General information about the advice line

• Call limits

  You will not receive a follow up call from the advice line. You are able to call again if you need help in the future.

  There is no limit to the amount of times you can call, although the occupational therapist will advise to try strategies for a minimum of 2 to 3 months.

• Difficulties related to school, pre-school, or nursery

  The advice line is also available to all schools within the Cambridgeshire Local Authority. If the query is related to school, please speak with your child’s class teacher or SENCO requesting they contact us directly.

• How long the call appointments last

  Call appointments are up to 20 minutes long.

• Referrals

  The advice line is not a referral into the Children's Occupational Therapy Service.

  If during the advice line call, the occupational therapist deems a referral is required for an assessment of need to take place, this will be made clear on the Summary Record which is sent to you. As part of our full information gathering, a referral form will need to be completed by a healthcare professional such as a health visitor (if your child or young person is not attending an educational setting), or by an educational professional.

• Summary from the call

  A brief summary of concerns raised, advice given and recommendations will be sent via email (if you don’t have an email address, this can be sent via the post).  

  You are able to share the summary with others, for example with school if you wish. This will not be automatically shared by the Occupational Therapy Service.

• Who the advice line is aimed at

  The advice line is for children and families registered with a Cambridgeshire GP, not currently known to our service.

  For housing related queries, the advice line is for children and families whose home is based within the Cambridgeshire Local Authority.