Aiming High For Disabled Children: Issue 1

In May 2007 theGovernment launchedAiming High forDisabled Children – ahuge programme toimprove services fordisabled children andtheir families. Through

a total of £430 million of funding overthree years from 2008 to 2011, AHDCaims to fulfil the Government’s vision thatall disabled children and their families willhave the support they need to liveordinary family lives, through delivering inthree priority areas:• Access and Empowerment• Responsive Services and Timely Support• Improved Quality and CapacityMost of the money is targeted atimproving short breaks, with just over amillion pounds coming to Sefton in 2010– 11 to provide important breaks fromcaring and provide children with theopportunity to develop new interests andrelationships and £685,000 to providehigh quality affordable childcare in orderto help parents of disabled children getinto work.We welcome this programme in Seftonand are determined to work inpartnership with parents to improveservices by:• Increasing parent participation through

parental forums• Letting parents know more clearly what

they can expect – a core offer andnational indicator (NI54)

• Working in partnership with parents, thevoluntary sector and practitioners.

This new style newsletter will help tokeep you up to date about all of thedevelopments around short breaks,childcare, transitions to adult servicesand working in partnership with parents.I hope it is useful and informative.If you have any ideas about how wecan improve the newsletter pleaseget in touch.

Are you registered withthe Disabled Children’sInformation and Database?The Disabled Children’sInformation and Database aimsto provide parents withinformation on the servicesavailable both locally andnationally for the family and forchildren who may requirespecialist as well as mainstreamservices. Alongside this is anopportunity to identify servicesthat could make a difference sothey can be best developed forthe future.The database can includechildren with:• Developmental delay• Physical disability• Chronic illness / medical

condition• Moderate to severe learning

disability• Hearing impairment / visual

impairment• Communication difficulties

What’s in it for my childand me?

A regular newsletter sent directto your home giving informationabout services, events, benefitsand support available locally andnationally.As the register is voluntary, youmay have been given a copy ofthis newsletter by a third partywho thought it would benefit you.There is a referral form on Page5 of this newsletter. Once youhave returned the referral form(or you can call the DisabledChildren’s Information andDatabase number on Page 5),you will be contacted to arrangea home visit to complete a datacollection form.Christine BatesDatabase Coordinator

for Disabled Children

Children, Schools and Families

www. a c t i ve - s e f ton. co.ukA c t i v e S e f t o n i s a p a r t n e r s h i p b e t w e e n S e f t o n C o u n c i l ,N H S S e f t o n a n d t h e l o c a l v o l u n t a r y a n d c o m m u n i t y s e c t o r s

Peter MorganStrategic DirectorSefton Children,Schools and Families

Aiming HighAiming High

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National Autistic Society Seminars

Wheels for AllCycling opportunitiesfor disabled peopleFor anyone who is not able tomanage a two wheeled bike,“Wheels For All” will be developinga cycling centre at the new CrosbyLakeside Activity Centre. You canalso access bicycles at LitherlandSports Park and Dunes LeisureCentre. For more details contactBrian Nener on 0151 934 4638.

Looking for large size nappies?Libero XL Plus or Step 7 in the Libero 7 step incontinence range is anincontinence pad for children that is comfortable and lotion free.The Libero children’s incontinence nappy is for sizes between 15 - 30kgThe local supplier is B & M Supplies, 67A Compton Road, Birkdale,Southport. Phone: 01704 553 773E-Mail: [email protected]

How do I apply for a place onthe seminars?

By completing and returning an applicationform you will then be informed whether youhave been allocated a place on theseminar(s) of your choice.Places are allocated on a first come firstserved basis. Confirmation letters will besent out approx two weeks prior to theseminar date. For more information and toobtain an application form please contactthe Help! team on 0161 946 1193 or visittheir website: http://www.nas.org.ukOnce on the site, to access informationabout seminars click News and Events,then Conferences and Courses organisedby the NAS then Seminars andWorkshops, where you should scroll downto find the relevant information.Alternatively, you can write to:Help! Team,The National Autistic Society,Anglo House, Chapel Road,Northenden, Manchester. M22 4JN.

