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This page is where you'll find reports about the results of our consultations and surveys.

Support for Parent Carers of Neurodivergent Children and Young People – Survey Report

In partnership with parent carers, Wiltshire Council developed its partnership programme designed to support parent carers of children and young people with a diagnosis of autism some years ago. This programme of support is called SWAPP (Support in Wiltshire Autism Parent Programme).

In response to conversations with Wiltshire Council officers, following feedback from parent carers about SWAPP courses, the WPCC created a short survey for parent carers; this was published on the WPCC website, in the WPCC newsletter and on social media. The survey ran for two weeks from late November 2024, closing on 2nd December 2024.

The survey sought to understand from parent carers what would be helpful in re-shaping this offer to reflect the need for something broader than just autism, by developing a programme that does not require a diagnosis and is more relevant to parent carers of children and young people who are presenting as neurodivergent. The programme would still seek to go up to the ages of 16.

36 people responded to the survey. To take a look at the results of the survey, please click here.

Wiltshire Local Area SEND Inspection Report is Published

Wiltshire was recently visited by Care Quality Commission and Ofsted government inspectors to check services for families with children and young people with special educational needs and/ or disabilities (SEND) in Wiltshire. They looked at the whole Local Area Partnership which includes education, health, social care, alternative provision, and more.

The inspection involved speaking to professionals, families, and other organisations involved in SEND, including the Wiltshire Parent Carer Council.

A full inspection report of the findings has now been published and Wiltshire has received the top grade inspection for SEND – they are one of only five local authorities to receive this grading. The report highlights how partnership working in Wiltshire is incredibly positive, and collaborative working has helped to improve services. This includes the collective voice of children, young people and their families. The report also helpfully identifies areas that Wiltshire needs to continue to improve and the WPCC will continue to work in partnership across the Local Area to ensure that parent carers remain fundamental to strengthening services for all families of children and young people with SEND.

Wiltshire Parent Carer Council would like to thank the many parent carers who shared their views to contribute to this inspection.

Click [here] to read the full inspection report. Wiltshire Council have also produced a [press release] about the inspection and its findings.

Support for Parent Carers

Following the news of the new contract arrangements for supporting unpaid carers in Wiltshire, the WPCC arranged a session on 19th April 2024 for parent carers to meet, hear from and talk to commissioners to understand more about arrangements specifically for parent carers of children and young people aged 0 to 25 with SEND. We would like to thank everyone who attended the session which generated rich, helpful and constructive conversation. Some actions have been taken away as a result of this session and we will share further information in due course.

Following this session, we felt it would be helpful to clarify some elements of the support for parent carers to hopefully reduce some confusion.


The New Contract
The new contract which began on 1st April, has been split into three parts: -

* Support for Young Carers and Young Adult Cares aged 5 to 25.

-This element of the contract is provided by Community First. More information is on their [website].

* Support for unpaid carers including parent carers is provided by a consortium of a number organisations called Carers Together Wiltshire.

-Carers Together Wiltshire has a [website] which describes how the consortium, led by Age UK, will help unpaid carers.

-Possibly of most help to parent carers is a single point of contact phone number: 01380 710300.

-Enquiries can also be emailed to: enquiries@carerstogetherwiltshire.org.uk.

* A digital platform has also been commissioned; this is called [Carer Friendly Wiltshire] and is managed by Forward Carers.

-This website includes a section specifically for parent carers.

-The website has some free resources to support unpaid carers

Carers’ Emergency Card
The Carers’ Emergency Card is being replaced by the Carer ID Card. The Carer ID Card offers a form of verified identification, verifies your caring identity and includes your photograph and your In Case of Emergency (ICE) contact details. The card is free of charge, and issued by Forward Carers. The Carer ID Card will provide similar support to previous Carers’ Emergency Card, i.e. you will have an emergency plan that will be actioned if you are in an accident for example.

You do not need to apply for a Carer ID Card if you have an in-date Carers’ Emergency Card. We understand that in time, people with a Carers’ Emergency Card will be sent a letter and will be invited to apply for a Carer ID Card.

