SHORT BREAK SERVICES STATEMENT EAST RIDING OF YORKSHIRE

Transcription

1 SHORT BREAK SERVICES STATEMENT EAST RIDING OF YORKSHIRE For families with disabled children and young people Tel: (01482) E: W: fish.eastriding.gov.uk

2 What is a short break? Regulations relating to short breaks came into force on 1 April 2011, and require each local authority to produce a Short Breaks Services Statement, so that families know what services are available, the eligibility criteria for these services, and how the range of services is designed to meet the needs of families with disabled children in their area. The summary of the regulations can be seen at appendix 1. There are many different ways to provide short breaks and in the East Riding of Yorkshire the focus is on the provision of group based and flexible individual activities rather than on the more expensive residential and family based care provision. Short breaks provide disabled children and young people with an opportunity to spend time away from their parents, relaxing and having fun with their friends. They provide families with a break from their caring responsibilities; they give parents a chance to unwind, rest or spend time with other children. Information on short breaks for children and young people can be seen at appendix 2. Depending on the needs of the child short breaks come in a variety of formats and could be for just a few hours to a few days, or occasionally longer. They can take place in a range of community, childcare or leisure setting, the child s own home, the home of an approved carer or a residential setting, which could be at a school. Short break activities can take place during the day, evening, overnight and weekend. Short breaks should be: Positive, enjoyable and appropriate experiences for disabled children and young people Accessible all children and young people should be able to access universal services. However, depending on individual need some children and young people may require additional support A break from caring responsibilities for families Flexible and at the times that children and young people and their families most need the breaks, for example during the school holidays and at weekends 2

3 Am I eligible for short breaks? Eligibility If you are the parent, or primary carers for a child, who is aged between 0 18 years old with a disability, you may be entitled to short breaks. Under the Equality Act 2010 a person has a disability if they have a physical or mental impairment and the impairment has substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to perform normal day-today activities. See appendix 3 for further information. Eligibility decisions are fundamentally based on assessed, individual need and professional judgement and not all children and families will require the same level of support and short break. Some children will be able to access universal services without additional support. Others may need some additional support because of the nature of their needs. A small number of children may need more specialist support because of the severity of their disabilities and individual family circumstances. Universal Services For all children and young people Targeted Services For children with additional needs Specialist Services For children with severe and complex disabilities To ensure that families with the highest levels of need have access to the support there is a clearly defined threshold and eligibility criteria. For accessing specialist services an assessment is undertaken, which will consider the child s needs as well as the needs of the parent carer and the family. The East Riding children s specialist services panel meets monthly to ensure there is clear, equitable, and transparent decision making in relation to allocating specialist resources. This is based on the needs of disabled children and young people. The panel is a multi agency group including representatives from children s social care, Special Educational Needs team (SEN), school residences, health and the voluntary sector. Case Study My son attends Aspire sports club for disabled young people. Aspire is a lifeline to us. My son is now mixing with other children and holding his own. It has given him more confidence and he settles into group situations more quickly. It gives me the opportunity to sit and chat to other parents in the same situation. We share information, make friends and support each other. 3

4 THRESHOLD OF NEED AND EARLY SUPPORT Children and families may experience a range of needs at different times in their lives. All children, including children with additional needs, should have access to high quality universal services. However, for some children with additional needs they will require targeted support from education, health, children s social care and other services. Within the group of children with additional needs, a small proportion have more significant or complex needs which meet the threshold for intervention by statutory and specialist services. A threshold is the point at which we weigh up what is happening and what action is needed in order to meet a child s needs. Every Child Matters: Change For Children published in November 2004 emphasised that no single agency could be responsible for meeting the needs of all children and families. Key features identified in the publication include combined working with families and ensuring early help which addresses the additional needs of children and young people. All parents have the right to information, to enable them to ensure that their children grow up adequately cared for and safe from harm. Where families and children have particular needs, which require services to achieve or maintain a reasonable standard of health or development, a range of extra support and services should be available. When there is a difference of opinion between parents and children about support and in decisions relating to their future, the child s best interest must be given primary consideration. The threshold of need and early support document can be accessed though the Look ahead pages on the Families Information Service Hub (FISH) website. 4

