International Journal of Leadership in the Public Sector. Bogg, D Social model returns to drugs misuse services. The impact of the Equality Agenda on personalised mental health. Mental Health Today, 10 3 , Bogg, D The Bigger Picture: Mental Health Today, 9 10 , Mental Health Today, 9 9 , New Horizons in mental health care. Mental Health Today, 9 8 , The Role of User-led Organisations in Personalisation.
Mental Health Today, 9 6 , Personalisation as a whole systems approach. Mental Health Today, 9 4 , Safeguarding and Mental Health. Mental Health Today, 9 3 , The credit crunch and employment schemes. Mental Health Today, 9 1 , Advancing Practice in Bedfordshire, 5 3 , — Recovery Outcomes and Personalised Care. Mental Health Today, 8 9 , Advancing Practice in Bedfordshire, 5 2 , 80 — Mental Health Today, 8 7 , Advancing Practice in Bedfordshire, 5 1 , 26 — Bogg, D Social Work Supervision: The Pathway to a Good Practice.
Social workers use local criteria for who can get support and decide whether a child or young person and their family are eligible for social care. Local Authorities have a duty to offer anyone eligible for social care four options about how their support is delivered: You can choose a mixture of these previous three options for different parts of your social care support.. By giving families greater choice and control over care support, this self-directed approach is designed to ensure that what matters to the child is central to every decision made. To search for advice by local authority area, visit the Self-Directed Support directory Search for Support.
Fraser has muscular dystrophy and uses a wheelchair. His parents cared for him on their own without any extended family support. Through Self-directed Support the family have hired personal assistants. Through a centre he attends, he met Paul, a peer who has the same condition and is also in receipt of SDS funding. The boys asked to combine their resources and have a weekend away. The boys had a fantastic weekend away in Amsterdam, without SDS this would not have been possible. Fraser can now enjoy socialising like everyone else, going out to cafes as he has his PA to assist him.
Changes in approach to social care are an on-going process: To support this change the Scottish Government has provided assistance to help local authorities and partner organisations. They have published the Self-directed Support Strategy Implementation Plan in collaboration with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities which is the representative body for local authorities , Self Directed Support Scotland , Social Work Scotland , and a number of other important organisations.
The strategy seeks to prioritise choice for children, young people and their families and improve quality of life. Allied health professionals AHP s provide treatment and help rehabilitate children who are ill, have disabilities or additional needs, to live life as fully as possible. They often work in the independent sector and for charities.
Twelve diverse professions are listed under the AHP umbrella: Pharmacists also play a key role in the NHS. Sleep Scotland has worked throughout Scotland developing sleep services and providing intensive sleep programmes for children with additional support needs by training sleep counsellors to work directly with families in need of sleep support. Adam is a 7 year old boy on the autistic spectrum with learning difficulties. Adam wakes continually through the night, and is often ready to start his day at 2am.
His mother, Dina, is exhausted. She also has 2 other children to care for, and a part-time job. Dina is working with 2 sleep counsellors from Sleep Scotland. They have supported Dina throughout the period to implement this programme. Family fund conduct various types of research on sleep issues and how best to support children and families who face them.
Much of this research has gone towards producing a website called Tired Out , which provides information, advice and resources on sleep support.
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- The Pocketbook Guide to Applying a Personalised Approach to Eligibility Criteria.
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The NHS Inform website and helpline are the best way to access information on health, treatments, patient rights and long term conditions. I want to know more about Palliative and End of Life Care: The Strategic Framework for Action on Palliative and End of Life Care sets out the vision that by everyone in Scotland who needs palliative care will have access, with associated outcomes and commitments to support improvements in the delivery of palliative and end of life care.
Social workers will want to discuss what is important to your child and family, what goals to set for care; including how support will improve quality of life. Social workers will help families agree upon what support options are best suited to achieving this. After a social worker has confirmed that an individual is eligible for support, the family will have a discussion with them in which they can expect several key areas to be addressed. The Scottish Government is committed to continuous improvement of services provided to all children and young people.
