Levels of Need

The following sets of descriptors aim to give practitioners guidance to promote a common understanding of the most likely level of need being experienced by a child who they are delivering a service to. The descriptors are grouped under four levels of need that correspond to four levels of service delivery.

Universal needs

All children and young people have needs. Examples of  'universal needs' are: food, shelter, sleep, empathy, love,  understanding, connection, acceptance, support, safety, appreciation, justice, equality, reassurance, independence, respect, trust and learning.

In many cases, children and young people - with the support of their family, friends, community and universal services such as health and education - are able to have their changing needs met as they progress through infancy, childhood and adolescence to adulthood.

Universal needs are further identified within each of the assessment dimensions of the ‘assessment framework for children in need and their families’.

Additional needs

Many children and young people, at different times and for different reasons will have additional needs.  These additional needs can be seen as a barrier to be overcome before their universal needs can be met appropriately.

Children's and young people’s additional needs usually occur as a result of individual, family or  environmental factors, or sometimes as a result of a combination of these.

Children and young people with additional needs require an additional or targeted response from services for varying periods of time, so that they can overcome these barriers, as well as their ongoing entitlement to universal provision.

Examples of different kinds of additional needs are identified within the assessment dimensions of the ‘assessment framework for children in need and their families’.

Multiple additional needs

A significant number of children and young people will have multiple additional needs.  These multiple additional needs can be seen as a significant barrier to overcome before their universal needs can be met appropriately.

Children's and young people’s multiple additional needs also occur as a result of individual, family or environmental factors and frequently as a result of a combination of these.

Children and young people with multiple additional needs require co-ordinated targeted responses from a number of services for varying periods of time, as well as their ongoing entitlement to universal provision, in order to overcome the barriers  or challenges that prevent their universal needs being met appropriately.

Examples of different kinds of multiple additional needs are identified within the assessment dimensions of the ‘assessment framework for children in need and their families”.

Specialist needs

Some children and young people will at different times have specialist needs. These specialist needs can be seen as a significant barrier to overcome before their universal needs can be met appropriately.

Children's and young people’s specialist needs can also be a result of individual, family or environmental factors or as a result of a combination of these.

Children and young people with specialist needs require specialist responses from one or a number of services for varying periods of time, as well as their ongoing entitlement to universal provision, in order to overcome the barriers or challenges that  prevent their universal needs being met appropriately.

Examples of different kinds of specialist needs are identified within the assessment dimensions of the ‘assessment framework for children in need and their families’.

Many children may experience different levels of need in different aspects of their lives.  For example a child may have a specialist health need because of a physical disability, but have universal education needs that can be met entirely by universal services.  Holistic assessment that takes account of different aspects of a child's life is needed in order to identify the best possible package of support.