Explaining PCNAs, News & a few wizards 1st February 2016 Dear All Very good news about the Parent Carer Needs Assessment…
Parent Carer Needs Assessments (PCNA) #1 – what is it? Sounds good? Very simply a PCNA is about parents & carer's needs - assessing what parents & carers need to enable them to carry on caring. SEND Family Voices, as a group run by volunteers (parents of children & young people with SEND), we know how important it is for our children to have a break from us... and vice versa! Most children hopefully go on play dates, or young people go out with their friends; or spend time with close relatives. That can be a much more complicated arrangement for us. We're working with Clive Seall (AfC's Strategic Head of Family Support) and the Richmond & Kingston Carer’s organisations to clarify the PCNA process - and ultimately work out how the assessment and any support will manifest. The current route to a PCNA is through the SPA (single point of access) and we're all aiming to make this much more evident. Likewise, at the moment one area of support is short breaks, and you may wish to apply for these (see Easy Read guide on our Useful Documents page). Our feedback tells us these are often not long enough to give families a break, although they may be long enough for the child or young person to have some fun. Wouldn't it be great to ask for a PCNA and come out with an assessment that directs you to support? ...and if the support is not there; then at least it's documented and can feed into future commissioning. You could also seek funding to create that support. You may ask 'what is the eligibility criteria for a PCNA'? The answer is as simple as 'please can I have one' or it might be a SENCo, family support worker, or similar, that refers you. More news to follow. We can't wait! More co-production!
Parent Carer Needs Assessments (PCNA) #2 – the law The law for this is overlaying, slightly confusing and (possibly) in some places contradictory. Not being lawyers, this is as we understand it… Section 17 of the Children’s Act 1989 (the opening of Section 17): Provision of services for children in need, their families and others. (1) It shall be the general duty of every local authority (in addition to the other duties imposed on them by this Part)— a) to safeguard and promote the welfare of children within their area who are in need; and b) so far as is consistent with that duty, to promote the upbringing of such children by their families, by providing a range and level of services appropriate to those children’s needs.
The Care Act, para 6 (1)(c) builds upon Section 17 of the Children’s Act 1989. Essentially, all local authorities shall provide services designed to allow parents to care more effectively. Regs support the duty in para 6(1)(c) of schedule 2 to the Children Act 1989: ‘Every local authority shall provide services designed— (c) to assist individuals who provide care for [disabled] children to continue to do so, or to do so more effectively, by giving them breaks from caring.’ Regulations 3, 4 & 5 are the most important: Reg 3: essentially details that parents/carers have the right to a normal life (but does not cover work and this comes under childcare = a separate discussion) Reg 4: Services to allow carers to continue to provide care, including daytime and nigh-time. This is within the parameter of ‘what an LA can afford’ + if they can’t afford this, they must provide evidence of what they’ve done to seek other options Reg 5: Local authorities must provide & publish a range of services – and any eligibility criteria and describe what they have done to meet the needs of parent/carer in their local area. This is known as the Short Breaks Statement. The Children’s & Families Act 2014 tie the two in together. The Children and Family Act (Sept 2014) alongside associated duties in The Care Act (April 2015) is clear that: 1. Parents and carers have the right to stand alone assessments 2. That it is a statutory duty for the Local Authority (Achieving for Children as commissioned by the LA) to carry out the assessments 3. That parents and carers can self-refer for an assessment and the process for doing this should be clearly publicised
SEND Family Voices (SFV) Update & Trustees We’re very pleased to say that SEND Family Voices has completed its formal change of name and constitution to cover both Kingston & Richmond (we are registered charity number: 1161298). We’re now finalising our constitution to formally cover both Kingston and Richmond. A part of this will be to recruit Trustees, plus we are keen to continue to extend our Steering Group. Please call us on 07468 746 145 or reply to this e-mail if you would like to find out a bit more. www.sendfamilyvoices.org/about-us
Transition Fair – 25th January We had a very busy evening and it was lovely to meet so many new parents. Thank You to Becky Powell (AfC) for organising this event.
