Transcript Slide 1

Changing tomorrow for today's
disabled children and young
people and their families enabling
them to embrace a more positive
future
Short Breaks Outreach
Participation Project
Project Summary
The Short Breaks Outreach Participation Project delivered
advice, support and guidance in regards to short break
provision in Wolverhampton City, to Black and Ethnic Minority
and other marginalised communities disabled children, young
people and their families. To improve access, participation and
information to short breaks.
Aims and Objectives
• Provide a culturally sensitive service which delivers advice, guidance and
support to disabled children, young people and their families regarding
accessing short break provisions in Wolverhampton
• Engage positively with BME and other marginalised communities’ disabled
children and their families.
• Increase the participation of disabled children young people and their
families in short breaks
• Identify children, young people and families who have not accessed short
breaks and supporting them to access identified appropriate provision.
Aims and Objectives (con’td)
• Devise multiple methods to ensure the engagement with identified
children, young people and their families.
• Work in partnership with the Local Authority, children and young people’s
services, Schools, Health services and short break providers, developing
and maintaining links.
• Creates social and support network, reducing isolation and improving
community cohesion.
Short Break Network Events
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Supporting disabled children, young people and their families to meet directly with
Short Break providers
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Establish Peer Support Network for BME and marginalised disabled children & their
families
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Increase BME & marginalised parent/carer representation and involvement,
influencing culturally sensitive and holistic approach in Short Breaks Service
Delivery.
Short Breaks Outreach Participation Project will aim to
The service offered support, guidance & advice about Short Breaks to 242 families
during the year.
1st Quarter: 40 Families
2nd Quarter: 68 Families
3rd Quarter: 75 Families
4th Quarter : 59 Families
175 families completed short break surveys for the participation project.
175 parents and carers completed short break surveys during the project year
which assessed level of knowledge and access, showing that 72% of families were
not accessing short breaks.
Statistics on BME families and White British families living in disadvantaged wards
were recorded
57% of families contacted reported that they wanted support to access the Short
Breaks Outreach Participation Project to access short breaks.
75% of families contacted wanted to receive up to be kept up to date via Include
Me TOO regarding short breaks.
Projects activities
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The project’s activities consisted of organising events where short break providers were
invited to share their project in depth.
Project leaflets were distributed via mail and outreach activities so that families were aware
of the “one stop shop” nature the service provides which allowed families to know where to
turn to in order to support them through accessing appropriate short breaks.
Outreach in the community to BME & marginalised communities in order to increase
participation of “hard to reach communities”.
Supporting families via one to one sessions in order to access appropriate provisions to meet
individual needs.
A referral process was put into place, families who stated that they were not accessing short
breaks surveys were were contacted to identify how the participation project could provide
further assistance dependent on reasons for no access.
The project supported families to make choices regarding the short breaks
provisions they may wish to access. The information provided through the
council via a Short Breaks directory, many parents informed the project
they felt overwhelmed with numerous contact details.
“ There seems to be a lot of information and numbers to contact...can you
tell me which one my child can actually access.....could you get in contact
with some for me” (PARENT’S COMMENTS).
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A range of information and methods to ensure engagement with identified children, young
people and their families
Distribution of the project’s leaflet and introduction pack to existing IM2 parents/carer
members, special schools and mainstream schools with a resource base for young people
with disabilities, Learning Disability Team’s (INSPIRE) parents/carers, during outreach
activities at family events, community events and team meeting .
Presentations to team meetings at children centres, social services, parent groups and faith
groups.
Press releases in newsletters of external organisations, community groups etc,,.
Community Radios
Include Me TOO Short Break network events
Providing outreach and satellite information events to reach families at a grassroots levels,
evenings and weekends
Include Me TOO team supported several community languages to support and communicate
with families whose first language is not English.
The project initiated links with all short break providers and schools in the first quarter.
• Short Break providers were invited to an event introducing the participation project to
initiate collaborative working.
• Short Break providers have been involved in the participation project throughout the
year through network events, meetings and referral processes, including having IM2
parents and carers on interview panels.
• Presentations and introductions were delivered to children and young people’s services
and schools, GP’s surgeries and heath centres.
Working in Partnership:
29 presentations and satellite events were carried out.
52 organisations and groups were contacted during the project
of which 30 were voluntary/community and faith groups
An additional 20 special school and mainstream schools
resource based were also invloved in the project.
Statistics
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61% of children and young people between the ages of 5 – 15 years old.
Two families with children between the ages of 20 – 25 years approached the
Short Breaks Outreach Participation Project to which the participation officer was
able to signpost families to other services as short breaks can only be accessed by
children and young people from the ages of 0 – 18 years.
54% of the children and young people supported had multiple disabilities; the
largest number of children and young people supported had two disabilities.
72% of the families when approached by the Short Breaks Outreach Participation
Project were not accessing Short Breaks (123 families)
53% white British background 47% Black & Minority Ethnic Background
50% white British background residing in disadvantaged wards
Reasons for not accessing Short Breaks
Not sure what Short Breaks are?
32 families
Have not received information
15 families
Short Breaks is not suitable
9 families
Do not know how to access Short Breaks?
19 families
Not Sure what short Breaks are? & Have not received information 3 families
Not sure what Short Breaks are? & Do not know how to access Short Breaks 9 families
Have not received information & Do not know how to access Short Breaks?
5 families
Not sure what Short Breaks are? & Have not received information & Short Breaks is not
suitable 17 families
Disabled Children, young people and parents/carers
participation
• Include me to have been supporting parents/carers to participate in interview panels to
interview prospective candidates for short break posts.
• Provided parents/carers with skills, knowledge and experience in recruitment and selection
with in the public sector.
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Parents/carers and disabled children and young people helped develop Short Break
Participation Project evaluation material
• Ten parents/carers are Include Me TOO steering group members who have consulted and
provided practical feedback to ensure The Short Breaks Outreach Participation Project was
meeting the needs for parents/carers and disabled children and young people.
• Parents/carers and disabled children and young people were involved in volunteering at the
Short Breaks Network Event and peer supporting families that attended.
Recommendations
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Short break providers could highlight those families referred by the Short Breaks
Outreach Participation Project who have not attended their short break activities.
Short breaks request referral to be actioned within a specified timeframe, by
Short break providers including confirmation if able to accommodate request,
where the Short Break activity is delayed for whatever reason, Short Break
providers must contact families to let them know what is happening.
The Short Break Outreach Participation Project can support and provide advice
to the Short Break providers on how to provide a culturally friendly environment.
The Short Breaks Outreach Participation Project could provide added assistance
to Short Breaks where families have struggled to attend or ceased accessing short
breaks where the reason for this is unknown
More accurate data will enable better planning of short breaks in the future
The Short Breaks Outreach Participation Project has
been a reliable source for many BME and
marginalised communities’ disabled children, young
people and families as a practical and valuable
gateway to short breaks provisions in
Wolverhampton.