5 How can I access information about short break services? What short break services are available? The lists below, for universal, targeted and specialist services are just some of the organisations that may be able to support children with additional needs. An assessment may be required to access some services and therefore in the first instance you should always contact FISH on (01482) Universal Services for all children and young people Childcare: There are various Ofsted childcare settings and childminders across the East Riding of Yorkshire. Early Years: All 3 and 4 year olds are entitled to 15 hours of free early education at a range of settings including nursery schools and classes, day nurseries, play pre-schools and child minders. ERVAS: East Riding Voluntary Action Services provides support and development services to the voluntary and community sector throughout the East Riding of Yorkshire. The service also has links to groups, organisations, activities and services available throughout the East Riding. FISH: The Families Information Service Hub provides a family information service and have access to information about events and clubs in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Health: The NHS, East Riding of Yorkshire provides a number of community services including children s nurses, health visitors, and school nurses, palliative care and therapy services. Schools out: Each July the schools out brochure is published, packed with exciting activities to keep children and young people entertained during the long summer holidays. Case Study Relocating to support the health and welfare of both our boys who have Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) was a dream however to do this effectively would not have been possible without the positive support from, our locality information officer (LIO). The LIO encouraged me to attend a local support group where parents and carers could listen to guest speakers, share tips, maybe even give advice to someone. Anyone can become isolated, There s always it s a no friendly good voice saying on there s nothing other out end there waiting if to you signpost don t pick you up in the phone right and direction call FISH. they re the yellow pages for people with additional needs. Whatever your diagnosis, FISH have a wealth of information to share that empowers parents to access services to support individual needs, enabling every young person to reach their full potential. 5

6 Targeted Services for children with additional needs All Stars provides activities for 12 to 19 year olds with additional needs, at venues across the East Riding of Yorkshire. Aspire is a disability sports club that is established in areas across the East Riding of Yorkshire and has been jointly developed with the leisure centres. Each club delivers a range of activities for 5 to 18 year olds. FASP The freedom activity support payment is a personal budget up to a maximum of 500 which can be used to deliver a variety of support services and activities to suit each families own circumstances. Schools out Each July the schools out brochure is published packed with exciting activities including dance, football and trampolining for disabled children aged 4 and over. Locality Information Officers improve information provision to families where there is a child aged 0 to 19 with additional needs, ensuring families receive timely, up-to-date information, as early as possible. Specialist Services for children with severe and complex disabilities Allied Healthcare provides practical support to disabled children and young people with severe and complex needs whose family are in crisis. Barnardo s provide a short break service for disabled children who have severe and complex needs. Direct Payments allows eligible families to purchase their own services including employing a worker so the family can have a short break. St Anne s and Kings Mill schools provide overnight short breaks for children and young people with severe and complex needs that are on the school roll. Sunshine House provides care for children aged 0-18 years who have a clinical nursing need. These children include those with life limiting conditions, complex health needs, post-operative recuperation and palliative care. The above list is just some of the services available in the East Riding of Yorkshire and is not intended to be a comprehensive list. All children will be offered a universal service. Children can access targeted and/or specialist services following assessment. For further details and information on the services above and other services, please contact the FISH Team on (01482)

7 Is there a cost? Attendance at some activities and services may incur a cost which you would expect to pay for any child. However you should not be expected to pay anything additional to attend the activity because of your child s needs. Additional support that a disabled child may need to be included in activities should not be at an extra cost to the family. Some families who receive direct payments use this to allow them to have a short break. Also in 2012 the freedom activity support payment (FASP) was introduced to families. This is a personal budget up to a maximum of 500. It provides families with the flexibility to choose and pay for support for their child with additional needs, in order to access social and leisure activities. If you require support with FASP or you would like more information on FASP, please contact the FISH Team. Children and young people who receive a specialist service, as per the description on page 6, will not be eligible for FASP. However if you are unsure you should contact FISH on (01482) Additionally, families can pool their FASP monies together and use their own resources, including any benefits in respect of the disabled child, to purchase additional short breaks if they choose to do so. Case Study Freedom Activity Support Payment As a parent of a child on the autistic spectrum, I have found it difficult to enrol my son in activities and clubs due to his challenging behaviour and the organiser s lack of understanding of his condition and managing the behaviour. The FASP has been liberating and beneficial for both me and my son. I have used the money to pay for someone to help with the house work which frees me to support my son. He doesn t like the smell of cleaning products and gets distressed at the sight and sound of the vacuum cleaner, so this is done while we are out at Cubs, Aspire and summer activities. Since I have started supporting my son at activities, I have made friends with and found support from other parent carers and I have had the enjoyment of watching my son try new activities such as camping, rock climbing, archery, canoeing and rafting. He is growing in confidence, improving his social skills and even 7 making friends.