You can apply for a free Carer ID card [HERE].

Children & Young People’s Emotional Wellbeing & Mental Health Support Services Survey for Parent Carers - Survey Report

Wiltshire Council are reviewing their current commissioning portfolio of services designed to support children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing. As part of this review, they wanted to seek the views of children, young people and their families/parents/carers so they could understand how current provision may or may not be meeting the emotional needs of children and young people with additional care needs. They are interested in where the gaps in service provision are, and are seeking ideas and thoughts as to how they can reduce and remove these gaps and ensure accessible services are available for all.

Wiltshire Parent Carer Council compiled a survey for parent carers which was available for 6 weeks during October/November 2023; 54 parent carers took part.

To take a look at the results of the survey, please click here

New Annual Review Guidance and Paperwork in Wiltshire

SEND and Inclusion Services at Wiltshire Council have been working in partnership with people to produce a range of new forms and a new digital guidance booklet for schools/settings and professionals, regarding the EHC Plan annual review process.

To support this partnership work, the WPCC formed a parent carer working group, to design a new form for parent carers to record their views and contributions to the annual review process. The group shared their experiences of the annual review process and advised on content for the SEND Local Offer webpages. The new Annual Review section and associated forms can be found [HERE].

Wiltshire Good Lives Alliance – WPCC Consultation & Survey Report

Earlier this year, Wiltshire Parent Carer Council (WPCC) promoted opportunities for parent carers to engage in conversations about support for people with additional needs beyond the age of 16.

During February 2023 through to early March 2023, parent carers were invited to give their opinions by way of a mixture of virtual events via Teams, face-to-face meetings, and completing questionnaires. These were promoted via the WPCC website, the WPCC weekly newsletter, social media and further promoted by partner organisations across Wiltshire. This piece of work will support and help to inform the re-commissioning of the Wiltshire Good Lives Alliance, and was carried out in partnership with Wiltshire Council Whole Life Commissioning colleagues within adult services who helped co-facilitate the sessions.

Parent carers were asked to comment on key themes: -

1) Ensuring good wrap-around support is given
2) How Good Lives Alliance providers can support independence, access to leisure opportunities and support mental health and wellbeing.
3) Access to information about the Good Lives Alliance and their providers
4) Good Wrap Around Support

To read the consultation/ survey report, please click here.

Government’s Long-Awaited SEND Improvement Plan Published

The government published its plans to reform support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in England on 2nd March 2023.

The SEND Improvement plan includes investment in training for thousands of workers so children can get the help they need earlier. This comes alongside thousands of additional specialist school places for those with the greatest needs.

The plan will be underpinned by new national SEND and AP (alternative provision) standards in order to reduce the postcode lottery that currently exists in the SEND support system. To improve parents’ and carers’ experiences of accessing support, the plan aims to cut local bureaucracy. The process for assessing needs through Education Health and Care (EHC) plans will be digital-first, quicker and simpler wherever possible.

You can read the full report on the .gov website [HERE], or an [Easy Read Version here].

You can read IPSEA’s thoughts on the government’s published SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan on the [IPSEA website].

Many thanks again to the parent carers that came along last summer to our consultations on the reforms and also those who sent us their comments online. This allowed us to submit a response as a whole parent carer forum which fed into this national consultation.

Health Outcomes for Young People Through Education

The WPCC promoted the HOPE (Health Outcomes for young People through Education) last year and the first findings of the study survey have just been shared with us. You can see these findings in the [Infographic Flyer]. Parent carers in the South West of England submitted the highest number of responses.

