Children and Young People's Neurodevelopment Support Fund 2026-2027: supporting guidance

What could supports and services offer?

Supports and services put in place should be neuro-affirming, person-centred and reflective of local need. They should be designed taking into account the needs of local children, young people and families and consideration should be given to what will best support the achievement of better outcomes in the local context.

It could be used for:

• Provision of needs-based support for children, young people and their families with neurodevelopmental support needs, including those with a diagnosis, awaiting assessment, or not seeking or requiring a diagnosis. This could include family coaching, facilitated groups, targeted one-to-one work, and structured neuro-affirming interventions addressing areas such as sleep, communication, sensory needs, routines and emotional regulation.
• Expansion or strengthening of existing neurodevelopmental supports where demand is already high, building on local capacity across education, health, community and third‑sector services;
• Making physical and social environments more accessible and neuro-affirming; and/or
• Upskilling and capacity-building of staff across sectors to support a needs-based approach aligned with GIRFEC, supporting more appropriate access to wider or universal services, and ensuring the right skills base is available locally to provide support. This includes access to specialist input and enhanced training where appropriate.

Supports and services will normally use evidence-based and evidence-informed interventions, but may sometimes use less well-evidenced approaches where these are considered to be best placed to help the child or young person. Any risk arising from this should be managed as appropriate.

Examples of the range of potential supports and services that could be put in place are provided in Annex A.

Local partnerships are not expected to be able to put in place all the types of supports and services listed above or provide all possible supports for ND through this funding. As provision should be informed by local needs, it is anticipated that supports and services will look different across different areas.