One of the distinctive features of the programme is its commitment to compiling the best evidence about the circumstances, characteristics and experiences of children and young people. Scottish Government funded charity, Contact, has a resource centre with advice for families focused on health and social care. If you are unhappy with NHS services you have a right to make a complaint, raise a concern, give comments and give feedback. There are two main stages of dealing with complaints:.
The NHS aims to resolve complaints quickly. If possible, this could mean immediate action to resolve the problem. However, it is sometimes necessary to make enquiries before responding to a complaint. They aim to provide a decision at Stage one within five working days or less, unless there are exceptional circumstances.
If this is the case, the NHS will explain why your complaint cannot be resolved and offer advice on what to do next. They may suggest that you take your complaint to the next stage. This deals with two types of complaint; those which are more complex and require a detailed investigation; and those which have not been resolved at Stage one.
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The NHS aims to deal with these within 20 working days. You can also complain by phone, email or in writing. For details on how to contact your local NHS board, visit their website. If you are uncomfortable with complaining directly, a representative of your choosing, such as a relative, friend, carer or advocate can make the complaint on your behalf.
If you have followed this procedure and are not satisfied with the way in which your complaint has been managed, you can contact the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman SPSO , who have published a helpful guide to making complaints, which you can access here. The principles of Getting It Right For Every Child ensure that mental health and wellbeing needs of disabled children and young people are also prioritised. Some mental health conditions cause disability, while poor mental health can also be experienced as a result of an impairment or long-term condition.
The Mental Health Strategy will work on achieving parity between mental and physical health. They assess and treat children and young people, including those with disabilities, who have mental health, emotional or behavioural difficulties. The local teams can be made up of nurses, psychologists, social workers and other professionals. The Scottish Government is working with partners from the public and third sector to produce a year Child and Adolescent Health and Wellbeing Action Plan which will cover both physical and mental wellbeing.
It will take a cross-policy, rights based approach and will be published during , the Year of Young People. Ensuring that children across Scotland receive the best possible support and access to bereavement services is of great importance. There are many avenues through which children and their families can access bereavement support.
Breathing Space is a national mental health support information service and helpline for Scotland. Bringing up, and caring for, a disabled child can and should be a positive and rewarding experience. It is crucial that such families are supported at an early stage to enable them to cope with the stresses and demands of their particular caring role, and to look after their own health and wellbeing. For families wondering where to start, the Scottish Government funds Care Information Scotland which also runs a Helpline on Family members may need access to their own practical and emotional support.
To achieve this, the Scottish Government has been clear that we need to accelerate the pace of change so that both adult carers and young carers are wholly supported. The Carers Scotland Act came into effect from April This legislation brings new rights and support for carers — ensuring that they can continue to support, in better health and have a life alongside caring.
Some of the provisions in the Act include: FFWS works with employers, families, government and others to promote a culture of employment that is flexible and family friendly. Their key aim is to encourage employers to provide flexible working options and to ensure that all employees have good long-term employment prospects and posts that reflect their abilities. The work of FFWS is of particular benefit to those with caring responsibilities, who often need to work flexibly. Refreshed Scottish Good Practice Guidelines for Supporting Parents with a Learning Disability aim to improve the lives of people with learning disabilities.
NHS Health Scotland is committed to providing accessible information to advance equality and reduce discrimination. These are available as an alternative to or as well as Ready Steady Baby! Right Click is an online programme for families of individuals on the autism spectrum who are in particular need of information and support.
The service is administered by Scottish Autism who also have an advice line and various family support services. What support is available for parents of children with complex and exceptional healthcare needs? There are a number of useful services and resources to support you in caring for a child or young person with complex or exceptional needs.
Each network designs pathways of care with the aim of providing all patients and their families with equal access to the highest standard of care, regardless of where they live in Scotland. CEN works specifically on providing these services for children with complex and exceptional healthcare needs. Their website has a number of useful resources for both healthcare professionals, carers and families, such as information on transitions and signposts to other helpful services.
