July 2010

Hurry! Make Your Voice Heard on Government Spending for Disabled Children and their Parents!

On Friday 10 July, the new government launched a website http://spendingchallenge.hm-treasury.gov.uk/ to let the public have their say about public spending under the its spending review. Government will be looking at the responses over the summer, so that they can publish their decisions in October.

The discussions and decisions the government takes over the summer will determine how public money will be spent for the next four years.

It is vitally important that as many families with disabled children as possible speak up. This is a critical time, and the decisions taken now will affect families with disabled children for the next few years. There is a real opportunity to make your views heard about the importance of investing in and protecting services for disabled children and their families.

The more people that speak up the better. Please pass this message on to as many families as you can, so that they can go onto the website spendingchallenge.hm-treasury.gov.uk and hopefully encourage their friends and relatives to do the same.

You may consider raising the following issues:

The importance of investing in services to support disabled children and their parents
The importance of easing the financial pressures on families by making the right benefits available and also taking steps to help parents take up jobs if appropriate (affordable childcare, flexible working etc)
• The importance of investing in parent participation so that families can drive the development of services locally

Please click onto the link spendingchallenge.hm-treasury.gov.uk and have your say.

Time to influence is very limited. Please make the most of that time!

May 2010

New Suffolk Website for Carers

Suffolk County Council has launched a new website for all family carers aged over 18 who care for someone living in Suffolk. It covers details about breaks and activities, as well as information and factsheets about finding and taking breaks...

www.timeforcarers.info

New "Suffolk Learning Disability Partnership Board and Big Messages" Website

To find out about all the services available in Suffolk for people with learning disabilities, please click here.

Apr 2010

"Positive Linx" is a new initiative to support young adults with  learning disabilities

'Positive Linx' is a new "person-centred" programme which aims to raise aspirations and increase opportunities for young people who are "NEET" (not in education, employment or training), through the delivery of a coaching and brokerage service. The programme will provide intensive and flexible support for 16-25 year olds with learning disabilities.

For further information click here.

The Suffolk "Work, Learning and Daytime Opportunities" Delivery Group is hosting the Suffolk Locality
Reference Panels in May 2010

As a response to the government's "Valuing People Now" programe the Suffolk Learning Disability Partnership Board has set up Locality Reference Panels across Suffolk to involve people in discussions around key issues affecting their local area.

The "Work, Learning and Daytime Opportunities" Delivery Group are hosting the Suffolk Locality Reference Panels in May 2010. For further information on panel locations and dates, please click here.

Mar 2010

From October, "Work Choice" will be the new (replacement) disability employment programme

“Work Choice”, which succeeds specialist disability employment programmes Workstep, Work Preparation and the Job Introduction Scheme, pays providers to get disabled people into work.

In Suffolk, the Department for Work and Pensions selected the Shaw Trust to deliver the new programme.

The Shaw trust claims to be the UK 's most successful provider of Workstep with a 56% progression rate of getting people into work, compared with the national average of only 9 per cent.

Nov 09

Four Out of Five Care Users 'Don't Understand Personal Budgets System'

Think tank Demos, which carried out the survey, said users of social and care services faced a chaotic transition to personal budgets over the coming year, with at least a third of care users expected to be managing them by 2011.

Personal budgets allow people to purchase their own care placements and packages instead of receiving community care services.People can either take their personal budget as a direct payment, or leave councils with the responsibility to commission the services, while still choosing how their care needs are met.

"At Your Service", says local authorities face a huge task to prepare users for the shift to a market in services, if they are to avoid confusion about what is available and ensure that providers are catering to new demands. The survey found that 82% of people surveyed knew nothing or very little about personal budgets, while 92% of older people surveyed said they knew nothing or very little. More than half said they would like to change the care they currently receive.

Demos said social and health care providers must start planning now to prepare for the new services that personal budget holders will demand. The think tank added that in particular they will need to anticipate a rocketing demand for personal assistants, education and leisure services. The Demos research also revealed shortages of supply of services in some areas and said local authorities will need to take some measures to stimulate growth. 

The study said that to manage this increased demand local authorities would need to develop the local market for supplying personal assistance and help around the home, develop services to help people move out of care homes and into their own tenancies and work with large care providers to explore where services could be expanded.