National findings included: -
• Long waiting lists for assessments
• Education settings lack of understanding of SEND
• Lack of specialist SEND professionals in your Local Authority
• Problems accessing health services
• Just over 65% of people had heard of the Local Offer

Bid for Extra Funding to Support Short Breaks Activities and Experiences

WPCC’s report summarising the results from its recent survey

The WPCC recently ran a very short survey, asking parent carers to help inform Wiltshire Council’s bid proposal for the DfE’s Short Breaks Innovation Fund. The WPCC collated the survey responses and presented them to Wiltshire Council to help inform the fund bid. Please see Extra Funding to Support Short Breaks – WPCC Survey Report – Nov 2022 to see our animated survey report (available on PowerPoint viewer) or click on the following [web link].

We will update further when we know the outcome of this funding bid.

WPCC’s First Information Event in 2023 – You Said, We Did…

In our recent short survey, we asked if we should run our first Information Event of 2023 during February Half Term or not; this was in response to a few requests we have received asking if it might be possible to hold one of our Information Events during a school holiday, instead of the usual term-time. Our survey closed on 6th November 2022.

The majority of people who responded to our survey said that they would prefer to attend WPCC Information Events during term time. Please see our attachment (WPCC’s Next Information Event – Nov 2022) for an infographic, showing the results of our survey.

Having listened to this feedback, we are now beginning to plan our first event of 2023 which will take place on Friday 24th February 2023. It will be held at the Civic Centre, Trowbridge again, as we have been told in previous surveys that this is the preferred location by most people. We anticipate timings being similar to previous events i.e. 9.30am for Arrival/Registration, 10am Start (with Welcome and Housekeeping), 2pm Finish.

We are now busy working on the planning and preparation of this event. Please hold the date and we will provide more information in due course, including when bookings are open.

An Update from Wiltshire Council’s SEND Service on Wiltshire’s new SEND Support Plan Template

A SEND Support Plan is a document that can be used for children and young people with identified SEND, to plan outcome-focussed and person-centred support, concentrating on individual needs and priorities. In Wiltshire, these plans have been known and referred to by many people as ‘My Support Plans’.

A SEND Support Plan has information about the child’s needs and the support they are getting, and should be written and reviewed in partnership with the parent carer and young person. It reflects the four-stage cycle of ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’ and can help co-ordinate support if there are several professionals or services involved.

SEND Support Plans should be used for children and young people who are at the SEND Support stage of the SEND Code of Practice, within their current educational setting. It is not a statutory document and some schools and settings may choose to use their own template and approach to this level of support.

As part of Wiltshire Council’s consultation on SEND improvements, we received significant feedback from parent and carers, educational settings and other professionals that the old style ‘My Support Plan’ needed updating, making it more person-centred and user friendly for all.

In response to this feedback, SEND Services have been working with a group of SENCos from a variety of education settings to design a new SEND Support Plan template, replacing the current ‘My Support Plan’. The working group produced a draft copy that was then tested and reviewed in schools and settings. Parents and carers also gave feedback as part of this process in school.

A reviewed SEND Support Plan or equivalent document is required as part of the evidence submitted by the educational setting, when requesting that the local authority carries out a statutory EHC Needs Assessment.

You can read more about the SEND Support Plan and view the template, on the [Wiltshire SEND Local Offer webpages].

Please Note, when you click on this Education Health and Care Needs Assessment link, you then need to scroll down the page to find the 'SEND Support Plan' information.

WPCC’s Next Information Event - Survey Results

A huge thank you to everyone who completed our brief survey about the next WPCC Information Event. As a result of the feedback received through our survey, we are delighted to confirm the next WPCC Information event will take place on Wednesday 2nd November 2022 at the Civic Centre in Trowbridge from 9.30am to 2.00pm. Also, in response to the feedback received through the survey, the theme of the event will be Preparing for Adulthood. We are in the process of contacting services and providers to build our usual Market Place of Information and arrange a relevant workshop. When we are in a position to promote more information about what will be available on the day, we will advise when bookings for the event are open; in the meantime, we hope it is helpful to have the date so you can hold it in your diary.


Summary of Survey Results

• 55% of people said they would like the next event to take place at the Civic Centre in Trowbridge. To help bring the cost of this venue close to within budget, 85% of people said they would be happy with the offer of free cakes plus tea and coffee; 15% said they would be happy to pay towards the cost of a simple buffet lunch. The WPCC will therefore provide free tea, coffee and cakes (no lunch).