They have also put together a booklet for parents and carers of children with exceptional healthcare needs which offers practical and emotional support on a number of issues. Discovering that your baby or child has complex healthcare needs and learning to care for them can cause you to feel a wide range of emotions and everyone will experience them differently. This booklet deals with complex information in a sensitive way and supports you to find ways of coping which work best for you and your family. They also have a useful section which has links to other services with testimonials about them from other parents who have a child with exceptional healthcare needs.
NHS Choices is an online resource which provides information on a wide range of topics, from education to respite care. All of my children deserve support: Siblings of disabled children will often need to demonstrate maturity beyond their years.
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It can mean they face emotional and practical strains in their own lives; struggling to receive appropriate time and attention from their parents, and experiencing anxiety and mental health issues. Young carers are specifically supported by the Carers Scotland Act which puts a duty on local authorities to offer a Young Carer Statement. Young Scot has a resource hub for young carers. A referral was made for a young person who was a target of aggression at home by their sibling with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The young person felt insecure in their friendships which resulted in occasional isolation from peers.
A plan was developed for the young person to attend weekly social groups with other siblings to encourage friendships and provide respite from the home environment. The young person would also attend a sibling training sessions Time for Us to provide an opportunity to explore and express feelings about their sibling as well as find out more information about autism.
The young person attended a term time social group each week, where they knew some other young people from previously attending residential camps for siblings with Perth Autism Support. However, following a difficult time at school paired with an increase in incidences of challenging behaviour from his sibling, relationships within the group began breaking down.
The young person attended the full course of Time for Us and engaged well with the activities. At the conclusion of the 6 week programme an evaluation showed that the young person felt that they understood what having a sibling with autism meant for them and knew where they would go to get help if they had a question about their sibling or about autism.
The young person also accessed activity days during the school holidays, the aim of which was to ensure that continuous support was offered throughout the school year. The relationship built up between the young person and the sibling coordinator during 1: In conclusion, the young person regularly accessed respite opportunities with peers in a similar situation. With this extra support, the young person had positive interactions and formed new friendships. Their primary role is to provide financial grants to families raising disabled children and young people; however, they also provide information and signpost to other charities and services which families may find useful.
It also has a section which signposts to other useful and relevant services. Family Fund provides home visits to introduce families to the support and services they provide. They are mostly aimed at families who are applying to family fund for the first time or who meet certain criteria, such as families with a young person who is approaching the transition to adulthood, or children and young people who are cared for by a kinship carer.
This information will be made into a report that can be used to decide how Family Fund can best support them and to inform their eligibility assessment for the grant making process. These visits also provide an opportunity for families to discuss any issues they face or problems they need extra support with.
Based on this, the person carrying out the visit can provide information on local statutory services and support groups. Family Fund offers a variety of services to make it easier for children and families to access computers and the internet. They have gathered a selection of online resources and can also provide a group training session for parents and carers of children and young people with a disability in the community. The Scottish Government are fully committed to improving the quality and quantity of short breaks for carers and young carers.
The Short Breaks Fund consists of:. The Creative Breaks programme: Providing grants to third sector organisations to develop new and existing short breaks provision in line with the fund's overarching aims of promoting greater choice, flexibility and personalisation of services and support. It also provides opportunities to channel funding to carers, via local support organisations, to enable carers and people with support needs to arrange the break of their choosing.
The Better Breaks programme: Providing grants to third sector organisations working in Scotland to develop additional, responsive and creative short break opportunities for disabled children, young people and their families. Take a Break is a fund which gives families who care for a disabled child or young person to take a break from caring in order to improve their physical and emotional wellbeing. The Short Breaks Learning Exchange: Supporting the sharing of good practice, information, experience and learning across the funded projects, and to a wider audience. In the development of this resource we are keen to explore what more can be done to support family relationships and wellbeing.