Local authorities must also be prepared for the potentially large number of people, especially older people, who would not wish to manage their own personal budgets, according to the report.

Care Services Minister Phil Hope said: "Over 100,000 people have benefited from a personal budget so far.

We want to help more and more people have greater choice and control over the care and support that they receive, and there is still more to be done. The department is currently developing further support for councils to help them engage with people who use services and this is a key element of the milestones recently agreed by the Association of Directors of Adult Services, the Local Government Association and the Department for Councils."

"At Your Service" is based on a survey of 269 people who currently use social and health care services across four local authorities, conducted jointly by Demos and the Centre for Disability Research at Lancaster University between December 2008 and July 2009.

Helping People With Learning Disabilities Into Work

Project Search provides a series of internships with an employer for people with learning disabilities and 14 sites, announced today, will take part in a Government evaluation of the model from next September.

Project Search provides interns with essential work and social skills to help people with learning disabilities into real jobs.

Minister for Disabled People Jonathan Shaw said:

We realise that only a small number of people with learning disabilities who receive adult social services are in work and we know that many more want real jobs. It's our duty to give them all the help and support they need to get into and stay in work. We want people to fulfil their potential and build a better life for themselves and their families. Project Search is a great opportunity to provide valuable internships, and the real possibility of a job, for people with learning disabilities. This is a vital programme to help people overcome barriers to work.

Minister for Care Services Phil Hope said:

Everyone wants to feel valued and work plays an important role in this. We are committed to removing the barriers individuals with learning disabilities face getting into paid work and promoting good practice.

Project Search has a proven track record in the USA in helping employers tap into the talent and skills those with learning disabilities have to offer. Project Search is a model developed in Cincinnati Children?s Hospital to support people with moderate to severe learning disabilities into work.

In the US, the model has been successful with 80 per cent of students who completed the Project Search programme in 2006-7 are now in full-time employment. Typically, 25 per cent to 40 per cent of US interns are hired by the host organisations.

Oct 09

Resource Website to Learn More about different Learning Disabilities

The website provides a number of What is...? cards you can download and print for your own use. They are brief and to the point and give a description of a particular condition. And ther's more.... Please check out

www.oaasis.co.uk/Free_Publications

Most People on Probation 'Have Learning Problems'

More than 60 probation staff from across the country were asked about their work by researchers.

They said that in 85% of the 2,036 cases they dealt with people had learning difficulties or problems expressing themselves and understanding what they were told.

The survey of 63 members of Napo, the probation officers' union, found that in only one case had a speech and language specialist been called in to help.

The majority of probation staff questioned estimated the number of people they encountered with learning difficulties was between 50% and 75%.

Harry Fletcher, assistant general secretary of Napo, said: "The report shows that the vast majority of those on probation or parole have major learning difficulties. Over a third do not understand what is being said to them by staff. A failure to address these issues will adversely affect re-offending rates. There is an urgent need for training for probation staff in order to identify learning and communication needs; for an input from specialists where appropriate and for an audit of the Probation Service to ascertain whether it is compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act and that all services are fully accessible to people with learning difficulties."

Sept 09

New Website for Carers

The government has created a new website with carers specifically in mind providing information, advice and support for carers. Please check out www.nhs.uk/carersdirect/Pages/CarersDirect

Aug 09

Jobs Project to Expand

A project which began in Norfolk to help students with learning difficulties find paid employment is to go nationwide. Project Search, based at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, involves students undertaking internships such as housekeepers, health records assistants and catering assistants. The multi-agency initiative has already received visits from two Cabinet ministers and now the Government is inviting proposals from local partnerships interested in running their own scheme using the model.

Jun 09

Shifting Perspectives

The Down's Syndrome Association's 'Shifting Perspectives' campaign celebrates five years of successful activity. The campaign uses photography to challenge misconceptions about people with Down's Syndrome, including the now famous '365', a montage of 365 children with Down's Syndrome which has had great impact. 

For more information, please click here .

