In May 2007, following a review of services for children and young people with disabilities, the government published a report called Aiming High for Disabled Children: Better Support for Families.
The review identified a number of issues, including:
- clear evidence of the importance of short breaks;
- services are struggling to meet the requirements of disabled children and their carers; and
- children who have the greatest need for breaks often seem unable to access services because of challenges posed by their disability.
The government has therefore made a substantial amount of money available to councils in order to transform short breaks services by: expanding the types of service available; providing services in new ways; and enhancing the quality of provision.
Councils have been asked to put together plans to demonstrate their readiness to receive a share of that money.
Wigan Council has so far taken this forward by:
- holding events to engage with parents and carers;
- establishing a parent/carer forum;
- developing a consultation network;
- establishing a steering group, with representatives from social care, the Primary Care Trust, youth services and extended schools.
In addition to the steering group, there are a number of sub-groups which have been set up to drive forward the Aiming High priorities. These sub-groups are:
- Communications
- Capital
- Data Collection and Systems
- Life Limiting and High Dependency Needs
- Workforce Development
- Transition
If you are interested in joining one of the sub-groups and can commit to attending a meeting approximately once a month, please contact us on the number below.
You can find out where things are up to in Wigan by reading our newsletter.