Just as we need to ensure that all disabled children can achieve their potential, we must not lose sight of the fact that a fairer Scotland can only be realised when we secure equal rights for everyone. She loves going to the park, playing with her dolls, and sensory play. This year, the family also decided to apply for a playhouse so that Lailyn can make the most of being outside. Lailyn loves her playhouse and her mum has said: It is one of our ambitions that disabled people in Scotland should live life to the full in homes built or adapted to enable them to participate as full and equal citizens.
The Fairer Scotland for Disabled People Delivery Plan set out a number of housing related commitments that support this ambition. Each local authority is required by law to produce a Local Housing Strategy, which is commonly reviewed annually, setting out its priorities and plans for the delivery of housing and housing related services. The strategy should set out how high quality housing and housing related services will be delivered to meet identified need in each council area.
This includes how the needs of disabled children and young people and their families will be met. The Open Market Shared Equity scheme and the New Supply Shared Equity scheme give priority to, among others, people with a disability including families with disabled children. How are we helping disabled children, young people and their families to live safely and comfortably at home?
Disabled children and young people who would benefit from adaptations to their home should be able to access these services when needed. Owner occupiers and people who live in the private rented sector, who believe they need an adaptation, or other day to day help, should contact their local social work department; people who live in council or housing association housing should contact their landlord. Care and Repair provide independent advice and assistance to help homeowners repair, improve or adapt their homes so that they can live in comfort and safety in their own community.
The Scottish Government funds an organisation called Housing Options Scotland ; This organisation recognises that every housing situation is unique and specialises in providing personalised, person-centred advice and support to people with disabilities and their families. I need help heating my home: The Scottish Government operates a number of schemes to help households who may need help heating their home.
To apply for any of these schemes applicants should contact Home Energy Scotland on for free, impartial advice. Applicants can request a call back by completing the form on the Home Energy Scotland website. The passing of the Social Security Scotland Bill through the Scottish Parliament in April marks a historic moment, and represents the next significant milestone in delivering the new Scottish social security system. The Bill establishes a framework for the new system, and transposes the eleven existing social security benefits that are becoming devolved onto a Scottish legislative platform, allowing the Scottish Parliament to shape a distinctly Scottish social security system with dignity and respect at its heart.
Example Benefits which remain reserved to the UK Government. The allowance is non-means tested, non-taxed, rises with inflation and acts as a passport to other types of support, such as Motability, Blue Badge, Housing Benefits, Carers Allowance, Child Tax Credit, Universal Credit and exemption from the benefit cap. It is designed to contribute to the additional costs that those with long-term health conditions or disabilities face.
The benefit is split into a Care component and a Mobility component. Either or both can be claimed, depending on need. Following assessment, a 3 month qualifying period applies before entitlement begins, and it is important to note that the allowance claim cannot be backdated. Application packs are available in accessible formats.
The Personal Independence Payment is an allowance very similar to the DLA , for people of working age, which assists with the extra costs of living caused by long-term ill-health or disability. Payments will be backdated to April It will be delivered on an entitlement basis to those young carers who meet the eligibility criteria and are between the ages of 16 to 17, or up to 18 if still at school. The aim of the grant is to help improve their quality of life and enable them to take part in opportunities that they may otherwise not engage with due to their caring role, for example, undertaking further education, employment or leisure opportunities.
From recipients of the grant will also be eligible for free bus travel, following piloting. Families can be eligible for a number of national benefits and tax credits, particularly if they are on low or single incomes. Benefits also exist at local level to help with Council Tax, housing and health costs. Local Councils have a Benefits Office where individuals can visit or call to discuss their specific circumstances.
Citizens Advice Scotland is a good place to start and you can find your local bureau for face-to-face advice and information. I need support with arranging Childcare: The Scottish Government is trialling the Childcare Deposit Guarantee Scheme to help families with upfront childcare costs. The aim of this is to reduce barriers to affordable early learning and childcare, which may help parents who wish to return to work or further education. This will be open to families of year olds who are in receipt of any tax credits or any level of universal credit.