New Goal to get more People with Learning Disabilities into Work

People with a learning disability will be helped into paid jobs to close the employment gap, Jonathan Shaw, Minister for Disabled People and Phil Hope, Minister for Care Services pledged today. The goal is set out in the new cross-government Learning Disability Employment Strategy, just published. The strategy sets out a vision to increase the number of real jobs for people with learning disabilities with appropriate support being provided. 

Care Services Minister Phil Hope said: 'Two thirds of people with a learning disability would like to work. Huge progress has been made in getting physically disabled people into employment but more must be done to help people with a learning disability – we're missing a huge talent pool which employers can tap into. The public sector has an important role to play to deliver the strategy, which is why it commits Government departments and the NHS to increasing the number of jobs they offer to people with learning disabilities.'

Minister for Disabled People Jonathan Shaw said: 'This strategy will help thousands more people get into work. We want to make sure everyone gets the help and support they need to overcome their barriers to work, fulfil their potential and build a better life for themselves and their families. We have made real improvements over the last decade to the lives of disabled people but there is still more to do, which is why we have committed to do more.'

The strategy, which will focus on adults with moderate and severe learning disabilities, will seek to close the employment gap with a number of measures:

• It is crucial to promote the fact that people with learning disabilities can work and have careers. The single most important thing is to change, from an early age, expectations about work, and Government will encourage widespread culture change;

• 400 employment opportunities will be offered to people with learning disabilities across the Department for Work and Pensions, including in Jobcentre Plus;

• the Department of Health will continue to work with Strategic Health Authorities, the NHS Confederation and NHS Employers to increase the number of people with learning disabilities employed in the NHS;

• all Government departments will be issued with guidance to help them target people with learning disabilities in recruitment campaigns;

• Jobcentre Plus staff will continue to be trained to support disabled people, including people with learning disabilities, into work; and

• job coaches will be recruited to give people with learning disabilities the support they need to find and retain paid employment; good career and skills preparation in schools and colleges;

• the Office for Disability Issues is today inviting interested organisations to submit proposals to become Project Search sites, and take part in an evaluation of Project Search. Project Search supports people with learning disabilities into paid jobs by providing a series of internships with a host employer.

A delivery plan, to be published alongside the strategy, will set out actions with timescales and responsibilities to ensure progress.

UK Ratifies Human Rights Treaty For Disabled People

The UK has today ratified an international treaty that enshrines the human rights of disabled people, Jonathan Shaw, Minister for Disabled People has announced.   


Disability Rights Backed But Opt-Outs Remain

The Government today ratified a UN anti-disability discrimination treaty - but chose to opt out of several key elements involving the Armed Forces, education, immigration and benefits.

Disabled 'Having To Battle Negative Views'

More than half of British society sees disabled people as "inferior", according to research commissioned by disability charity Scope. The report found that 53% of respondents viewed disabled people "in a negative way".

May 09

The Lamb Inquiry:Call for Evidence

The Lamb inquiry is calling for evidence into ways of improving parental confidence in the SEN assessment process.

There are questionnaires for parents, students, school staff and other professionals - if you wish to fill in a questionnaire go to www.dcsf.gov.uk/lambinquiry/evidence.shtml to find out more or here are the links direct to questionnaires:

Questionnaire for students

Questionnaire for parent / carers

Questionnaire for school/ college staff

Questionnaire for other professionals working with children, schools or families

The Lamb Inquiry was set up to advise the Secretary of State on the most effective ways of increasing parental confidence in the SEN assessment process. It has been asked to consider a range of ways in which this might be achieved, before reporting to the Secretary of State in September 2009.

The Inquiry is very interested in your views of the SEN system: what underpins parents’ confidence, what undermines it; what works, what doesn’t and what you think should be changed. We have a number of questions that we would like you to answer. Your comments will be entirely confidential and at no time will you be identified.

The questionnaires have designed them to be as brief as possible whilst allowing you to have your say on a range of different questions.

If your child or the child you look after would like to complete a questionnaire too, we would like that very much. You can each complete one; feel free to provide help should your child need it.

You can also send in other evidence, from research or surveys, which may help to inform the Inquiry.

The Institute of Education and the University of Warwick are supporting the Inquiry with the survey, the gathering of evidence and the analysis of the research. The survey will be analysed by the researchers, as will other evidence that you send in.