Managing anger in young people withAsperger syndromeThis is a practical seminar that focuses on communicationstrategies and dealing with difficult behaviour. It also looks atdealing with your son / daughter’s anger and some copingstrategies. In this seminar physical interventions will not becovered.The seminar is specifically aimed at those parents / carerswith children aged 8 – 16 years of age with a diagnosis ofAsperger syndrome or a child with an ASD who attends amainstream school. The seminar will be delivered by SuzieFranklin, help! Programme Officer, North West.Date: Monday 17th May 2010Venue: St. Nicholas’ Centre, 70 Church Road, Halewood,Liverpool. L26 6LA.Time: 10.30am – 2.30pm

Meeting your child’s sensory needsThis seminar is aimed at parents / carers of people aged 3-18 years who have a diagnosis of autism, Aspergersyndrome or autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). It offers achance to explore the effect the world has on your child’ssenses and uses activities that can help them deal with this.The seminar will be delivered by Suzie Franklin, help!Programme Officer, North West.Date: Friday 14th May 2010Venue: St. Nicholas’ Centre, 70 Church Road, Halewood,Liverpool. L26 6LA.Time: 10.30am – 2.30pm

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CerebraCerebra provides products and services that givepractical support and assistance to help directlyimprove the lives of children of 16 and under withbrain related conditions (both traumatic and acquired)and neurological problems. These problems manifestthemselves in conditions such as cerebral palsy,autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), epilepsy, learning

difficulties, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder(ADHD), behavioural and emotional problems ordevelopmental delay.They also provide information to parents and carersand professional practitioners who support the family,in order that they can optimise the quality of life oftheir child.The Cerebra Regional Officer for Liverpool is EmmaHayes. Emma is currently meeting up with localparents at the parent groups in Sefton.If you would like to know what other services Cerebracan offer and how they can help you, call their helpline on 0800 328 1159 or visit the following website:

Carers CardSeveral parents have asked about obtaining a“Carers Pass” to help Carers financially wherecard holders receive discounts or free entry.Currently in Sefton unless you are caring for anadult, one is not available. However you caneither use the “Carers Cinema ExhibitorsSupport Card” or carry the letter awarding CarersAllowance as evidence you are a carer.Several organisations such as the National Trustoffer companion’s free entry on an 'Admit One’

card. This card is made out in the name of thedisabled person, not the companions, so there isnot a restriction to taking the same person on eachvisit.To request an Admit One card, please email thename and full postal address of the disabledperson to: [email protected] forfurther details.Some organisations offer this facility but you haveto ask.

http://www.cerebra.org.uk/

Transport is the theme for the next Children’s Equipment Dayat the Liverpool Disabled Living Centre, Lifehouse, SummersRoad, Brunswick Business Park, Liverpool. L3 4BL. This will alsoinclude an opportunity to take a look at a range of car seats.Contact the centre for more details on 0151 296 7742 or visit thefollowing website:

http://www.liverpooldisabledlivingcentre.com/

Children’s Equipment and Information Day

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Community Legal Advice centres and networks provide independent andconfidential legal advice and representation services. They bringtogether a broad range of legal advice services to help you withproblems related to:

benefits and tax credits, debt, employment,housing, community care, family law.Free general legal advice is available at an initial appointment. Further,specialist advice is available if you are eligible for legal aid. Use the legalaid calculator on their website to find out if you can get free advice.For some problems you will not need to be eligible for legal aid toreceive specialist advice, although you may need to meet other criteria.You will be told about this at an initial appointment.For further information please ring 0845 345 4 345 or visit their website:

HaircuttingTraining Guide

This guide is a collaboration

between the American charity

Autism Speaks and a chain of

hair salons. Aims towards a

trauma-free process for children

with autism, whether visiting the

hairdressers or haircare at

home. For more information

please visit the following web

link: http://tinyurl.com/yzdxn5s

The SpecialsThe Specials is an excellent

online documentary series about

five young adult housemates,

four with Down syndrome and

one with Williams syndrome who

are making their way in the

world.http://the-special

s.com/

The National Blind

Children’s Society

Has a wide-ranging parent

support service for families of

children with a visual

impairment.

Telephone 0800 781 1444 or

visit their website

http://www.nbcs.org.uk/

Children and Teenagers

with AspergerSyndromeisbn 9781847479044

by Anna Van Der Post

This is a collection of parent’s

true stories of parenting children

with Aspergers syndrome.

Community Legal Advice

http://www.communitylegaladvice.org.uk/

Car Harnessessupplied byCrellingHarnesses LtdCrelling Harnesses is afriendly family basedcompany offering a fullrange of seatbelts andharnesses for children andadults with special needs.For more information pleasecall 01253 852 298 or visitthe following website:http://www.crelling.com/

