Helen Watson - Designated Clinical Officer SEND in Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes BIO
Hello to all children, young people, parents and professionals in the city of Milton Keynes
I would like to introduce myself to you as Helen Watson, the Designated Clinical Officer for special educational needs and disability – the DCO for short
I have a background in Children’s nursing spanning over 25 years. I spent a large part of my early career working in Paediatric Intensive Care at Great Ormond Street Hospital where I gained a degree in professional practice; and additionally worked as a retrieval nurse for the Children’s Acute Transport Service. I have also worked within the local specialist schools and children’s hospice; and have more recently undertaken various community roles in Luton including working for the Children’s Safeguarding team, and as a Clinical Nurse Specialist at the Edwin Lobo Centre where I supported children with a range of neuro-disabilities, managing sleep and ADHD medication regimes as a nurse prescriber, offering post diagnosis support to children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and conducting annual Down Syndrome reviews. Throughout my career I have gained vast experience in working with children and young people with SEND and their families, supporting them to meet their health needs in a variety of settings and enabling them to meet their full potential through contribution to the Education Health Care Plan process; and signposting to the appropriate services to meet their needs. I originally commenced in post as the Designated Clinical Officer SEND (DCO) for Luton in January 2021 and am Co-Chair of the Eastern Region DCO forum.
What is a Designated Clinical Officer (DCO) for Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND)?
The role of Designated Clinical Officer (DCO) supports Bedfordshire Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board (BLMK ICB) to meet its statutory responsibilities for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. The role supports joined up working between health services and the local authority, for children, young people and adults up to 25 years. A DCO supports communication of advice to local authorities, schools and colleges regarding the health needs of children and young people who may have SEND. It supports schools, for example, with their duties under the ‘Supporting Pupils with Medical Conditions’ guidance. The DCO has a lead role in ensuring that there is an awareness and understanding of the SEND Reforms by local Health providers of services. This can be through training, or through individual discussions with teams and clinicians.
As part of the daily role, the DCO may for example be involved in responding to queries from SEND case officers, service providers and in some situations children and their families directly. This includes work with service providers around individual needs, for example Speech and Language Therapy Service, Occupational Therapy, Community Paediatrics, Physiotherapy, Wheelchair services, Community Nursing and CAMHS.
I participate in multiagency meetings and may include specific work around the way in which health and local authority develop processes to ensure timeliness and quality of EHCP advice. This includes liaison around health elements of Education, health and care plans, and specific projects relevant to the needs of the local area. I also work at a strategic level with partner organisations to consider the local profile of needs, quality of services and identify gaps in provision.
I work closely with the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Parent Carer Forums, and enjoy working in co-production with local families, children and young people, to ensure that their voices and experience are at the forefront of service development.
Kirsty Yates - Deputy Designated Clinical Officer SEND, Bedford and Milton Keynes
I am a Children’s Physiotherapist by background with over 20 years’ experience in the speciality. My early career was predominantly spent in acute settings at both the Luton and Dunstable Hospital and St Mary’s Hospital, Imperial College London. I gained experience in a variety of specialities including medical, surgical and orthopaedic wards as well as Paediatric intensive care. I then moved to the Luton Community Children’s Physiotherapy Team where I worked for 18 years, both clinically supporting young people to optimise their physical skills within educational, home and clinic settings as well as managing the service. Throughout my clinical practice, I have supported many children and young people (CYP), and their families, with SEND to achieve their goals through collaborative working with them and other health, social care and education professionals, as well as contributing advice to the Education Health Care Plan process. I am passionate about children and young people with SEND achieving their full potential and ensuring that their voice is heard when planning services and delivering care.
I commenced in post as Deputy Designated Clinical Officer (DDCO) SEND for Bedford and Milton Keynes in March 2026. I contribute to multi agency working, providing a link between health with education and social care. I work alongside the DCO to have oversight of the health needs of CYP with SEND. This can involve responding to queries regarding health from SEND Officers, and sometimes from families directly and can include working directly with health service providers.
