Vulnerable Pupil Hot Clinics (VPHC)
The Vulnerable Pupil Hot Clinic (VPHC) is run by the local authority and is chaired by the Education Inclusion Partners (EIPs) on a three weekly rotational basis.
It is a forum of multi-agency professionals which meets to ensure intervention and support is available to meet the needs of vulnerable pupils.
A hot clinic is a key element of the process of successfully working with children and young people who (using the Common Assessment Framework or an Initial Assessment) have been identified as having unmet needs and require support from more than one agency/service to meet these needs.
A hot clinic incorporates a whole range of agencies. The aim is to identify vulnerable children earlier and more efficiently through better information-sharing, enabling agencies to act quickly.
Schools highlighted that a lot of time in the school week is spent making and following up referrals to other agencies, which ultimately, diverts resources from teaching. All would welcome a ‘team around the school approach’ where an actual or virtual designated multi-agency team was aligned to the school(s) to prevent the need for referrals and to promote improved relationships between schools and other agencies.
School staff also spend more time with the children and have an ongoing relationship with parents, most of whom they see daily. These relationships could be exploited by other professionals to have more contact, more influence, and forge stronger relationships that, in turn, are likely to improve the outcomes for children, whilst breaking down barriers to engagement that some parents have with professionals.
Members of the VPHC meetings are:
- Chair - Education Inclusion Partners
- Safeguarding Representative
- Health Representative
- CAMHS Representative
- MASH Representative
- Police Representative
- Early Help Representative
- YARM Representative
- Minute Taker
The expected outcomes of the VPHC are:
- greater information gathered from across the partnership at the referral stage which leads to better informed decision making
- faster decision making and progression of a referral is made as a multiagency group
- reduced impact on front line teams
- more families gain access to the right resources when required
- to ensure timely and necessary interventions, improving the outcomes for vulnerable children and making the best decisions to keep children safe