What’s new on the Local Offer #1 From Karen Lowry, Local Offer Content manager… “Short Breaks and Leisure Activities A meeting will be held this week to discuss how to increase and improve the information on inclusive leisure and other activities on the Local Offer. We will also be thinking about how we can work with mainstream activity providers to make information their activities more inclusive and ensure that they understand the support that is available for children and
young people when accessing mainstream activities. The meeting will be chaired by Karen Lowry the Local Offer Content Manager and attended by the Short Breaks team, Inclusion and Participation officers, SENDIASS, Sport and Leisure and, of course, members of SEND Family Voices. If you have any suggestions or comments that you would like to feed into the meeting please can you can let the team at SEND Family Voices know before Friday so that they can take to the meeting.” (just reply to this e-mail) One practical thing that we can all do to help is let Karen know of any activities that your child or young person already enjoys that you don't see on the Local Offer Website. Karen can then contact them to encourage them to register. E-mail: sendlocaloffer@achievingforchildren.org.uk
What’s new on the Local Offer #2 – new pages All self-explanatory… https://www.afclocaloffer.org.uk/pages/home/leisure-activities-and-shortbreaks/accessibility-and-facilities-in-the-local-area https://www.afclocaloffer.org.uk/pages/home/leisure-activities-and-short-breaks/safeplaces https://www.afclocaloffer.org.uk/pages/home/assessment-and-education-health-and-careplanning/education-health-and-care-plan-feedback-surveys
Disabled Children – A Legal Handbook For those new to the world of SEND, or for those who have not yet had to navigate the system, this Handbook provides help for families trying to understand what the law actually means. Admittedly it’s not an easy read, and if anyone would like to refer to a copy, please contact us (usual e-mail). Special Needs Jungle provide a full review, and here are some highlights. “The following sections are covered in the handbook: Understanding disabled children's lives Legal fundamentals Childrens Services Education Health Housing Decision Making Carers Equality and Non Discrimination Transition to Adulthood Remedies Each chapter comes with its own index - all of which makes it so much easier to find the relevant piece of legislation or guidance you need. It also has a Key Points section - a sort of overview of things to consider within each section. http://www.specialneedsjungle.com/snj-review-disabled-children-a-legal-handbook/ “
News Minister Edward Timpson announces £80 million to extend opportunities to children with special educational needs and disabilities. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/80-million-to-boost-support-for-special-educationalneeds Funding allocations for local authorities to carry out special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-reform-funding-for-local-authorities-2016to-2017
Autism Strategy - Richmond From Rebecca Swist, Autism Specialist Worker, Richmond (edited): “…the Richmond Autism Programme Board has been busy reviewing the current Richmond Autism Strategy, which started being implemented in April 2013, nearly 3 years ago (!). A lot of things have changed since then, including (but not limited to) the introduction of the Care Act and SEND reforms, a national autism strategy update and new statutory guidance on autism. There have also been quite a few changes in Richmond, so to reflect all of this the board agreed that it was time to review the local strategy. We now have a draft of the updated Richmond Joint Autism Strategy, and we would very much like to hear your thoughts on it. It would be great if you could have a look at the new draft strategy and complete the survey to tell us your views. You can find the strategy and the consultation document here: https://consultation.richmond.gov.uk/acs/autism If you have any questions about the consultation or would like to receive a paper-copy please contact the Community Engagement Team at: consultation@richmond.gov.uk “
Minecraft & Wizards Minecraft continues to be a very popular on-line game. Here are some tips from the NSPCC about keeping your children safe (and it may explain Griefers and Creepers at the same time!) https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/minecrafta-parents-guide/ The National Autistic Society are working closely with the Wicked team to deliver their first autism friendly performance: Saturday 14 May 2016 at 1.30pm, Apollo Victoria Theatre, London Based on ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’; Wicked tells the untold story of an unlikely but profound friendship between two sorcery students. Their extraordinary adventures in Oz will ultimately see them fulfil their destinies as Glinda The Good and the Wicked Witch of the West. For more details and the visual story please follow this link: www.WickedTheMusical.co.uk/AutismFriendly As ever, if you have any queries at all, please ask and we'll always do our best to find an answer. With best wishes, Romany (for Richmond) and Caroline North (for Kingston) Phone: 07469 746 145 www.sendfamilyvoices.org