West Yorkshire Neurodevelopmental Family Navigator Service Pilot, Barnardo’s
For parents and carers of children, young people and young adults who are waiting for a neurodevelopmental assessment in Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees & Leeds. This is a Barnardo’s service that has secured funding until March 2026.
Who can access this service?
This service is available for families and/or individuals who are caring for someone, or who are themselves on a waiting list for an Autism and/or ADHD assessment and in need of some support.
To be eligible for the service, the young person you are supporting, or individuals themselves must:
- be aged up to 18 in Bradford, Leeds, Kirklees.
- Be aged up to 25 in Calderdale
- be on the assessment pathway for Autism and/or ADHD
- be in need of some help and advice regarding appropriate support services
How could a Neurodevelopment Family Navigator support me?
Our Neurodevelopmental Family Navigators will support you to be well informed of options that could be benefit you and your family. They will offer insight through their lived experience. They can work with you for up to 4 appointments, but one call or visit may be all you need.
If you would like to discuss the West Yorkshire Neurodevelopmental Family Navigator Service, please contact 01133 933 240 - we will take details of your query and a member of the team will be in touch.
We also have our West Yorkshire Keyworker Service, please keep reading to find out more about the offer:
West Yorkshire Keyworker service was a pilot as part of the recommendations made under the ‘These are Our Children review’ by Dame Christine Lenehan and consequently embedded in to the NHS Long Term Plan.
The NHS Long Term Plan included a commitment that ‘by 2023/24 children and young people with a learning disability and / or who are autistic with the most complex needs will have a designated keyworker'.
This has involved creating new keyworking services for children and young people who are at risk of mental health hospital admission or are in inpatient settings. Every Integrated Care System (ICS) now has an operational, or soon to be operational, keyworking service, funded by new money from the NHS Long Term Plan delivered through each of the seven NHS England regions.’
Read more on the NHS England website.
West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) is working in partnership with Barnardo’s to deliver this service across the five areas of West Yorkshire – Wakefield, Kirklees, Calderdale, Leeds and Bradford. Barnardo’s work collaboratively with key partners in health, social care, education and the VCSE to deliver the keyworking service to young people up to the age of 25.
In the West Yorkshire keyworker service, co-production and embracing individuals’ lived experience to shape the service is at the heart of everyday work and we work collaboratively with young people, parents/carers and professionals.
Criteria to access key working services in West Yorkshire
To access keyworker support in West Yorkshire, young people must be supported by the Dynamic Support Register (DSR). Here is some information about DSRs:
A young persons journey with their key worker:
Marie, a young person who received support from the service, has worked alongside the team to develop the communications platform, including the new West Yorkshire keyworker service website, Instagram and Facebook. Marie worked with an artist at Twovizthink to tell her story. Marie was an inpatient and met her keyworker whilst in hospital.
A young person's story:
Alasdair a young person who had the support of a keyworker, has also worked alongside the service, interviewing one of the NHS Dynamic Support Register leads and helping us create video content for the West Yorkshire Keyworker Service website.
Keyworking Celebration Event 2024
On 6 March, a celebration event was held at the Horizon Centre in Leeds, with attendees from all sectors to celebrate two years of keyworking and grant partners. Approximately 120 people attended and the day was a huge success.
The event was opened by Keir Shillaker and Mairead O’Donnell from West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership alongside Marcel Varney, Assistant Director from Barnardo’s, and throughout the day we heard from members of the keyworking service and grant partners from across West Yorkshire.