Definition
A paediatrician is a doctor specialising in children's health. Community paediatricians (a recognised sub-specialty within the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, MRCPCH) typically lead neurodevelopmental assessments and write the health advice for EHC needs assessments under regulation 6(1)(d) of the SEND Regulations 2014.
In context for parents
Key checkpoints
- A paediatrician is a doctor specialising in children's health; UK training is an eight-year specialty programme via the RCPCH.
- Community paediatricians lead neurodevelopmental assessments and write health advice for EHC needs assessments (SEND Regulations 2014, regulation 6(1)(d)).
- NICE CG128 (autism), NG87 (ADHD), NG217 (epilepsy), and QS204 (FASD) are the relevant guidelines.
- The Designated Medical Officer (DMO) is the LA's named paediatrician coordinating health input into EHCPs.
- Right to Choose (NHS standard contract section 6.1.2) is the route into independent paediatric assessment growing in 2026.
Paediatric training in the UK is an eight-year specialty programme following medical school, leading to membership and then fellowship of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (MRCPCH, FRCPCH). Most paediatricians sub-specialise. The two most relevant to SEND are community paediatrics (neurodevelopment, disability, safeguarding, looked-after children) and child and adolescent psychiatry (the psychiatrist is a separate route via the Royal College of Psychiatrists).
Community paediatricians run the autism, ADHD, and developmental clinics, sign off the medical evidence for an EHC needs assessment, and prescribe ADHD medication where indicated under NICE NG87. Tertiary services (Great Ormond Street, Alder Hey, Evelina) handle complex genetics, complex epilepsy, complex feeding, and the multi-system disorders.
What a paediatric letter for an EHC needs assessment should contain:
- The diagnostic conclusion (and the criteria used).
- Co-occurring health conditions.
- Functional impact on learning, behaviour, attendance, sleep, eating.
- Medication regime where relevant.
- The medical recommendations to school, for example individual healthcare plan, dietary adjustments, supervised medication, rest breaks, alert protocols.
The Designated Medical Officer (DMO) for SEND, a statutory role in each LA, is the named paediatrician with responsibility for coordinating the health input into EHCPs. The DMO is usually the right escalation point if community paediatric services are not engaging with the EHC needs assessment timeline.
Private paediatric assessment routes (Right to Choose under NHS standard contract for ADHD, private autism diagnostic services for autism) produce diagnostic letters that are valid evidence for an EHCP and that schools must take into account.
Related terms
The terms parents most often see alongside Paediatrician.
EHC Needs Assessment(EHCNA)
The local authority's statutory process for gathering advice from professionals to decide whether a child needs an EHCP. The LA has 20 weeks from request to issuing a final plan.
Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule(ADOS)
A structured, play- and conversation-based observation tool used as part of the diagnostic process for autism. Administered by trained clinicians, alongside a developmental history.
ADHD
A neurodevelopmental condition affecting attention, impulse control, and activity levels. Often co-occurs with autism, dyslexia, or anxiety, and presents differently in girls and boys.
Autism(ASC)
A lifelong neurodevelopmental condition that shapes how a person communicates, processes sensory information, and experiences the social world. Autism is a difference, not an illness.
Where parents ask about this
Parents usually find this page after a GP referral has been made and a long wait is starting, before an EHC needs assessment where paediatric advice is statutory, or after a private diagnostic letter has come back and the school is asking what to do with it. Searches include "community paediatrician NHS wait", "private paediatric ADHD assessment", and "paediatric letter for EHCP". A Beaakon paediatric specialist or independent EP can review the diagnostic letter, identify what additional clinical evidence is needed, and write or supervise the health-side input to an EHCP.
References
The primary legislation, statutory guidance, research, and clinical tools this page draws on.
- Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH)
- The Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014, regulation 6(1)(d)
- NICE CG128 (autism), NG87 (ADHD), NG217 (epilepsy), QS204 (FASD)
- NHS Standard Contract, section 6.1.2: Right to Choose
- DfE / DoH (2015): Designated Medical Officer guidance