• 14% of people requested an event in the South of the county and 3% suggested a venue in the North of the county. The WPCC has explained that it doesn’t have the budget or resources to repeat these events in several locations, which is why large information events are always held as centrally as possible to make it as fair as possible for people to travel from all over the county. We will however consider other options in the future in response to this feedback.

• 72% of people requested that the theme of the next event should be Preparing for Adulthood. The WPCC is working on Preparing for Adulthood as the main theme of the next event.

WPCC’s Response to the National Consultation on the SEND and Alternative Provision Green Paper - UPDATE

The Wiltshire Parent Carer Council would like to say a massive thank you to all of the parent carers who so generously gave their time to contribute to the sessions we ran during June and July (including those who were unable to attend but submitted feedback additionally), to help us compile a combined response to the SEND and Alternative Provision Green Paper on behalf of Wiltshire Parent Carers.

The parent carers who attended our sessions said they were grateful to have the main points of the review broken down into a language that was easier to understand. Many said the government consultation document was overwhelming and our face to face sessions had given them an important chance to give their feedback.

The second part of our sessions took the format of an ‘unconference’; each group of parent carers chose the topics that were of the most importance for them to discuss further and lead their own conversations. We really enjoyed hearing what you had to say and seeing how you all worked together on the various discussion topics.

Please click [HERE] to see the report of the collective discussions and contributions from our parent carers; this is what we submitted to the national consultation.

We have received a response acknowledging our submission to the contribution which says: “Thank you for your email and for taking the time to respond to the consultation, we really appreciate this. Please be assured that your feedback will be included in the consultation.”.

Later this year, following the completion of the consultation, the Government will publish a national SEND delivery plan, setting out their response to the consultation and how the proposals will be implemented. As always, the WPCC will update as we receive further information.

WPCC Social Media Engagement Survey

Thank you to all who participated in our survey around engagement with WPCC’s social media channels.

The majority of people who responded to the survey already followed WPCC on Facebook, and the majority of those who didn’t already would like to engage through Instagram. As a result, the WPCC has now created an Instagram page which can be found [HERE]. However, Facebook will continue as the main social media platform that WPCC will share information through, so if you haven’t already the please follow us to stay up to date with the latest information and events: @Wiltspcc

You can also follow WPCC on Twitter: @WiltsPCC

And you can also sign up to our Weekly Newsletter which contains all the information and events we share [HERE]

WPCC Wiltshire EHCP Template Survey Report

On 10th May 2022, Wiltshire Parent Carer Council and Wiltshire Council’s SEND Service held a joint workshop to review and consider a redesign of the current Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) template used in Wiltshire.

This work is in response to comments and feedback from parent/carers, schools and settings and other service users that the current version needs to be more user friendly.

As a result of feedback at the workshop, we decided to do a follow-up survey to seek further parent carer views on a few of the issues raised, to gain a wider understanding. The survey ran for two weeks in June - click here to read the survey report.

Wiltshire Small Grants Scheme – Update

Earlier this year, the WPCC promoted the Wiltshire Small Grants Scheme. This was a grant made available as a result of a small underspend on the Short Breaks Scheme last year (2021-22). Parent carers voted on how the budget underspend should be used and the majority said that they wanted it to fund a Small Grants Scheme.

The aim of Small Grants Scheme was to support the expansion of the provision of clubs and activities across the county for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities, to support them to participate in activities that they are interested in alongside their friends and peers. Individuals and organisations were invited to apply for small grants of up to £10,000 to increase the number of opportunities available for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities in the Wiltshire area.

As a result of three successful applications to the Scheme, some of Wiltshire’s communities have been able to increase the opportunities offered to children and young people with SEND.

