Cheyne Child Development Service

What we do 

The Cheyne Child Development Service is a family-centred service based at Chelsea and Westminster, dedicated to supporting children with special educational and developmental needs.

We maintain close links with local borough agencies, clinical commissioning groups, and school nursing services to provide seamless support for children.

We offer assessment and treatment services for children up to the age of 19 with a wide range of developmental difficulties.

Leaflet

Our team

Our team consists of Community Paediatricians, Clinical Nurse Specialists, Clinical Psychologists, Speech and Language Therapists, Music Therapists, Physiotherapists, and Occupational Therapists. A full range of additional support is provided by the hospital's multi-professional paediatric specialists.

Community Paediatrician

Paediatricians are doctors who have specialised in children’s medicine. Community paediatricians include Consultant Neurodevelopmental Paediatricians who specialise in the assessment, diagnosis, and management of children with developmental difficulties and disabilities. 

T: 020 3315 6488

Speech and Language Therapy

Speech and Language Therapy provides a service to pre-school children with speech, language, communication, and/or swallowing difficulties. If your child is school-aged, please speak to the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) at your child's school about supporting your child's language and communication skills.

Occupational Therapy

The Occupational Therapy team works collaboratively with children, their families, and school communities to help children achieve their potential in their daily activities at school, home, and in the wider community. Our Occupational Therapists (OTs) may see a child or young person who requires help with: developing the skills needed to participate in self-care tasks (e.g., tooth brushing, toileting, washing, dressing, eating); participating in learning tasks (e.g., writing, using scissors, selecting and organising tools/belongings); positioning and posture to support participation in everyday activities; accessing play/leisure resources; and physical access—including support for children with motor coordination difficulties.

Clinical Nurse Specialist

The Clinical Nurse Specialist has experience working with families who have children with special needs. They will work together with your family health visitor or school nurse to help you access community services that will offer you and your child the relevant support. They will assess your family’s needs and can offer advice.

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Clinical Psychologist

The Clinical Psychology team offers individual/family support, group support, or consultations with school/nursery staff and other professionals for a range of difficulties (eg behaviour, emotional development, sleep, and feeding).

T: 020 3315 3196

Music Therapy

Music Therapy uses shared music-making to support children who may have communication, social, physical, or emotional difficulties. Referrals to music therapy can be made for children up to the age of 5 years and 11 months.

Music Therapists work with children to support their development through active music-making, which can help improve communication, interaction, and movement skills. We offer individual and group sessions.

T: 020 3315 6427

Physiotherapy

Physiotherapy can help your child develop motor skills and physical independence. Paediatric Physiotherapists have detailed knowledge of typical and atypical physical development in children. They complete additional training to specialise in the assessment and treatment of babies, children, and young people, with expertise in managing movement difficulties. These may include delayed development and coordination of motor skills or conditions such as cerebral palsy or muscular dystrophy.

T: 020 3315 8667

Location

Chelsea and Westminster Hospital (main location)

Cheyne Child Development Services
Doughty House
Netherton Grove
Block C
London
SW10 9TQ

T: 020 3315 6488 

Parkview Centre for Health and Wellbeing

Cranston Court
56 Bloemfontein Road
White City
London
W12 7FG

T: 020 3704 6060

How do I get an appointment?

Children are usually referred to our service by a doctor (such as their GP) or another professional (such as a speech and language therapist) or through the child’s school. Our service is available to children whose GP is located in the following boroughs/postcodes:

  • Kensington and Chelsea: SW3, SW5, SW7, W8, W14, SW10
  • Fulham: SW6
  • Hammersmith: W6, W12, W14, NW10 (partial)
  • South Westminster: SW1

 A copy can be sent to us either via email or post:

  • By email to chelwest.ccdsintake@nhs.net
  • Post to our address:

    Chelsea and Westminster Hospital
    Cheyne Child Development Services
    Doughty House
    Netherton Grove
    Block C
    London
    SW10 9TQ

Referrals received to the service process

  • All referrals will be discussed in a multidisciplinary intake meeting, which occurs once a week
  • Please note that referral information about the child will be shared with a range of professionals
  • It is important that the family has given consent for the referral to be sent
  • Please ensure that you provide detailed information so that it is clear to us which service(s) will be most appropriate

Changing or cancelling your appointment

If you need to change or cancel your child’s appointment for any reason, contact our reception on 020 3315 6488. Please inform us as soon as possible so we can offer the appointment to another patient.