8 Do you provide transport? It is hoped that short breaks are available as locally as possible, and some are provided in the home, which limits the need for transport. However, if transport is necessary it is expected that parent carers will take their child to and from short breaks as they would be expected to do for any child. If this is not possible the family are encouraged to discuss this with their lead professional to enable other options to be explored. For those disabled children who have overnight short breaks then sometimes home to school transport can be used (term time only). Families that are eligible could consider using their FASP towards the cost of travel expenses. The Futures+ team work with young people aged 14 and over. The team can help with transition to adulthood and can arrange independent travel training. For further information the team can be contacted on (01482)

9 Transition to adulthood It is vital that short breaks address the transition needs of young people moving from children s to adult services. Although it should be noted that adult services have different thresholds. Short breaks for disabled young people should provide opportunities for them to extend their independence and life skills and support them to lead ordinary lives enjoying and contributing to everyday activities. A multi-agency transition group meets on a monthly basis to support this. The group is made up of representatives from youth support service, children s disability team, health, futures+, adult disability team, education and the commissioning unit. Families can attend the transition event that is held annually in the East Riding of Yorkshire. This is coordinated by the FISH team. Workforce Development The local authority provides support to all childcare settings through training and guidance. This is in order to give the childcare settings the required skills and develop inclusive practice to meet the needs of all children. There is an expectation that all commissioned services attend the training opportunities that are available for example safeguarding disabled children. Comments from families about short breaks Since having a short break, my son has improved with his behaviour, especially when going out. The support from the provider is going well, the boys attend activities such as bowling, which gives us a short break during the week. We use direct payments which allows our son to access activities with his siblings. This has made a difference to us as a family and gives us a rest from our caring role. Our daughter can now access community activities and develop her social interaction skills.this gives us a short break and means we can complete normal activities such as the weekly food shop. 9

10 INFORMATION ABOUT SHORT BREAKS Alongside the provision of short breaks it is essential that families have access to timely, accurate information about support and services. Families told us they need a one-stop shop for information and FISH are responsible for promoting this. They promote and publicise the full range of services available to families and work with providers to ensure good quality information is available, which includes details about accessibility. FISH coordinate Look Ahead services, which has over 1000 children with additional needs registered. The database is used to ensure parent carers receive timely information and to invite them to regular events to hear more about services and support available. Despite this, families still told us that they found it difficult to find out what is available in their local area; therefore since September 2010, three FISH locality information officers have been in post. The locality information officers provide a bespoke information service to parent carers of children with additional needs and work throughout the East Riding to let them know what is available locally. They also co-ordinate workshops for parent and carers to get together and, as well as going along to existing parent and carer support groups, have helped new groups to set up. FISH also facilitates an information group which includes parent carer members of East Riding Voices in Partnership (ERVIP) and fulfils a crucial role in checking leaflets and other documents to ensure they are parent friendly and not full of jargon. 10

11 DELIVERING SHORT BREAK SERVICES IN THE FUTURE Universal services These services will continue in the current format. Details of universal services can be obtained by contacting FISH. Case Study - FISH The school put me in touch with FISH, which was the best thing I could have ever done. I have received support from them and been put in touch with various activity groups that support my son to help rebuild his self-esteem and be in environments where he can just be himself. FISH put me in touch with a group called Run Ahead based in Goole once a month. My son loves it there so much he said it is the best place we ever go to. It is a fun, friendly and a safe environment for children with special needs. Targeted Services The FASP will continue to enable families to make their own choices and access a range of options to use the personal budget flexibly for support as required. If disabled children are already receiving specialist short breaks or similar services provided or funded by East Riding of Yorkshire Council they will not be eligible for FASP. It is only in exceptional circumstances that children aged 5 or under would receive the FASP, as any child aged 5 or under will require a high level of care from their parents or carers and be able to access their local children s centre for family support. East Riding Voluntary Action Services (ERVAS) work closely with providers, and new organisations to develop the market. They will continue to ensure that services are of the highest possible quality, that meet the needs identified, at the most efficient cost. This will ensure the services are available for families to access, using their FASP. Specialist Services In the coming year the intention is to maintain the current level and range of specialist short breaks provision and continue to make effective use of the East Riding children s specialist services resource panel. The East Riding fostering service works in partnership with the children s disability team to develop family based short breaks with foster carers. We will continue to improve the transition process between children s and adults social care services. Following the introduction of the FASP for targeted services, we will explore the use of personal budgets in specialist services. 11

12 Evaluation of Short Breaks Services Statement This is the first review of the 2011 short breaks statement and was completed following meetings of a working group which consisted of the following members: Joint commissioning manager, women and children s services NHS East Riding of Yorkshire Children s trust manager children s participation and rights team FISH information officer families information service hub Quality compliance officer commissioning and development team Further feedback and consultation was sought from families, Impact, FISH, children s rights and participation group, ERVIP members and the ERVIP information group, commissioners from the local authority and health. The lead officer responsible for the short breaks statement is the children s commissioning and development manager for targeted and specialist services. This statement was presented to and endorsed by the East Riding children s trust management team in October The next review of this statement will take place in Glossary of terms ERVAS ERVAS provides support and development services to the Voluntary and Community sector throughout the East Riding of Yorkshire. ERVIP A parent led group to represent views on services and provision for children with additional needs. FASP The freedom activity support payment is a personal budget up to a maximum of 500 for children with additional needs due to their disability. FISH The Families Information Service Hub (FISH) is a free and impartial information service for children, young people, families and the people who support them. IMPACT- Impact is one of the special educational needs and disability (SEND) delivery partners appointed by the Department for Education in Autumn As the delivery partner for short breaks, Impact is working with all 152 local authorities in England to embed and sustain short breaks for disabled children and their parents and carers. LIO Locality information officers, provide a bespoke information service to parent carers of children with additional needs and work throughout the East Riding to let parent carers know what is available locally. SEN - Children have special educational needs if they have a learning difficulty which calls for special educational provision to be made for them. 12