Barford St Martin's community is creating a playground in the village and due to the Small Grants Scheme is purchasing additional SEN equipment, which means children with SEND can play alongside their peers safely. The equipment will be installed in August. At Springfield Community Campus, the scheme means extra play equipment for inclusive play sessions can be purchased for SEND children and their family members, which are held the first Saturday of every month at the campus from 3pm to 5pm in the sports hall.

Ludgershall Parents and Carers SEN Stay and Play has been given a grant to purchase equipment including toys, games, equipment and sensory lighting. The sessions attract up to 30 children from the ages of three to 16 years.

Young People’s Report Covering Issues that are Important to them

[Leaders Unlocked] has shared the Wiltshire and Swindon Youth Commission (WSYC) report 2022 with the WPCC. This report showcases 9 months of hard work and dedication by the young volunteers involved in the project and follows the WSYC Big Conversation Conference that was held in January.

The report covers key issues and research ideas identified by young people which includes: -
1. Mental Health
2. Drug & Alcohol Misuse
3. Social Media & Online Safety
4. Relationships with the Police
5. Abuse & Violence
6. Grooming & Exploitation

The next phase of work will include the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), Wiltshire Police and partners on these recommendations, giving young people from the region a stronger voice on issues that affect their lives.

[Leaders Unlocked] enables young people and underrepresented groups to have a stronger voice on the issues that affect their lives. In education, policing, health, justice and elsewhere, they help organisations to involve the people who matter and shape decision-making for the better.

Please [HERE] to read the report.

COVID Vaccinations for Young Carers – You Said, We Did…

You Said: My 10 year old daughter is registered as a young carer. She doesn’t have health needs of her own and is not classed as vulnerable, but as a registered young carer for her sibling, she plays a vital part in supporting his care and would appreciate the potential protection having the vaccine could afford. Can she have the vaccine?

We Did: We spoke to Wiltshire Public Health who advised us of the following…

As a Result: Wiltshire Public Health advised that they are currently awaiting guidance for 5-11 year olds who live in a household with someone who is high risk. They are hoping to have more information towards the end of January/early February and have committed to letting the WPCC know the situation regarding vaccinations as soon as they are notified; we will update again as soon as we know more.

COVID Booster Vaccine for 12-17 Year Olds – You Said, We Did…

The WPCC advised in last week’s newsletter (8th January 2022) that the vaccines committee recommended extending the booster vaccination programme to all 16-17-year-olds and to vulnerable children aged 12-15. This would include 12-15-year-olds who are in one of the Green Book’s clinical risk groups, live with someone who is immunosuppressed, or who are severely immunosuppressed themselves and have already had their third primary dose.

In response to this article, the WPCC has been contacted by a few parent carers who have reported issues with being able to book a booster vaccination for their vulnerable children who meet the criteria.

You Said, We Did…
You said: "I am having difficulty accessing the booster jab my son." "I am unable to book using the National Booking System." "My GP surgery is not vaccinating children."
We did: The WPCC has spoken to Wiltshire Public Health who are keen to work with us to try to remove barriers for families of vulnerable children and young people with SEND.

As a result: we have been able to agree a solution with Wiltshire Public Health to enable the parents who contacted us, access to the booster vaccine for their vulnerable children.

If you are experiencing issues accessing the booster vaccine for your 16 to 17 year old or a child aged 12 to 15 who meets the vulnerable eligibility criteria, please contact the WPCC as we may be able to help.

WPCC Annual Report 2020-2021

On behalf of the Wiltshire Parent Carer Council (WPCC) Steering Group, we are delighted to present our annual report for 2020 to 2021. This report aims to present and outline a snapshot of some of the hard work undertaken during 2020-2021 and some of our achievements.

[WPCC Annual Report 2020-2021]

Shaping The Future of Local Mental Health Support - Update

In June 2021, Healthwatch Wiltshire, Wiltshire Centre for Independent Living (Wiltshire CIL) and the Wiltshire Parent Carer Council (WPCC) hosted a series of online focus groups to create, shape and influence a new vision for Mental Health support for the future in Bath & North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire.