I need help with finances: Its main goal is to allow families to claim everything they are entitled to and to access the best deals on financial products and services, as well as energy bills. Family Fund is the UK's largest charity providing grants for families raising disabled or seriously ill children and young people. The Fund provide grants for a wide range of items, such as washing machines, sensory toys, family breaks, bedding, tablets, furniture, outdoor play equipment, clothing and computers. All children aged three and four are entitled to free early learning and childcare.
Free places are also available to some families with two-year-olds if their parent or carer receives certain benefits. Find out how to claim online. Early Learning and Childcare ELC provision must ensure equality of access for, and account for the varying needs of all children. This only becomes more important as entitlement is expanded. This duty applies where it is established by the education authority, possibly via assessment , that they do have such needs. Where a child has identified additional support needs, parents can request that schools start planning for this up to 6 months before the child starts pre-school.
Where a child has a disability, which may give rise to additional support needs, the Health Visitor can make the local authority aware right from birth to enable appropriate support to be provided. Additional support may be provided outside education, such as from an occupational therapist from social work services or a speech and language therapist from health services.
This update included making the responsibilities in the Act clearer so that everyone involved can better understand what kind of support should be expected. The importance of accessibility is also strongly promoted in the good design guide for new and existing ELC settings. The physical environment can make a lot of demands on disabled children, and good design principles need to recognise this. For example, the provision of relaxed calm spaces can be key for those with some developmental disabilities. This will enable staff to support disabled children and those with ASN, by covering oneoff funding for specialist training or equipment.
This new Fund will complement the range of legal and policy provisions already in place that promote inclusion in ELC for disabled children. The Scottish Government is currently in the process of delivering a transformative change in the provision of Early Learning and Childcare; almost doubling the free entitlement to 1, hours per year from The driving force behind this is ensuring that all children have the best possible start in life.
Research demonstrates that the provision of universally accessible and high quality ELC enriches children with skills and confidence to carry into their schooling, and is a cornerstone for closing attainment and inequality gaps. The Scottish Government wants all children and young people to get the support that they need to reach their full learning potential. The Curriculum for Excellence enables all young people in Scotland to gain the knowledge and skills for learning, skills for life and skills for work which will help them become successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors.
There are legal requirements for Local Authorities to provide adequate education to all children.
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In addition the Equality Act requires schools to actively deal with inequality, and to prevent discrimination against people with a disability, whether it is direct such as bullying or indirect such as being unable to access a facility. Schools also have a duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled pupils and provide assistance and services, such as communication tools and support staff. All educational bodies, such as schools, have duties to develop and publish accessibility strategies to increase pupils access to the curriculum, access to the physical environment and to improve communication with pupils with disabilities.
Education authorities and other agencies also have duties under the Education Additional Support for Learning Scotland Act as amended to identify, provide for and review the additional support needs of their pupils, including those with disabilities. Education authorities can ask other agencies, such as NHS Health Boards and social work services for help in carrying out their duties.
Changes were made to the Additional Support for Learning Act , which extended the age range of some of the provisions, so that they now cover children aged , as well as young people and parents. This means that children can now ask for their additional support needs to be identified and planned for; receive advice and information about their additional support needs; be part of discussions about the support that they will receive; and access dispute resolution procedures to resolve concerns.
Mainstream provision, defined in legislation as provision that is provided usually by the catchment area primary or secondary school, or within a local primary or secondary school.
Some mainstream schools also have a unit or base within them. Special school provision, are also defined in law as schools who make provision wholly or mainly for pupils with additional support needs. Units or bases which are attached to mainstream schools and which are wholly or mainly for pupils with additional support needs are in law, captured within the definition of a special school. This forms a package of learning and support to meet individual needs, often referred to as flexible provision or shared provision. There are a range of mechanisms available under the Additional Support for Learning Act to help resolve disagreements.
