Your Needs, Policies & Stand Up and Be Brave 13th July 2016 Dear All We know the times they are a’changin’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7qQ6_RV4VQ (are some of us feeling our age..??) Take care to heed the law as this protects your human rights…
Your Needs Have you had any kind of assessment regarding YOUR needs as a parent (and carer) in the last year? Please send us your experiences of any carers assessments you may recently been a part of especially the new Parent, Carer Needs Assessments (PCNAs) or the Team around the Child (TAC) meetings and/or similar. Just reply to this e-mail.
This request comes via the Local Children’s Safeguarding Board (LCSB); more details below: “Children with disabilities are often subject to Child in Need(CiN) plans, and reviews of their needs. The Local Authority will have duties towards some of those children. Child in Need and Team Around the Child meetings are a good opportunity for parents and carers to come together with professionals to review their child's needs to that everyone can work together well. Education, Health (community nursing, GP, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy etc) SEN Services, Children's Social Care and other services would be involved. It should be clear to everyone in complex disability or health conditions who the Lead Professional is, who will coordinate much of that network. The LSCB wishes to encourage families to take part in these local processes and to see them as a collaborative means to ensure the best interests of the child are considered and met. If required, they may be opportunity for independent advocates to support parents or represent the child's views and wishes.” The independent advocate part sounds interesting!
And here’s some more information - the legal definition of a Child in Need (it’s not meant to be jolly): “A child in need is defined under the Children Act 1989 as a child who is unlikely to achieve or maintain a reasonable level of health or development, or whose health and development is likely to be significantly or further impaired, without the provision of services; or a child who is disabled. Children in need may be assessed under section 17 of the Children Act 1989, in relation to their special educational needs, disabilities, or as a carer. Where an assessment takes place, it will be carried out by a social worker.” This document contains details of the statutory duties (from #26): www.workingtogetheronline.co.uk/chapters/chapter_one.html
Quote from the document below: “As we have seen above, children’s services authorities are under a statutory duty to assess all children in need. Accordingly, it would be unlawful for a local authority to impose its own ‘eligibility criteria’ for assessments. This would constitute an extra statutory hurdle for a child to