If you have any questions about the survey or about the submission of evidence to the Inquiry, please contact Penelope Brown: p.brown@ioe.ac.uk

If you have wider questions about the Inquiry, please contact Philippa Stobbs: Philippa.Stobbs@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk

New evidence highlights funding crisis for learning disability services

Learning disability services are under-funded by £200 million a year, says Learning Disability Coalition.

The Learning Disability Coalition has called on the government to urgently raise investment in services for people with a learning disability.

The coalition – a group of 12 learning disability organisations has submitted evidence to the Treasury showing that services are under-funded by at least £200 million a year. It indicates that government spending on essential learning disability services has failed to grow with the rise in population and the increasing complexity of care needs.

Dame Jo Williams, chair of the coalition and former chief executive of Mencap, said: “My colleagues in the sector and I are desperately concerned that we are faced with a ticking time bomb.”

The submission recommends that the social care shortfall be bridged through the NHS part of the Department of Health's budget.

"Finding the £200 million we need from the NHS budget of £106 billion must be possible," said Andrew Lee, director of People First and co-chair of the coalition. "And in the long run it would save money by preventing people needing more expensive care due to neglect.”

Apr 09

Suffolk receives Grant to improve Transition

The National Transition Support team, based at the Council for Disabled Children, was contracted last year to support the delivery of the government's Transition Support Programme. The aim of the programme is to improve the standards of transition provision in all local areas in England, through a combination of grants, resources and one-to-one support.

The national transition support team announced on 26 March the funding allocations for year two of the Transition Support Programme (2009 to 2010). All local areas will receive £10,000 to be used to support the improvement of transition. This includes offsetting the cost of completing the next Self Assessment Questionnaire (due in September 09) and to develop practice on participation of disabled young people and their families.

Suffolk is one of 24 local areas will receive an extra direct grant of £37,500 to develop best practice and improve support across transition in other areas.

The 24 local areas who receive direct grants will work directly with the national transition support team to further develop effective practice. All other local areas will be offered a range of support and will be contacted to look at what will be most helpful to each local area.

For more information about the Transition Support Programme,   please click here.

Mar 09

Local authorities must do more to provide personalised care for people with a learning disability, says a new report.

A joint report published by health and social care watchdogs looks at the ways councils and primary care trusts (PCTs) commission services for people with a learning disability.

The Commission for Social Care Inspection, the Healthcare Commission and the Mental Health Act Commission, worked together to produce the report.

They found that improvements to the way services are commissioned have been made, with councils and PCTs moving towards more flexible services. However, change is not happening quickly enough. Despite guidance that all people with a learning disability should have a person-centred plan to involve them in decisions about their care, only a minority of users have one.

"It is good news that improvements are being made," said Anna Walker, chief executive of the Healthcare Commission. "But it is not happening fast enough to bridge the gap between the standard of care that people with learning disabilities are entitled to, and the standard of care they actually receive."

The report also criticises arrangements to protect vulnerable adults and says that more people want to access direct payments so they can make decisions about the services they buy.

Mark Goldring, Mencap's chief executive, said that the report highlights the gulf between policy and practice: "The fact that only a minority of people with a learning disability have a person-centred plan is shocking and flies in the face of the government's move to provide personalised support."

Please click here to read the report

Feb 09

Make sure your MP joins the debate on learning disability and human rights

On March 5th, an important debate will take place in Parliament, focusing on the human rights abuses so often faced by people with learning disabilities.

This offers us an extremely good opportunity to get MPs thinking and talking about the issues we're concerned about.

MPs will be briefed about the lack of funding for basic services - and how this ultimately leads to people losing their dignity and independence.

Please put pressure on your MP to make sure that they actually turn up!

Please click here to invite your MP to the Westminster Hall debate

Jan 09

Valuing People Now: a new three-year strategy for learning disabilities

On 19 January, The Department of Health published its learning disability plans ‘Valuing People Now: a new three-year strategy for people with learning disabilities'. It sets out the government's plans for learning disability services in England until 2011.‘Valuing People Now' brings the 2001 ‘Valuing People' white paper up to date. It addresses recent changes in government policy, including the personalisation of social care services.