Before your appointment

We may need additional information, such as a completed questionnaire, before your appointment to support the assessments made at the clinic.

The number of referrals to our service has been steadily increasing in recent years, leading to longer waiting times. This is a national problem affecting services across the UK. We understand that this can be a stressful time for parents/carers waiting for their child to be assessed.

We have put together some information to support your child’s development while you wait in a leaflet.

For children under 5 

 For children over 5

Appointment methods 

Virtual appointment

An appointment may be conducted virtually via a video platform, by phone consultation, or face-to-face at one of our sites at Chelsea and Westminster or Parkview Centre for Health. If a virtual video appointment is not convenient or possible for you, please let us know so that alternative arrangements can be made.

Video consultations with Attend Anywhere:

Attend Anywhere is a website that provides secure video calls. It is as convenient as a phone call, with the added value of face-to-face communication. This means you will be able to see your clinician, and your clinician will be able to see you and your child.  

Hospital appointments

Please bring your child’s red book (child personal health record) and a list of any medications your child is taking.

Autism assessments

If you would like further information about our autism assessments, please see the leaflets below.

Under 5s

Over 5s

Linking with education

When a child requires more support for education, health and social care that cannot be met through the resources and interventions normally available, they may need an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).

The Local Authority may ask us to provide medical advice as part of the Education, Health and Care Plan Needs Assessment (EHCNA).

If your child is not usually under our care, the assessment is a one-off appointment to provide information on how your child’s health and developmental needs impact their education.

If your child is under the care of one of our consultants, we may be able to complete the EHCNA using the information we already have about your child.

If your child is under statutory school age and our team identifies that they may have special educational needs and/or disabilities, we alert the Local Authority using an Early Health Notification form.

Local Offer websites

Each London borough has a website called Local Offer. This website provides information on what is available locally to support you and your child. The website will be updated with relevant information.

Find information on services and support available for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) aged 0–25 and their families via the Local Offer website for:

Child protection medical assessments

When social services receive a report that a child may be harmed, they have a legal duty to investigate. Social services may contact the Cheyne Child Development Service to request a child protection medical assessment. This assessment may be completed by a paediatrician at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and will require parental consent.

More information regarding child protection medical assessments is available in this leaflet:

T: 020 3315 53219

Looked After Children (LAC) healthcare service

The Community Paediatric Team at Cheyne Child Development Service provides mandatory health assessments and advice for children in care aged 0–18 years (including unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors) within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, South Kensington and Chelsea, and South Westminster. The aim is to complete the health assessments within 28 days of a child being taken into care, ensuring early identification of needs and intervention to achieve optimal physical, emotional, cognitive, and social development, and to promote good health and long-term life chances. A health care plan is generated from the assessments to support the care provided by social care, foster carers, GPs, and other health professionals.

Advice is also available to adoption panels and prospective adopters on medical issues for a child they propose to adopt. We have a team of dedicated LAC nurses who support the service.

Urgent questions

If there are any urgent questions regarding a patient already known to the child development service, please contact us on 020 3315 3142 or email chelwest.ccdsintake@nhs.net

Contact information

  • Cheyne Child Development Service main reception: 020 3315 6488
  • Parkview Health Centre main reception: 0203 704 6060
  • Child protection medical assessments: 020 3315 3219
  • Looked after children medical assessments: 020 3315 3120
  • New referrals: chelwest.ccdsintake@nhs.net
  • Music Therapy: 020 3315 6472
  • Specialist Nurse Cheyne: 020 3315 6470 or email
  • Occupational Therapy: 020 8102 4008 or email
  • Clinical Psychology: 020 3315 3196
  • Physiotherapy: 020 3315 8667

Further information 

To support families, advice is available in the links below.

 How to support your child’s mental health

  • The Anna Freud Centre for mental health has excellent information on supporting all children during times of disruption
  • Kooth is the online counselling platform for young people up to 25 with SEND

Information related to additional needs

  • The National Autistic Society provides the latest information on understanding and supporting those with ASD
  • The Cerebra website offers information related to children with brain conditions
  • Contact is another useful website for families of children with disabilities

 Information on looking after yourself as a parent

  • The Good Thinking website, developed by the Healthy London Partnership, offers a range of guidance and online apps to support mental health and wellbeing—this resource is funded and endorsed by the NHS and focuses on cognition, anxiety, and low mood

Parent support groups

Parent forums are a fantastic resource if your child has additional educational or health needs. Local parent groups include:

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