Schools revolt over autism and ADHD referrals

SPECIAL educational needs teachers have accused the government of shifting clinical responsibilities onto schools in an unprecedented revolt over the referral system for children with ADHD and autism forcing them to shoulder “excessive and unmanageable demand” while pupils wait up to two years for assessment.

The development comes as it has emerged that child mental-health services has suspended all new requests to start pharmaceutical treatment for children with ADHD, leaving them unable to access medication.

In a joint letter sent to the government and leaked to the JEP, special educational needs co-ordinators (SENCos) from both primary and secondary schools said the revised Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service referral process – introduced in July last year – had created “safeguarding and ethical concerns”, excessive bureaucracy and mounting pressure on already overstretched schools.

The letter – signed by 19 representatives from more than a dozen schools – warned that the system has “not had the intended impact” after two terms of use.

The SENCos wrote: “We are educators. We are not CAMHS employees, administrative case managers, or clinical co-ordinators.”

The revised referral process was introduced by CAMHS in an attempt to reduce waiting lists and improve early intervention for children with possible neurodevelopmental conditions such as ADHD and autism. But teachers claim the opposite is happening.

Under the new system, SENCos say they are now expected to organise mandatory CAMHS consultations, oversee ten-week intervention programmes, gather evidence from teachers, manage clinical questionnaires and track referrals through complex monitoring systems.

Secondary school staff say some reports require consultation with up to 14 teachers for a single child.

The letter argues that responsibilities previously handled by health professionals have effectively been shifted into schools “without mandate, funding, or agreement”.

The signatories also claim the process is “operationally flawed”, and creates unavoidable delays before referrals can even be submitted.

Combined with existing waiting times of around 12 to 18 months, they warn that some children could wait “close to two years from initial concern to assessment”.

“This cannot reasonably be described as ‘early intervention’,” the letter said.

The SENCos also raise concerns that delays are contributing to worsening mental health, emotionally based school avoidance, placement breakdowns and increased risk of exclusion among vulnerable pupils. The letter warns: “A process that delays or obstructs timely access to specialist assessment carries clear and avoidable risks for vulnerable children and young people.”

The letter also criticises confusion around consent and data handling, claiming schools are being placed in an “ethically uncomfortable intermediary role” when dealing with sensitive family information submitted to CAMHS.

“We are also deeply concerned by repeated instances in which families have reportedly been informed that schools failed to submit required documents, leading to referrals being closed. Across schools, there have been examples where this was not the case,” the letter said.

“Situations such as these risk damaging the trust and relationships schools work extremely hard to build with families.”

The group is now calling for the referral system to be “urgently reviewed” in consultation with head teachers and SENCos before any further rollout.

The teachers conclude that the current process is “not workable or sustainable”, “delays access to specialist assessment”, and “risks inequitable access for families”.

ADHD Jersey founder Rachel Boss said SENCos were “right to sound the alarm”.

“What is happening to ADHD care in Jersey right now is alarming,” she said.

“Children could be waiting close to two years from first concern to assessment under the new CAMHS referral process – that is not early intervention, it is a system allowing harm to escalate.

“Schools are being asked to run ten-week intervention plans, administer assessments, complete 47-question functioning reports, and manage clinical data systems. That is clinical work. Teachers are not CAMHS staff.”

A spokesperson for the Education Department said: “The department takes the matters raised in the letter seriously and will be looking carefully at the concerns outlined, including speaking directly with staff to better understand their experiences and any issues identified.

“We would like to reassure parents, carers, and students that the safeguarding and wellbeing of children and young people remain the absolute priority for the department, and it is important that any concerns raised are properly considered. As this issue is ongoing, it would not be appropriate to comment further at this stage.”