The strategy is generally welcomed but some have serious reservations about the reality of putting it into practice. Hard-pressed local authorities, working with partnership boards without any statutory powers, are going to find it hard to deliver the vision set out in ‘Valuing People Now'...

For the Executive Summary, please click here.

For the Easy Read version, please click here.

Oct 08

New Local Law Advice Clinic offering Free Legal Advice for All

The Law Advice Centre, run by Ipswich and Suffolk Council for Racial Equality (ISCRE) in Ipswich is now open to all members of the general public - including those with learning disabilities and their parent/carers.

Suffolk is quite an advice desert in relation to Legal Aid etc and the centre has a refreshed and committed team of trainee and newly qualified solicitors to support them and accessing law firms offering free advice.

The advice areas offered are very broad - Education, Social Care, Housing/Criminal Justice/family issues etc

ISCRE has been funded for its case work by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission who now require them to extend their remit to cover all strands. They have already had 2 referrals from the Commission that are Disability related cases.

For further information, please contact Audrey on tel: 01473 408111 or e mail office@iscre.org.uk

Sept 08

Results of teenage disability survey 'concerning'

The majority of teenagers have never met a disabled person, new research reveals. A third (32%) say they would feel uncomfortable or apprehensive at meeting someone with a disability while nearly half (43%) want to learn more about disability as a subject in schools. 

The poll of 1,000 youngsters aged 11 to 18 was commissioned by St Dunstan's, a national charity which provides support for visually impaired ex-servicemen and women. It found that younger children were more likely to express apprehension, with 35% of 11 to 14-year-olds saying they would be uncomfortable meeting a disabled person compared to 28% of 15 to 18-year-olds.

Girls were more keen to learn about disability as a topic in school than boys (47% to 39%). In total, 79% of all teenagers questioned had never met a disabled person. Just over one in five teenagers (21%) said they already know somebody with a disability.

Aug 08

New Online Support for Parent / Carers

Mencap, the learning disability charity, has launched a new website with a section dedicated to providing essential information and support to the families and carers of children with a learning disability.

As well as guides on key topics such as assessments, leisure and choosing a school, the ‘ages and stages' section of the site gives parents an insight into what to expect at each stage of their child's life.

The site also has a new discussion forum, where families and carers can share their experiences, ask questions and find advice and support.

“There was just so much information. Because we were coming to terms with having a child with a learning difficulty, it was actually too much to take in,” said Jo Yarnell, mother to five-year-old Hannah.

“As soon as I spoke to other parents, they just said ‘yes, what you are going through is normal - that is exactly how we felt'. It just took an absolute weight off my shoulders.”

For more information visit www.mencap.org.uk/families

Have Your Say on the Future of Adult Social Care!

The Government are currently asking for comments...

You can help to ensure that people with a learning disability have a good quality of life.

This is your chance to tell them what you think the future of social care should look like for people with a learning disability and their families.

Have your say at www.careandsupport.direct.gov.uk

You can have a look at the Learning Disability Coalition website to see what they are saying.

Their general message:

• We support the vision of choice, independence, rights and inclusion for people with a learning disability

• However, it needs to be backed up with enough funding to make it really happen.

• At the moment the funding is just not keeping pace with demand.
  

Urgent call for families with disabled children to get advice on their benefits and tax credits entitlements

Contact a Family has identified that some families with disabled children could lose out on vital income due to imminent changes in benefit rules. From 27 October 2008 Incapacity Benefit and income support for people with health problems will be replaced by Employment Support Allowance (ESA).

Families with a disabled teenager born before 27 th October 1992 have a choice – they can either claim the existing benefits now or wait and claim ESA at a later date. Some will be worse off on the new ESA depending on individual circumstances.

Contact a Family working with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), has also identified there are 28,000 families in the UK who are missing out on much needed extra income through additional tax credits. Families who have not informed HMRC that they receive Disability Living Allowance could be missing out on this additional income, which is paid in addition to existing tax credits they may already receive.

If you feel you might be affected by either of these issues or simply want to check that you are getting all the money you are entitled to, telephone the Contact a Family helpline - 0808 808 3555

The helpline is staffed by benefits experts and trained parent advisers who can help to maximise a family's income.