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How well isSefton doing?The government has introduced anew system to measure how welllocal authorities in England areproviding services for local people.There are 198 measurements,called National Indicators (NIs),covering all services; for the firsttime there is a specific indicator fordisabled children’s services,(NI54). Health services have anequivalent set of indicators calledNHS Vital Signs.The data was collected through aquestionnaire to parents asking fortheir views of health, educationand care and family supportservices for their disabled child asexperienced in the last 12 months.The survey provides an overallnational score on parentalexperience (between 0 and 100)for 2009-10. The national overallscore increased from 59 points in2008-09 to 61 points in 2009-10.Based on returns from 204

families Sefton scored 62, justabove the national average.However, we do not think thatSefton will be very different to thenational picture. If this is the caseit will mean that Sefton scoredbetter on information, assessmentand transparency, with work beingrequired to improve participationand particularly feedback – that iskeeping parents and carers

informed throughout the process.If you have any queries regardingthe National Indicators andspecifically the National Indicatorfor disabled children (NI54),please contact Colin Oxley,Assistant Director - Inclusion,Sefton Children, Schools andFamilies on 0151 934 3128 or byEmail:[email protected]

Disabled Children’sInformation & Database(0-18 years)

Please complete the following information and return it to the addressbelow (left) and the Database Coordinator will contact you.

Child’s Name:

Date of Birth:

Parent/Carer Name:

Relationship to child:

Family Address:

Telephone:

Primary diagnosis:

Signature:

Date:

Referral Form

Database Coordinator

Christine Bates

Database Administrator

Glenda Foley

Sefton’s DisabledChildren’sInformation andDatabaseThe Good Shepherd Site

Sterrix Lane,Litherland. L21 0DA.

Tel: 0151 934 3853

Email: [email protected]

http://www.sefton.gov.uk/dcr

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What areShort breaks?

In addition, they provide parents and families with anecessary and valuable break from caringresponsibilities. Short breaks can take many forms,including daytime, evening, weekend and overnightactivities.The funding invested by the government to transformthe Short Breaks services is to provide fit for purposeand age appropriate provision, which ensures thefollowing groups are provided for:• Children and young people with an autistic

spectrum disorder (ASD)• Children and young people with complex health

needs, including those with a disability, life limitingconditions and those with palliative carerequirements.

• Children and young people aged 11+ with movingand handling needs that will require equipment andadaptations.

• Children and young people where challengingbehaviour is associated with other impairments(e.g. severe learning disability).

• Young people 14+ who are severely disabled.In Sefton, we want to ensure that disabled childrenand young people are able to access a wider rangeof those services which non-disabled children andyoung people participate in.We need to provide accessible community basedservices that are easy for children and young peopleto use. Specifically, we need to:• Provide good quality information about the services

that are available.• Make sure that children, young people and families

feel confident about using them.• Ensure that children, young people and families

can have their say in the design and delivery ofservices.

What’s happened so far?Children and young people have told us they want:• Outdoor Adventure Activities• Trips• Cycling• Clubs and groups with other young people• Horseriding• Computers• To have funIn response to this Positive Futures and SeftonResource Centre have been working together todeliver lots more fun filled group based activitiesincluding:• Crack Pots (pottery making)• X Factor• Panto• Underwater Street• Llamageddon (walking with Llamas)• Winter Wonderland Christmas shopping break with

over 200 people attending• Both projects have been on outward bound

residentials to the Conway Centre, Bendrigg Lodgeand Winmarleigh Hall

• The resource centre has been able to increasetheir weekly timetable to 7 sessions a weekincluding a monthly visit to specialist sessions atSplash World and 2 Saturday clubs.

• Positive Futures have been able to increase theirweekly sessions to 24 sessions (Mon-Sun)including 7 clubs run in partnership with SeftonYouth Service.

Short breaks provide disabled children and youngpeople with:• Positive and safe Places to Go, Things to Do• The opportunity to spend time with friendsand develop independence

• To experience new activities and events

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FamilyFun Day!Following on from the success of “WinterWonderland”, Sefton Resource Centre andPositive Futures are hosting an Easter themedfamily fun day on Monday 29th March at CrosbyLakeside Adventure Centre. This is also anopportunity to visit Sefton’s brand new disabilityspecialist water sports centre and learn moreabout the facilities on offer. For more informationplease call Positive Futures on 0151 285 5449.Positive Futures will be hosting another fun filledschool holiday programme over Easter, keepchecking www.moveitsefton.co.uk/positivefuturesfor details. The website also has details of allPositive Futures programmes including Plaza andSplashworld nights. If you would like to receiveelectronic updates of Positive Futures activitiesplease Email: [email protected] you will be added to the mailing list.For any queries regarding the AHDC TransformingShort Breaks agenda please call 0151 285 5445 orEmail: [email protected]

NewDevelopments• Kevin Leavitt from the Positive Futures team has

taken on the role of Development Officer for theCrosby Lakeside Adventure Centre and will befocussing on developing water-based activities fordisabled children and young people aged 5 – 24years. This is still in the very early stages ofdevelopment so look out for forthcoming groupsand events.

