Quarriers Family Support Service
Emotional Health and Wellbeing Service Evaluation report 2020
About the service Quarriers Emotional Health and Wellbeing Service began as a two-and-a-half year funded project supporting children and young people with learning disabilities and/or autism to understand their emotions and how mental health affects their lives. The service supported children and young people aged between 8 and 18 years through one-to-one, family and group sessions, with sessions led by a resilience practitioner taking place in the home, school or community. When the funding finished in September 2020, the service closed in its current form, and now delivers tailored school-based support at Dalbeattie Campus.
Our vision Our aim is to enable young people to manage life’s ups and downs more effectively, and develop strategies to help them when they feel anxious, stressed, worried or overwhelmed. Our Resilience Practitioners encourage and support young people to build confidence and resilience to achieve their goals. Practitioners use a variety of tools to engage, support and help young people learn about the issues affecting them and manage areas of life where they are having difficulties. Our sessions • One-to-one sessions including talking, looking at the challenges they face and art therapy are beneficial for young people who struggle to understand their emotions. • Group work, which helps to build confidence and understanding of social issues. • Lego Therapy, a play-based intervention, aids development of collaborative play skills and is used both on a one-to-one basis and in a group environment. These tools give young people practice and understanding of listening, instruction giving, socialising skills and patience, and are particularly effective for children affected by autism and ADHD.
Evaluation report 2020
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Service overview During the pilot project, the service accepted referrals from professionals including NHS, Social Workers and school staff at all levels. Overall, the service supported 57 young people from August 2018 to March 2020.
Referrals in 2018 Referrals in 2019 Referrals in 2020 (Aug-Dec) (Jan-Dec) (Jan-Mar)
Referrer
Number of children and young people
CAMHS/NHS
10
Total
5
15
Social Work
12
14
Youth Justice
2
2
Schools
9
21
Inclusion Team
2
2
Health Improvement 1 Team
1
2
12
SALT 1 1 Autism Outreach 1 1 Total
10 31 16 57
To be referred to the service, children must have a learning disability or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis, or be awaiting a Communication Disorder Team Assessment of ASD. The service also received referrals outwith this criteria, meaning these referrals could not be accommodated. A total of 510 face-to-face sessions took place from August 2018 to March 2020.
Sessions in 2018 (Aug-Dec)
Sessions in 2019 Sessions in 2020 (Jan-Dec) (Jan-Mar)
Total
Child only sessions
45
261
381
75
Family sessions 13 77 3
93
Group sessions
0
36
Total
58 346 106 510
8
28
During the trial period, the service supported young people throughout the Dumfries and Galloway region, with support having been carried out as far as Annan and Lockerbie in the east, Moffat and Thornhill in the north, Castle Douglas and Dalbeattie in the west, and Southerness in the south. Practitioners’ travel time ranged from 15 minutes within the Dumfries area up to 45 minutes further afield. The service was free at point of delivery as staff costs were met through a combination of core funding and grant funding which ended in September 2020. The service is now funded through PEF and is based in Dalbeattie Campus, with the school referring young people who have been identified as needing extra support.