Jul 08

LSC staff worry for vulnerable

Joseph Lee
Published: 27 June 2008, Times Educational Supplement, FE Focus

Staff of the Learning and Skills Council, which is due to be replaced within two years, claim new funding arrangements for teenage and adult education will involve too much red tape and neglect vulnerable people.

An internal consultation of the 3,200 LSC staff at the LSC revealed concerns about replacing it with two new national bodies.

The draft report, obtained by FE Focus and expected to be sent in its revised form to ministers at the end of the month, is the LSC's only response to its own demise.

Mark Haysom, the chief executive, decided it would be inappropriate for the council to formally comment on the changes, preferring instead to give staff the chance to understand what the proposals might mean and share their ideas and views on how they might be developed and implemented.

The report said: At this stage in the machinery of government proposals, there are many areas where there is little or no detail and this has, inevitably, resulted in staff raising a number of fundamental concerns. It said the comments should not be seen as negativity because staff had an uncertain future, but reflected a genuine effort to make the proposals work.

Under the changes, about £7 billion of funding will go to local authorities to fund education for teenagers, overseen by a Young Peoples Learning Agency. Funding for post-19 education will be handled by a Skills Funding Agency.

The shake-up is intended to help make the funding of schools and colleges more equal for 16- to 18-year-olds by establishing a common system. Colleges have long pro­tested it was unfair that their students could expect about £400 less each year than a school sixth form student.

But LSC staff said there was no planning role for the new funding bodies, which are supposed to respond to demand, so they doubted the agencies ability to make the most of finite resources.

Jun 08

New Telephone Support for Carers dealing facing challenging behaviour

Families caring for sons/daughters with severe learning disabilities can now receive individual telephone support around understanding and managing challenging behaviour for the cost of a local call.

Some children (and adults) with severe learning disabilities typically display behaviour which may put themselves or others at risk, or which may prevent the use of community facilities or an ordinary home life.  This behaviour may be in the form of aggression, self injury, stereotyped behaviour or disruptive and destructive behaviours. Whilst anyone may at times display challenging behaviour, the work of the Challenging Behaviour Foundation is aimed at helping those with severe learning disabilities.  Severe learning disability (sometimes referred to as severe intellectual disability or severe mental handicap) is a developmental disability and refers to individuals who have either no speech or limited communication and require support with daily living skills such as dressing and eating. Family carers experiencing these issues can now access individual information and support from the Challenging Behaviour Foundation Family Support Worker on 0845 602 7885 . Originally started by a parent to provide help and information to other parents, the Challenging Behaviour Foundation's expertise is now recognized by a growing number of learning disability professionals.

Jan 08

Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) attack restriction of social care

The Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) has produced its latest report on the state of social care in England. The report stresses that the tightening of eligibility criteria is leading to suffering and a lack of independence for people with learning disabilities. In response to the report, Ivan Lewis, the Social Care Minister, announced a review into eligibility criteria, saying that we need a 'fair and sustainable funding system for the future.'

Dec 07

Harrow council defeated in court

The Public Law Project, supported by local groups including Harrow Mencap. defeated Harrow Council in court. The judge declared that the Council had acted unlawfully in not considering the Disability Discrimination Act in deciding to only support people assessed as having critical needs. It must now fully review its decision and has said that it will not appeal against the ruling.

Nov 07

Councils 'rationing' social care
BBC News

22 November 2007

Social care for elderly and disabled people in England is being rationed so severely that councils are supporting only the most needy, campaigners say. The Learning Disability Coalition said three quarters of local authorities had decided to restrict assistance.

Campaigners and councils say government funding has not kept pace with growing numbers of elderly and disabled people.

But the Department of Health said councils must use "record investment" in more innovative and flexible ways.

Vulnerable people

Any adult wanting help from their local social services is assessed to see if their needs are low, moderate, substantial or critical.

The coalition, which represents a group of charities, analysed figures to find that many councils had rationed support over the past three years.

By next April, three quarters of councils will confine help to only people with critical or substantial needs, according to the coalition.

Campaigners say this excludes many people whose needs may be classed as moderate but are still vulnerable, and struggle to do basic tasks such washing themselves, carrying shopping or walking upstairs.

