The new DCO handbook has been developed by the Council for Disabled Children in partnership with DCOs and ICB Heads of SEND and NHS England. It contains the key information all ICB Board Executive leads, and senior leaders need to know about the critical role Designated Clinical Officers (DCOs) for SEND play in supporting ICBs to fulfil their statutory requirements for children and young people aged 0-25 with SEND.
The Designated Medical Officer or Designated Clinical Officer plays a key part in implementing the SEND reforms and in supporting joined up working between health services and local authorities.
It includes the core functions and specifications each DCO needs to deliver, approaches to allocating the necessary resources to enable the DCO to deliver these requirements and how the DCO can support crucial SEND governance structures at both system and place level. It also sets out the available sources of support and development for DCOs and advice on how to recruit effectively.