13 Appendix 1 Summary of the Breaks for Carers of Disabled Children Regulations 2011 Paragraph 6(1)(c) of Schedule 2 to the Children Act 1989 requires Local Authorities to provide services designed to give breaks for carers of disabled children. In order to meet the requirements of the regulations, Local Authorities must have regard to the needs of carers* in respect of their capacity to care for, or continue to care for, their disabled** child, and must provide a range of services designed to meet this need. A Short Break Services Statement must also be prepared and published. Local Authorities must take into account the needs of carers who would: be unable to continue caring for their child unless breaks from caring were given; or Who would be able to give more effective care if breaks were given to allow them to, for example, attend educational classes or work, meet the needs of other children in the family, or carry out necessary day-to-day tasks in the household. Local Authorities must, so far as is reasonably practicable, provide a range of services sufficient to meet the needs of carers to care, or care more effectively, including: Day care in the child s own home and elsewhere Overnight care in the child s own home and elsewhere Educational or leisure activities for children outside their own homes Services in the evenings, at weekends and during school holidays. Local Authorities must prepare a statement for carers in their area setting out: the range of services available; any eligibility criteria for these services; and how the range of services is designed to meet the needs of carers. This statement must: be published by 1 October 2011 on the Local Authority website be kept under review and, where appropriate, revised be prepared and reviewed with regard to the views of carers in the area. A copy of The Breaks for Carers of Disabled Children Regulations 2011 can be downloaded from * Carer means a person who cares for a disabled child and who is the child s parent or a person who has parental responsibility for that child. ** Disabled has the meaning given in section 17(11) of the 1989 Act. 13

14 Appendix 2 Information for children and young people Short Breaks A short break gives you the chance to have fun, spend some time away from your parents or carers and make new friends A short break can be for just a few hours or a few days, or longer. This depends on what is best for you and your family A short break can be at your home or someone else s home. It may be at a club or a school hostel, or somewhere else You will have a say about whether you would like to go on a short break. There are people you can talk to if you want more information Children s Participation and Rights Team, Anlaby Children s Centre, Anlaby, HU10 6UE Tel: (01482) rights4u@eastriding.gov.uk

15 What young people say about short breaks I like going because I get to play I spend a night a week away at hostel. It is good. I have friends there and the staff are kind. I go to a club one evening a week too. I learn new things and my best friend goes I go to a youth club. I go because I have lots of fun there. Some other people go from my school too who are my friends I like school residence because I get to stay for 2 nights and play! We have a pool table, a big TV, a Wii games console and books. The food is nice and I have fun

16 Appendix 3 Disability and the Equality Act 2010 All services have a commitment to equal access and also have a legal obligation to ensure access and inclusion. From 1 October 2010, the Equality Act replaced most of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). However, the Disability Equality Duty in the DDA continues to apply. Equality Act 2010 The Equality Act 2010 aims to protect disabled people and prevent disability discrimination. It provides legal rights for disabled people in the areas of: employment education access to goods, services and facilities including larger private clubs and land based transport services buying and renting land or property functions of public bodies, for example the issuing of licences. The Equality Act also provides rights for people not to be directly discriminated against or harassed because they have an association with a disabled person. This can apply to a carer or parent of a disabled person. In addition, people must not be directly discriminated against or harassed because they are wrongly perceived to be disabled. More information about the Equality Act, and how you can obtain copies of the Act, can be found on the Government Equalities Office website. The definition of disability under the Equality Act 2010 In the Act, a person has a disability if: they have a physical or mental impairment the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to perform normal day-to-day activities. For the purposes of the Act, these words have the following meanings: substantial means more than minor or trivial long-term means that the effect of the impairment has lasted or is likely to last for at least twelve months (there are special rules covering recurring or fluctuating conditions) normal day-to-day activities include everyday things like eating, washing, walking and going shopping. People who have had a disability in the past that meets this definition are also protected by the Act. 16

17 East Riding of Yorkshire Council will, on request, provide this document in If Braille, English is not audio your or first language large print and you would format. like a translation of this document into any other language, please telephone (01482)