Councils accept the situation is unfair but blame central government by saying funding has not kept pace with growing numbers of elderly and disabled people.

'Devastating news'

The coalition's figures showed wide variations between regions, with services in the West Midlands being the most rationed and those in the East Midlands the most generous.

Liberal Democrat communities spokesman Andrew Stunell said the Budget settlement for local councils could be "devastating news" for older people and those with learning disabilities.

He said: "Even the local government minister has admitted that next year's local government settlement is going to be tight.

"The government must ensure that the most vulnerable in society aren't left behind by cuts in services."

June 07

Special pupils need special treatment

Evening Star (extract)
19 June 2007

PUPILS in special schools in Suffolk have very specific needs which are looked after magnificently while they are in full-time education. But eventually all pupils will leave school and have to find their own way in society - and now the headteachers of three special schools are warning that these youngsters could fall through society's safety net. The lack of opportunities for young people with learning difficulties as they leave school is clearly of great concern to their families and teachers.

It is all very well for Suffolk County Council, through its education department, to provide excellent teaching to these youngsters, but if there is nothing for them to go on to when they leave school there will be a huge gap in their lives. Youngsters with special needs cannot just be abandoned when they reach 19. They need to continue to feel that they have a role in society.

Yet resource centres and courses that were open to them are now being closed down and there is a real fear that youngsters who have made tremendous progress at school could be left without any help at the end of their formal education.

Today's warning from the headteachers should act as a wake-up call to social services to ensure that a generation of young people with special needs is not abandoned by the system.

Headteachers warning on pupils prospects

Evening Star (extract)
19 June 2007

SUFFOLK is today leaving youngsters with learning difficulties out in the cold by limiting their prospects after they leave school, it has been claimed.

Headteachers at the three Ipswich special schools which cater for youngsters until their late teens today lifted the lid on fears for their students who are held back in adulthood because of a lack of opportunities in the county.

Suffolk County Council's social services department said it is working to develop opportunities for learning and within the workplace, but the schools say more must been done to get businesses and other sections of the community to realise the youngsters can be valuable assets.

Sue Chesworth, headteacher at Belstead Special School, Sprites Lane, said: “Some students go onto college and make good progress but then there are limited opportunities from that stage to go on to sheltered work. The likelihood is they won't get a job when they should go on learning and developing like the rest of us. The children have probably achieved an enormous amount up until that point but then, through no fault of their own, they become more dependent on their parents or carers than ever - when they should be becoming more independent. Parents feel desperate, helpless, unsupported and isolated.

The school puts a lot of work into preparing students for when they leave school, but there aren't opportunities for us to lead them onto. While at school, we are here to advocate for the youngsters to make sure they are getting help, but afterwards, parents feel very much on their own.”

Many students go on to Suffolk College , Otley College or West Suffolk College in Bury St Edmunds, or resource centres. However, the Suffolk County Council run Rosehill Resource Centre at Felixstowe Road , which many of the parents at Belstead use, will stop running in July as the lease on the building has run out.

Parents and carers are now having meetings to arrange alternative care.

Lilian Power, a psychologist and a governor at the school, said: “Once children have passed through the education system, they effectively drop into a black hole with very few employment or further training prospects. Those who have no prospect of employment, training or becoming active members of a community are looked after but those who, given the right support, could be employed or trained and have a sense of worth and engagement outside of their families, get very little. They become effectively invisible. And all the work that has been done at Belstead and other places to enable them to become active rather than passive recipients of care is effectively wasted.

SUFFOLK County Council today said it was working with colleges and employers to increase opportunities for young people with learning difficulties.

Cheryl Sharland, head of transitions, works to create openings for youngsters with additional needs. She said: “Just recently we secured European Social Funding to support 60 young people with additional needs obtain employment over the next 18 months.”

For full articles. click here and here

February 07

Although the Audit Commission gave Suffolk County Council a top rating in its Comprehensive Performance Assessment for 2006. it noted that areas not performing as well, included:

• delayed discharges from hospitals,
• services for people with learning disabilities, and
• some attainment levels at Key Stage 2 (tests in schools for 11 year-olds).