives
- who will provide the support
- the name of the school or nursery your child attends
- your comments and your child’s comments on the plan and the CSP process
- a review timetable
- the name and contact details of the CSP co-ordinator
- who at the local authority you can contact for advice and information.
You can find a template of a CSP here: Co-ordinated support plan template
Step 1 – Initial meeting
The initial meeting is an opportunity for you to give your views and provide any information that you think may be helpful in preparing the plan.
You (and your child if appropriate) will usually be invited to attend this meeting with staff from their school or nursery. Other professionals from different agencies who may be involved in supporting your child will usually also attend.
If your child does not want to attend the meetings or is unable to, they must still be asked for their views, and these must be considered.
Children aged 12-15 have specific rights to be involved in decisions and take action about the support they get. If your child is aged 12-15 and would like help in sharing their views about their CSP, support is available for your child to use these rights from a service called My Rights, My Say. This includes advocacy to help them speak to their school or local authority about the support they need. You also have the right to take a support person to the meeting, this could be a family member, friend or someone from an advocacy or support service, like your local carers centre. You can search for local services via our Useful Organisations in your area search engine.
See our page on Getting the most from meetings for more advice.
Step 2 – First draft
If you are supporting a child or young person who may meet the criteria for a CSP, you should consider referring them to be assessed for one. You can discuss this with your colleague who takes lead responsibility for additional support for learning. The professional responsible for preparing a CSP will draw up a first draft of the plan. In doing this, they must consider:
- why your child needs additional support
- what support they are currently getting
- any aims or goals that your child is working towards, and how education and other agencies will help your child achieve them
- information and advice they have received from you, your child, and the professionals who support your child
- information from any assessments your child has had
- which agency or agencies will be responsible for providing each element of support set out in the plan
- the school or nursery your child will attend
- the person in the local authority you can contact for advice and information about your child’s CSP.
They may arrange further meetings with you if needed to discuss and amend the draft.
Step 3 – Feedback
The professional responsible for the plan will send a copy of the draft plan to you and everyone involved to comment on. They may then make further changes to the plan.
Step 4 – Finalising the plan
A CSP should be clear and succinct. It should set specific longer-term objectives for a child or young person’s education. Once you and the professionals involved have agreed on the contents of the plan, the local authority will sign it off. A CSP co-ordinator will be appointed of this has not already been done.
A date is set to review the plan, which will normally be one year later, but earlier reviews can be arranged if there has been a significant change in your child’s circumstances.
At this point you should be told about your right to refer any disagreement you have about the contents of the plan to the Additional Support Needs Tribunal. For more information on what to do if you are not happy about a decision with your CSP, you can read our page Delivering a Co-ordinated Support Plan (CSP)
Step 5 – Sharing and implementing the plan
A copy of the CSP will be sent to you. Your child’s school or nursery and the local authority must also keep a copy.
The CSP is now active, and the support written in the plan must be provided to your child.
Time limits of preparing a CSP and exceptions
There are certain circumstances when a local authority can extend the 16-week time limit to decide whether your child needs a CSP and prepare the plan. These include situations where:
- the local authority has asked another agency for help, and they have not been able to respond within the 16 weeks
- you have made a request for a particular kind of assessment of your child’s needs, and it cannot take place (or the results will not be known) by the end of the 16 weeks.
If your local authority becomes aware that the limit is unlikely to be met, they must let you know and give you a new date by which the process will be completed. They must not extend the time limit by more than is necessary in the circumstances, and in any situation, they must not take more than 24 weeks to prepare your child’s CSP. For information about how things will work once the CSP is set up, you can head to our page Delivering a CSP.
What can I do if I’m not happy with how my child’s CSP is being prepared?
It is always a good idea to try and resolve any disagreements without using formal or legal routes. Here are some steps you can take:
- Contact the professional responsible for preparing the plan, or the CSP co-ordinator if they have been assigned to discuss your concerns
- Ask to speak to the person at your local authority responsible for making the decision about the CSP
- Request mediation with your local authority.
You can also refer your disagreement about the CSP to the Additional Support Needs Tribunal. This is called ‘making a reference’. You can do this if:
- you disagree with the contents of the CSP
- the local authority fails to meet the timescales for preparing the CSP.
You have two months to make a reference to the Tribunal from the date of the decision you disagree with, or the date by which the local authority should have prepared the CSP if they have failed to do so.
Let’s Talk ASN is a free advocacy and legal support service that can help you to make a reference to the tribunal. You can call them on 0141 445 1955 or email letstalkasn@edlaw.org.uk
Find out much more about the tribunal and how to make a reference on our Additional Support Needs Tribunal page.
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Co-ordinated support plans (CSPs)
This page explains what Co-ordinated Support Plans (CSPs) are, which children should have them and how to ask for your child to be assessed for one.
Delivering a co-ordinated support plan (CSP)
When your child has a CSP, it should help all professionals involved understand what support needs to be in place to enable your child to work towards achieving their educational goals. This includes education aimed at the development of their personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to help them reach their fullest potential.
Providing your child’s support
Children may need different types of support depending on their needs. Find out some of the ways schools support children to overcome barriers to learning.
Still have questions about additional support for learning?
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