Evaluation report 2020
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Project timeline Contracted one member of staff, staff training, project research, designed referral form and other paperwork
Project start 16 July
First referrals started 20 August
Networking with local services 1 September
PIN, Carer Centre, Support in Mind, CAMHS Developing resources 1 October Research and design of paper-based resources
2018 Increase of working hours from 16 to 21 hours, contracted a second member of staff at 16 hours, ongoing training for both staff members Supported school transition 15 December
Service leaflets 1 January
Successful positive experience
Increase of working hours 1 April
21 to 33 hours and 16 to 20 hours
Staff 11 December
2019
Network with local services 20 February
January 2019 designed, February 2019 printed and distributed
Lego therapy 1 March
2019 Extended resources to adapt support
Achievement wall 10 April
Started to implement
Resources 15 March
2019
Started to display children’s achievements
Support in schools 25 April
Personal profile files 1 May
Increased support in schools
Increased resources and strategies
Resources 20 June
Staff completed Autism L3 training
Developed individual profile files for supported children
Developed reports to give to schools/ referrers for further support/ recommendations
2019 Development of group sessions
Further networking with more services such as Autism Outreach, NHS
Staff training 1 June
Reports 25 May
Group support 1 July
2020 Group sessions at school 1 November Extending support to group sessions to support individuals with social needs
Trial group support 7 January One-day support shared between primary and secondary school (Dalbeattie) EHW school support 1 October
Resuming of EHW Support in Dalbeattie Campus; start of self sufficient service
Evaluation report 2020
Positive feedback 1 February
Received positive feedback from Dalbeattie Campus
Covid-19 lockdown 23 March
2020 Toolkits 1 May Developed toolkits for consistent approach to use at schools and family support service
Virtual support offered, supportive contact via phone and emails
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Lily’s Story When ten-year-old Lily first came to the service, she was awaiting a diagnosis of autism, which created a lot of uncertainty for her family. Lily was struggling to cope at school, and at home she directed her frustration and anger at her mum and brother. She had difficulties in social relationships which affected her self-esteem and confidence and was often misunderstood by others. She struggled to see other’s point of view. This sometimes ended up in her being excluded by her peers, which was very distressing. Her sensory difficulties had made it difficult for her to concentrate in school, especially at busy and noisy times. A Quarriers Resilience Practitioner has been working closely with Lily and her family to gain understanding of her difficulties and support them to learn coping strategies. Lily has formed new relationships and has gained confidence in speaking to others: this was particularly important to Lily and she has worked hard to achieve this. Lily is using strategies to deal with her anger, and has created a board in her room to help her with her difficulties. She has gained independence by going to shops and cafÊs, and by making cakes and coffees for her family. She is still working hard to build a closer relationship with her brother. Lily is now looking forward to moving to Primary 7. She has also attended a gymnastics event with school and stayed away from home for two days.
Models have been used to protect the identities of people we support.
Evaluation report 2020
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Mihay’s Story Mihay was experiencing high amounts of anxiety which impacted on her daily life and education. She struggled attending school and found socialising challenging. Mihay was unable to cope with overwhelming emotions, which resulted in aggression towards her mum. Through working with a Quarriers Resilience Practitioner, she has co-produced a personal profile containing information, skills and strategies to help her deal with her difficulties. She gained an understanding of anxiety, which helped her to become more confident. One-to-one support has allowed her to understand her emotions and develop ways to self-regulate. She also accessed community resources with her Resilience Practitioner to seek out opportunities to communicate and be responsible and independent by using her own money. Mihay has become more resilient and has developed a can-do attitude. Her transition to secondary school went smoothly and she is spending time with her peers within the local area. She is now attending kickboxing classes.
Models have been used to protect the identities of people we support.
Evaluation report 2020
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Challenges The service encountered the following challenges. • Referrers were not always clear about the service’s eligibility criteria and what support the service offered. • The length of support interventions proved too short for some children. •
Children and young people on the waiting list for Communication Disorder Assessment Team (CDAT) may receive initial interventions that only explore strategies to manage their behaviours and not the reasons behind the behaviours. Another referral may be required following diagnosis to support the young person and their family to understand the reason behind the behaviours. The challenge in some cases was that the service was a short-term intervention providing the child with coping strategies to manage the situations they found difficult, but the service could not solve the underlying issues and in some cases had to report concerns to the pastoral staff, child protection and/or social work.
•
The service was only available within the boundaries of the funding. Two part-time staff working across a large area (Nithsdale, Stewartry and Annandale and Eskdale) found it difficult to write up reports and gather required resources during their limited hours.
•
Some children and young people were referred to a number of agencies at the one time (e.g. point of diagnosis), and this resulted in overwhelming the child and their family with information. The service chose to step back and wait until the young person was ready to move forward.
•
On occasion, a parent does not want their child to know that they have an ASD diagnosis. The service can continue to work with the young person on specific issues, but the importance of understanding the rationale behind an intervention is lost. On one occasion, this was a barrier to the service providing effective support, and the case was closed.
•
In March 2020, the COVID pandemic meant that the service could not provide face-to- face support. The service adapted to deliver virtual support, and the use of technology has allowed for consistency and continuity of support as well as giving young people a platform to communicate with the service. When the office was closed, the service contacted CAMHS to offer the service as a virtual support: this move was welcomed but no referrals were received during this time.
Evaluation report 2020
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Feedback Evidence of the pilot project’s success and challenges were gathered from a range of sources including tools used by the practitioners with children and young people. The project used the GIRFEC Wellbeing Web to evidence specific outcomes worked on with the child/young person. The end of an intervention was also marked with an evaluation form completed by the child/young person and the referral agency. On the whole, feedback has been very positive and encouraging.
