First TAF meeting: what to expect?

[TheFirstOfHerName]

I posted a while back about the school's decision to do a CAF for DS1 (15, depression and anxiety). The first TAF meeting is coming up and I have no idea what to expect.

I know who has been invited:
Assistant Head (lead professional)
Head of Year
Head of Learning Support
DS1's LSA
Someone from CAMHS
DH & me

I would be grateful if someone could give me some insight into how these meetings go, as I am feeling quite apprehensive about it.

I only have experience of a much younger child, but when we had one for our daughter it was all about making plans, arrangements etc and setting up things in writing and having stuff to refer back to in future meetings. It can seem quite formal at first, but we found it soon relaxed once everyone got to know each other a bit better. It's a bit like a team meeting at work. Deciding who will do what, so that can be monitored in future meetings and making plans for ways forward. Hopefully yours will be similar.

I've been to hundreds of these both as a parent and as a professional. They are usually quite relaxed. It's a case of saying what the issues are, what has/is being done and what could be done. The whole point of these meetings is to get support in place. The first meeting is usually quite lengthy but subsequent meetings are a bit shorter.

Thank you both. I think it's the unknown that makes it scary, on top of the accumulated worry over his illness.