A factsheet produced by Enquire sets out the various routes for raising concerns. The Additional Support for Learning legislation has specific provisions relating to transitions. This should take place no later than 12 months before the expected leaving date. Similarly, they must provide information to other agencies no later than 6 months before a child or young person is expected to leave school. In both circumstances, where a child or young person decides to leave unexpectedly i. More information can also be found in the Transitions chapter of this resource.
This school makes provision for young people of secondary age who have a range of additional support needs. A key aim is to ensure that each young person leaves school equipped with the skills they will need for life, learning and work. In order to achieve this, staff have developed a robust whole school approach to transitions. A strong feature of their approach is partnership working, especially with parents.
This is highly developed with responsibilities and timeframes clearly defined. Young people benefit from access to a wide range of innovative programmes of learning and support, that help them to develop their confidence, communication and employability skills. Many of these programmes are delivered by a wide range of community based partners.
The school regularly asks for the views of young people, their parents and other partners in order to improve its approaches to transitions and ensure success. All young people leaving this school over the past few years have achieved positive post school destinations.
Their helpline can provide advice tailored to your circumstances, which you can call on: Peter the Apostle is a large denominational secondary school which places great emphasis on children with additional support needs and their parents experiencing a successful P7 to S1 transition. These run in parallel to joint Assessment team meetings, and focused discussions within the Pupil Support Department.
For a few children this will result in a referral to the Intensive Support Team which supports the most vulnerable learners. A pupil profile and passport are shared with subject teachers both at the start of S1 and following the post-placement review. The school has developed an exceptionally flexible approach to meeting the learning needs of all young people.
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This includes flexibility in timetabling that allows for a few vulnerable young people to have some of their lessons delivered in groups of four. One to one sessions are provided as are opportunities for quiet time. All staff and pupils benefit from high-quality awareness raising presentations on aspects of additional support needs and equality and diversity.
Children of all ages benefit and thrive from being able to play and socialise in their community, and encounter new places. Such experiences are key to developing the social and emotional skills that become so important in later life. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child upholds the importance of these interactions, declaring that every child has the right to relax, play and take part in a wide range of cultural and artistic activities. Yet barriers to accessing such activities still exist for many of our disabled children and young people.
In seeking to support activity that addresses social isolation and loneliness, we have invested significant resources in local community based projects. Our Social Isolation and Loneliness Fund enabled 36 organisations to deliver programmes locally that were focused on reducing the effects of social isolation and loneliness in people experiencing disadvantage. Interest Link Borders is an organisation that has a specific focus on improving the quality of life for children and young people with learning disabilities.
Through their yearly reports, it is clear to see the positive impact that their one-to-one and group befriending services have on children and young people with disabilities. We want Scotland to be a nation which values play as a life-enhancing daily experience for all our children and young people. Evidence shows that play allows them to become more active, more confident and better able to develop key skills. The Scottish Government, through its National Play Strategy, is therefore committed to improving the play experiences of all children and young people.
However, it also recognises that disabled children and young people may face a number of barriers to being able to play successfully at home, nursery and school, as well as in the community. These barriers impact on their rights in relation to health and wellbeing, optimum development, inclusion in society and their right to enjoy their childhood.
Sam is almost 18; he has a learning disability. My son has been attending since he was four years old; he is nearly 18 and loves it as much today as when he started. He gets so much from the Thursday teen club — he cannot manage mainstream clubs so having the Thursday club is an absolute godsend.
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Sam has become less fearful of new experiences and enjoys all the activities on offer to him. His confidence levels have skyrocketed since joining the club; he now feels confident enough to talk to someone if he is worried about an activity, and the staff are then able to encourage him and provide him with more information to enable him to participate. He often ends up loving the thing he was so worried about initially! Sam loves the fact that the Thursday club is his club — it lets him go and meet his friends to do all the regular things that teenagers do.
As his mum, I know that he gets fed up of going to the cinema with his mum — the Thursday club allows him his freedom and independence to do things with his friends.