Evaluation of service 15
Score 1
Number of people
Score 2
12
Score 3 Score 4 Score 5
9 6 3 0
1
2
3
4
5
How helpful
1
2
3
4
5
Needs met
1
2
3
4
5
Easy to talk to staff
1
2
3
4
5
Overall support
This data includes only feedback forms which have been completed. Reasons for forms not being completed include referrals still being on hold; young people still receiving support when lockdown came into effect; young people disengaging from the service; and evaluations not being returned by parents.
Can I cope better now? 3
Yes No
3 16
“
Yes, way better. I used to throw things, break things, say mean stuff. I am all better now. Female, age 12
Evaluation report 2020
”
A little
“
Yes, considering before I couldn’t talk to people. Female, age 14
”
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Feedback What did you find most useful about our support?
“
It helped me increase my confidence. Male, age 15
” “
“
Doing things I thought I couldn’t do. Female, age 13
”
Having someone to talk to. Female, age 14
“
Talking about anxiety and learning new strategies. Male, age 16
Evaluation report 2020
”
”
“
Helped make me more social and less anxious. Female, age 15
”
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Service evaluation Referral sources showed that there was a greater need for school-based support. Following discussions with schools, the service ran a trial in Dalbeattie Campus, a combined primary and high school, where a member of staff was present one day per week, supporting nine children of both primary and secondary school age. The practitioner had a dedicated room in the school, and support included one-to-one and group sessions as well as support for parents if required. Feedback received from teachers and school leaders was very positive, and there were noticeable improvements in classroom behaviour after only a few weeks of support. During this trial, it became apparent that the service’s referral criteria needed to be reviewed, highlighting in particular that the service should be open to young people affected by mental health issues. This was put into action, and school staff found that this support very quickly had a significant effect on the young people’s wellbeing and behaviour. As a result, the service accepted a wider range of referrals and has less restrictive referral criteria. Following the trial, the school was approached to fund the Emotional Health and Wellbeing Service within their school. This was welcomed by school leaders who asked to increase the service from one day to two days’ support per week. Schools across Dumfries and Galloway have been informed about the project, and we are looking forward to extending our service into schools throughout the region.
Evaluation report 2020
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The service’s future Having the service funded directly by the schools will enable it to become self-sufficient rather than relying on funding options. The service will be able to grow quickly, extending into more schools and employing new staff members. When the funding finished in September, the service closed in its current form, and continues in the school-based format following the trial at Dalbeattie Campus. This service model aligns with Quarriers’ organisational goal of offering similar services in schools across Scotland. An area of specialism is providing support for the transition from primary to secondary school: this is daunting for every young person and it is imperative that support is in place. This service model allows more efficiency and focus on the specific needs of the family, meaning that some support can be short-term rather than long-term while the family also receives support from other services. A shorter waiting list for Quarriers Family Support Service will also ease pressure on the Social Work Department. In summary, the Emotional Health and Wellbeing Service is proven to be an effective intervention for children and young people who displayed anxiety and challenging behaviour. The knock-on effect of such intervention can change the lives of the child, their parents, siblings and wider family unit, as well as their classmates, other young people at their school and the wider community. We will utilise our knowledge, experience, expertise and resources to provide a high standard of support and make a positive contribution to the lives of families throughout Dumfries and Galloway.
Holywood Trust We cannot thank the Holywood Trust enough for their support over the last three years. This has allowed us to design and shape our Emotional Health and Wellbeing Service to meet the needs of the young people throughout Dumfries and Galloway. Having time to build supportive relationships with young people and their families is invaluable, and it has allowed us to share information with other professionals to support future outcomes for young people and make a difference to their wellbeing and that of their family. The life-changing impact of providing coping strategies cannot be overstated.
Evaluation report 2020
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Quarriers Family Support Service 161 Brooms Road Dumfries DG1 2SH Call 01387 249888 Email martin.gordon@quarriers.org.uk
Registered and Head Office: Quarriers, Quarriers Village, Bridge of Weir PA11 3SX Call 01505 616000/612224 Email hello@quarriers.org.uk www.quarriers.org.uk Quarriers is a registered Scottish Charity No SC001960 and is a company limited by guarantee and registered in Scotland No 14361. VAT registration No 263 5009 75.