• 16 Children supported under the CommonAssessment Framework (CAF) have been able tobenefit from and access support services under theAiming High for Disabled Children (AHDC) projectsince October 2009.

• AHDC money has enabled Sefton CVS (Councilfor Voluntary Service) to develop a buddyingscheme for disabled young people aged 13-16yrs.A coordinator has been recruited who came intopost in early February 2010. We are aiming tomatch 40 young people in order to expand theirsocial and leisure opportunities outside schoolhours.

• We are also pleased to announce that Seftonsuccessfully bid for an additional £14,000 of ShortBreaks money for 2009/10. Christine Lenehan,Director of the Council for Disabled Children said:“I am delighted that additional money is beingmade available to local authorities who havealready made significant progress towardsdelivering an improved range of short breaks.These have been delivered in consultation withparents and children and are already transforminglives.”

A young person from Sefton enjoys a short breakin Anglesey with Positive Futures, activitiesincluded climbing, abseiling, zip wiring, ropecourses and canoeing - a first for many whoenjoyed the adventure!

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I had a great weekend. I went toBendrigg Trust an activity Centrein the Lake District. I went withfriends from school and club andPositive Futures. It was great fun. Itook some photos of the group andthe leaders took some of me.We went in a minibus. It was along journey but there was nosnow so we got there OK. We allhelped with making the meals. Iset the table and made somesandwiches. Then I enjoyed eatingthem.

My name isMartin Edwards and I livein Formby I am 18 yearsold and I go to Presfieldschool in Southport. I likegoing out, going to thetheatre and ManchesterUnited. I love to sing

and dance.

Profile: MartinEdwards

Here I am at the climbing wall in the Lake Districtwith my friends and workers from Positive Futures

Taking the ropes!

Here I am swinging from a helicopter during arecent trip to Brathey with the Saturday club

Mmmm! That sandwich hit the spot!

Martins News - January 2010On Saturday we went on theclimbing wall. It was high up but Iclimbed to the top. The archerywas good fun but I didn’t hit thetarget very much. We went cavingand had torches on our heads!On Sunday we went on the ropesand tried not to fall off! It was verywobbly but good fun. It was agreat weekend with my friends!

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One of the issues identified in Aiming High for DisabledChildren was that more work was needed to improve andco-ordinate services for disabled young people in transitionto adult life. To address this, the government announcedthe Transition Support Programme, which aims to raisethe standards of transition in all local areas.The Transition Support Programme is running over threeyears with £19m of funding committed between 2008 and2011. The programme is supported by the NationalTransition Support Team (NTST), National Strategies and

What is the Transition Support Programme?the Child Health and Maternity Partnership (CHaMP)working together.The National Transition Support Team has three mainroles:• Drive and shape the programme in local areas through

work with regional advisers and disabled young peopleand their families.

• Engage with and exchange good practice in transitionthrough websites, targeted information sheets and otherresources to help build capacity.

• Identify the support needs of local areas and work inpartnership with regional advisers, the Department forChildren, Schools and Families (DCSF) and theDepartment of Health to improve transition practice.

The National Transition Support Team, National Strategiesand CHaMP have developed three offers of support forlocal areas in order to help them improve outcomes fordisabled young people. All local areas complete an annualself-assessment questionnaire (SAQ) and have beenmatched to a tailored offer of support to help them improvetheir processes, transition support and the experience ofdisabled young people.On completion of the self-assessment questionnaire inJanuary 2009, Sefton was awarded £10,000 and regionaladvisor support. We have recently completed the Year 2SAQ and are awaiting the outcome of this.For more information, please contact Sophie Thomson,Transitions Coordinator on 0151 934 3830 or by Email:[email protected] or Kath Corbin,Transitions Coordinator on 0151 934 3845 or by Email:[email protected]

On October 15th over 200 young people, families andinterested professionals attended the Next Steps careersevent for young people with disabilities, held at DunesSplashworld in Southport. The event was organised byTransitions Coordinators, Sophie Thomson and KathCorbin to ensure young people have access to informationand support that helps them reach their goals, enjoy theirlife and play a full and active role in society.Sixty exhibitors attended the event, providing informationabout post-school services and opportunities to the youngpeople and their families. Organisations present included:Job Centre Plus; Connexions; Hugh Baird College;Southport College; Positive Futures and training providers.The event also provided young people with a chance torelax and enjoy themselves, with students from Rowan

Park School making fruit smoothies for visitors andPositive Futures providing a climbing wall and interactivecyber coach.For more information please contact Sophie Thomson,Transitions Coordinator on 0151 934 3830 or by Email:[email protected] or Kath Corbin,Transitions Coordinator on 0151 934 3845 or by Email:[email protected]

Next Steps

A young volunteer at the NextSteps Transitions event for

disabled young people in Sefton

Pupils from Rowan Park atthe Next Steps event.

