Aiming High for Disabled Children
Latest News
Learn about our Short Breaks Offer, complete our Lead Professional Questionnaire or contact us for more information
Current consultation:
Hampshire County Council has recently concluded a consultation process, designed to hear the views of the parents and carers of disabled young people on the ‘eligibility criteria’ used to determine access to some specialist social care services.
Summary:
National Three year (2008 - 2011) transformation programme to improve services for disabled children and young people.
Hampshire County Council will receive £4.5million revenue and £1.5 million capital funding.
Vision:
For all families with disabled children to have the support they need to live ordinary family lives, as a matter of course through improving:
Access and empowerment
Responsive services and timely support
Improving quality and capacity
The Programme:
·A Core Offer ( Information, Transparency, Participation, Assessment, Feedback )
·A Full Service Offer.
In Hampshire:
Hampshire County Council Children's Services Department launched its Aiming High for Disabled Children Commissioning Strategy at an Family Fun Event for Parents, Carers, Children and Young People on 22nd November 2008. Four main features of the Commisioning Strategy:
1. Improving Disabled Children and Young People’s access to universal services.
2. Supporting parents and carers by developing Information and Participation networks.
3. A Targeted Short-break offer for those attending special schools and those claiming higher rate care and /or higher rate mobility Disability Living Allowance. This offer comprises making available 5 days holiday play-scheme per year, and one session every other week at an evening or week end activity.
4. To support those with severe and complex needs, improvements will be made to overnight short-breaks, and care supports within the home ( and out of) including through use of direct payments.
In due course, Hampshire County Council Children Services will be consulting on a revised Eligiblity Criteria for Disabled Children & Young People access to Specialist Social Care Services, please click on this link to access HCC Consultation pages for more information.
If you would like to find out more about services available for you in Hampshire, or you would like to chat with other parents and carers, why not visit the ParentVoice website? This is packed full of useful information including upcoming events, Frequently Asked Questions, and a discussion forum for carers.
Click on the link below to download the Hampshire Schoolgate Directory. This is packed full of information on clubs and activities for disabled children throughout Hampshire. There is sure to be-something for your child.
If you are aware of a club or an activity provider which is not in the Schoolgate, please fill in the attached questionnaire and return it to the contact address supplied on the form. This will improve the information available to all families in Hampshire.
the_schoolgate_june_09__3_.pdf
hcc_access_questionnaire__2_.doc
Joining our Parents and Carers Forum is another great way to have your voice heard and to influence the services that will be provided for Hampshire families over the next three years. The group meets once a month, and is run by parents, for parents.
Lead Professional Questionnaire
The Aiming High Team wants your help to find out how well the Lead Professional role for disabled children is working in practice. We have put together a questionnaire and we are sending it out widely so that you can tell us about your experiences of the Lead Professional role and how it has helped both professionals and families
What is a Lead Professional?
A Lead Professional, or Key Worker, is someone who takes the lead to be a single point of contact for a child and their family. They co-ordinate the provision from the range of services involved with that child or family. Services involved may come from: Social Workers, Occupational Therapists, Connexions, School, Health etc.
Hampshire County Council is signed up to the Every Disabled Child Matters Charter which states that there should be "A key worker service in the local authority providing support to families who are accessing more than one specialist service".
What will we do with the feedback from the questionnaires?
A number of pilots are running across different sectors (Early Years, Connexions / Transitions, Social Care and Health teams, SLD Special Schools) to identify the key elements of the Lead Professional role with disabled children and their parent /carers. The steering group for these pilots is keen to get feedback from users and professionals. A workshop is planned for this autumn at which the feedback from the pilots and the questionnaires will be presented.
Your opinions are valuable and will help us develop the better integrated working that so many of you asked for in our Aiming High consultation events.
Please click on the link below to download a questionnaire.
Please send completed forms by email to emma.stanbury@hants.gov.uk or by post to Emma Stanbury, 1st Floor, Ashburton Court East, The Castle, Winchester, Hampshire, S023 8UG by Wednesday, July 15th 2009.
More details about Hampshire’s programme will be published in 2009.
To find out more about Hampshire's Aiming High programme, or the Parents and Carers forum:
Email: disabled.children@hants.gov.uk or phone: 01962 846399
