Contact: Howard Firth, Strategic Service Manager- Special Needs and Family Support Tel: 01962 847278 - Email address: [email protected]

1 Summary

1.1 The `Every Disabled Child Matters' campaign was established by four leading organisations working with disabled children and their families - Contact a Family, Council for Disabled Children, Mencap and the Special Educational Consortium. The purpose of the campaign is to challenge elected representatives and policymakers to the aspirations of Every Child Matters campaign to disabled children.

1.2 The campaign objectives are for:

_ Families with disabled children to have ordinary lives

_ Disabled children to matter as much as all other children

_ Disabled children and their families to be fully included in society

_ All disabled children and their families to get the right services and support - no matter where they live

_ Poverty amongst disabled children and their families to be cut by 50% by 2010 and eliminated by 2020

_ An education system that meets the needs of each child and enables them to reach their full potential

_ Disabled children and their families to shape the way that services are planned, commissioned and delivered

1.3 To raise the profile of disabled children within local authorities, the Every Disabled Child Matters Campaign has also launched a Local Authority Charter. This was produced with the support of Children Now magazine and asks local authorities to commit to providing a range of services for disabled children and their families by January 2008 and also to address the needs of disabled children in their strategic planning and Local Area Agreements. (See appendix 1)

1.4 The Charter is ambitious but realistic. The Campaign is very high profile nationally and every local authority is asked to show their commitment to disabled children by signing up. Local authorities are already required to address most of the issues in the Charter through law and guidance.

2. THE LOCAL AUTHORITY CHARTER

The Charter lists 9 commitments to be delivered by January 2008:

1. All agencies are planning services on the basis of knowledge of how many disabled children live in the area.

2. A key worker service provides support to families who are accessing more than one specialist service.

3. The Council's Parent Partnership Service is sufficiently resourced to provide advice, information and support to parents of disabled children and young people who have been excluded from school.

4. Parents and carers receive accurate and timely information and advice on all the services available to them and their families.

5. All staff have undergone disability equality training to ensure that they have core competencies to work with disabled children; relevant staff have received specialist training and other staff know how to contact them for information.

6. Disabled children are involved drawing up local agencies' Disability Equality Schemes and in monitoring their effectiveness in eliminating discrimination.

7. The Children and Young People's Plan explains how specialist services including extended schools and children's centres will be accessible to disabled children.

8. The Local Area Agreement includes targets for the level of service to be delivered to families with a disabled child.

9. Disabled children and families are involved in the planning, commissioning and monitoring of both specialist and universal services.

2.1 The County Council provides a wide range of good services and support to disabled children, young people and their families as highlighted in the recent Joint Area Review which emphasised the following strengths

_ A clear commitment to inclusion

_ The progress being achieved by pupils in mainstream and special schools

_ The good support provided to young people, through transition and into further education

_ The quality of information on education that parents/carers receive

_ The high priority placed by Hampshire on consultation with young people and families

_ The very good provision in early years and day care settings

_ The partnership between Hampshire and its special schools

_ The collection and analysis of data to monitor the future needs of children with SEN

_ The early intervention undertaken with disabled children in pre-school settings

2.2 The JAR outcomes mirror the considerable progress that has been made to improve the outcomes for disabled children and their families. These include:

_ The development of a joint equipment store

_ The work currently being undertaken by partners in developing a short breaks commissioning strategy

_ Transition arrangements between children and adult services

_ Consultation with parents and carers in the development of new services

_ The continued success of JENI (Joint Exceptional Needs Initiative) and SHIPS (School Home Inclusion Partnerships)

_ The implementation of self-directed support and the use of direct payments

2.3 This said, the Charter poses a number of challenges and it is a `benchmark tool' to enable us to examine and improve our services as part of the JAR Action Plan.

2.4 Signing up to the Charter would increase confidence among parents/carers and young people that improving services for disabled children and their families is not merely aspirational.

3. Recommendations

That the Executive Member for Children & Families

a) approves signing up to the Charter and agrees to the implementation of an Action Plan (Appendix 1) in response to meeting the 9 key outcomes

b) agrees to a Communication Strategy that:

- informs parents, carers and young people that we have signed up to the charter and updates them on the progress being made

- engages all county council departments and partners in the action plan

4. Reason

4.1 The decision supports the Corporate priorities:

"Making Hampshire safer and more secure for all by enabling disabled children to have greater inclusion and involvement with their local community.

Maximising well-being by ensuring every disabled child can have the best possible start in life and the support they and their families need to make equality of opportunity a reality.

Enhancing our quality of place through developing opportunities for all citizens to be included within their local community."

5. Consultation

5.1 Signing up to the Charter is the direct result of wide ranging consultation with families at both county and national level

5.2 Throughout the last 8 months the executive lead has been lobbied by parents of disabled children to sign up to the Charter and considerable progress has been made in engaging parents in anticipation of taking the charter forward..

5.3 At a national level, the campaign consortium in partnership with families have identified the inequality, exclusion and poverty suffered by many families of disabled children. Consultation identified that. 8/10 families say they are at breaking point and the Children's Commissioner, Al Ainsley Green says:-

"Services for Disabled Children and their families are a National scandal"

The Charter Provides us with an opportunity to address these issues in Hampshire through:

· Access and empowerment

· Responsive services and timely services

· Improving quality and capacity

6. Legal implications

6.1 None

7. Financial implications

7.1 None.

8. Personnel implications

8.1 None.

9 Impact assessment

9.1 The achievement of the Charter pledge within Hampshire will ensure we meet our statutory duties under the Corporate Equalities Plan and Disability Discrimination Act.

9.2 The implementation will also mean we meet our obligations under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act in addressing the under representation of children from ethnic minority groups accessing services to disabled children.

10 Crime prevention issues

10.1 The Charter Action Plan will support the County Councils obligation under Section 17 Crime and Disorder Act by supporting the `better integration' of Young People and Families within the local community.

11 Views of the Local County Councillor

11.1 As the Charter refers to services for disabled children/young people and their families county wide the views of individual councillors were not sought. However, discussions were held with the previous Executive Member Children and Families who was supportive of the Charter and keen that families be involved in taking the lead.

12 Conclusion

12.1 Sign up to the Charter will confirm this Authority's commitment to disability particularly support to families where there is a disabled child. It will encourage partner and other appropriate agencies to ensure that whatever services they are providing they include disabled children.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background documents

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