Young people enjoy the Transition Challenge withConnexions Greater Merseyside and Merseyside Fireand Rescue

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SeftonParentForumSince the launch of the Parent Forum in September2009 it has been gathering strength in numbers.There have been 4 further meetings to discuss andagree to :-

• Terms of Reference• Mission Statement• Name and logo of the forum• Roles and responsibilities offorum members

• Training proposals• Identify the strategic groups thatwould benefit from parentrepresentatives attending

• Establish the priority of parentsand voice their concerns

Training and preparation for parents toattend strategic planning groups has beenset as one of the priorities by the groupand Sefton Parent Partnership haveagreed to deliver a 7 week programme formembers of the focus group.

The dates have been agreed as:- the 1st,8th, 15th and 22nd March, the 12th, 19th,26th of April. There are currently 10members of the forum who would like toaccess the training.

Sheila and Samantha of the Parent Forum attend theTogether for Disabled Children event at the ParentParticipation Strategy Workshop on 8th March

Meeting dates have beenset until June.For details of the venues and times etc. pleasecontact Sue Neal (contact details below). We aretrying to establish a venue that is accessible to asmany parents as possible and are looking around theborough for the most suitable place. Meeting dateswill be as follows:-

12th April, 12th May and 15th June 2010.

Would you like to getinvolved?Anyone that is a parent or carer of a disabled childliving in Sefton can join.If you would like assistance in getting to the venue orwith childcare or childcare costs or would like moredetails on the forum please contact Susan Neal atSefton Carers Centre on 0151 288 6060 or by Email:[email protected]

You can join the P.A.C.T.S. FaceBook group, as wellas FaceBook groups for parents with children whohave additional needs; these groups are calledSpecial Time and Special Place.

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The Parent Partnership Service (PPS) offerinformation, advice and support to parentsand carers of children and young peoplewith special educational needs (SEN).The Parent Partnership Service is a statutory serviceand is funded, resourced, managed and monitoredby Sefton Children, Schools and Families(CSF). The service is run at arms length fromthe local authority to guarantee independence.We are setting up a steering group to look at thenational PPS standards and to offer our parentpartnership team help to achieve these.

In Sefton we have two Parent PartnershipOfficers – Christine Saunders and Wendy Colton.They provide neutral information on the roles andresponsibilities within the SEN process so thatparents / carers can be proactive in their child’seducation. They support parents by attendingmeetings with them so that they can feel moreconfident, will help with filling in forms and provide helpand advice about admissions and exclusions. SeftonPPS offer training to parents and professionals alike inareas such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder(ADHD), autism and speaking about sex to your child(speakeasy) for example.

Both Wendy and Chris are trained mediators who canmediate between parents, schools and the localauthority. The Parent Partnership is based at the GoodShepherd site on Sterrix Lane in Litherland. If youwould like more information, they can be contacted on0151 291 0551 or by Email:[email protected]

Sefton ParentPartnershipService

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DCATCH(Disabled Children’s Access

to Childcare)

The Sefton DCATCH pilot is a project toenable parents / carers of disabledchildren and young people, aged 0-19years, to access high quality, affordableand inclusive childcare.We have agreed to set up an intensive trainingprogramme including training Children's Centre staffabout special needs and disabilities and helping thembetter understand early identification, referral andtransition processes.

We are also linking with the Short Breaks programme toplan for summer holiday childcare for children and youngpeople with complex needs. Again this will involvemaking sure staff understand and can meet thesecomplex needs.

Through the pilot we want to support parents / carerswho wish to either remain in work, take up newemployment (paid or voluntary), or to attend training thatmay lead to work.

DCATCH has also received the following praise:

"The childcare project is essential to working parents. I'ma single mum who has to work full-time and would havelost my job without this scheme, its fantastic".

"The training, inclusive resources and funding providedby DCATCH have enhanced our club's support forchildren with disabilities". (L30 Out of School Club)

If you think DCATCH could support your family or youwould like to hear more about the project, contact WendyMann and the DCATCH team on 01704 88 2850.

ARE YOU MOVING?Don't forget to let us know your new address for you to continue to receive Aiming High

Please contact Christine Bates, Database Coordinator, Sefton's Disabled Children's Information andDatabase on 0151 934 3853 or by Email: [email protected]

Aiming High For Disabled Children: Issue 1

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Transcript of Aiming High For Disabled Children: Issue 1