[The Future of Mental Health Support] aims to represent and understand the views of people with lived experience of mental health. Getting early support that helps prevent mental health issues getting worse and having a sense of purpose in life were key messages from those participating in the work.

The joint work follows the publication of the national Community Mental Health Services Framework, which looks at how support for people in the future can be delivered more locally, to help them live well. The focus groups showed that people don’t want to be defined by their mental health and they made it clear that early support will help them to lead the lives they want to. The report: [The Future of Mental Health Support], has been shared with Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group (BSW CCG), which plans and commissions mental health services for the region. Emily Shepherd, (Senior Commissioning Manager for Mental Health, Learning Disabilities and Autism at BSW CCG), said: “Thank you to Healthwatch Wiltshire, Wiltshire Parent Carer Council and Wiltshire CIL for hosting these valuable sessions, and to those who took part for sharing their ideas. We’ll be using all the feedback we’ve received to help shape and develop local mental health support services.” [You can read more here].

Annual Learning Disability Health Checks Survey Results

The Wiltshire Parent Carer Council (WPCC) is concerned that take-up and awareness of Learning Disability Health Checks nationally, and locally in Wiltshire, is low. To get a better idea of take-up and awareness, in October 2021 the WPCC compiled a short survey asking parent carers:

• How old is your young person?
  
• Has your young person ever had a learning disability health check?, and
  
• What is your postcode area?
  

The WPCC would like to extend its gratitude to the parent carers who gave their time to contribute to the short survey. We will share the results with the B&NES, Swindon and Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group in the hope that they will inform conversations about improved promotion and uptake of learning disability health checks.

Take a look at the results in our Survey Report

Update on New EHCP Decision Making Processes in Wiltshire

In April 2021, the WPCC in partnership with Wiltshire Council facilitated sessions for parent carers to explore how the process for requesting Education, Health and Care (EHC) Needs Assessments could be improved and simplified for parent carers.

You Said, We Did, As a Result…
As a result of all the work with parent carers: -
• new digital forms and paperwork for requesting an EHC needs assessment are being produced
• the SEND Service is changing how it considers requests for an EHCP
• Wiltshire Council is in the early stages of working with the WPCC to develop a parent moderation role, so that parent carers can play an important role in how the decision-making processes in place are quality assured. We will be telling you more about this in future newsletters.

Please read our [website article] for more information.

Summer Holiday SEND Activity Day – Braeside Education Centre, Devizes

In response to parent carer feedback we received through our recent Devizes Summer Activities survey, the Directors of Braeside Education Centre in Devizes have confirmed their summer activity offer for children and young people with SEND. The Directors expressed a serious desire to make the centre and activities as accessible as possible to children and young people with SEND. This is a journey they wish to do in partnership with parent carers, and to inform their aspirations, the offer this year (see calendar link below) will be a pilot to help the Directors to learn from young people using the centre. The hope is that this will inform future SEND opportunities at the centre with a range of different activities and experiences taking place over 3 or 4 days in future summer holidays.

If you would like to read the WPCC’s survey report, please click WPCC Braeside Summer Activities Survey Report

To find out more about the activity day taking place on Friday 20th August 2021, please take a look at our [calendar]

Wiltshire Autism Assessment Service Survey

The WPCC ran a Wiltshire Autism Assessment Service (WAAS) survey for two weeks which closed on 30th May 2021. Through the WPCC’s survey, the service asked parent carers what it could do to communicate better with parent carers while they are on the autism assessment waiting list.

We are extremely grateful to everyone who took the time to respond to the survey, the results of which have been fed back to members of the WAAS who in turn have committed to present the findings and recommendations to senior managers, and they have promised to share the outcomes with us in due course.

You can take a look at WPCC’s WAAS Survey Report by clicking here.

WPCC’s Lockdown Survey 2021 – Results

Earlier this year, the WPCC ran a ‘Lockdown Survey’ for parent carers to understand some of the impact of the most recent lockdown. The survey closed on 28th February 2021 and 481 responses were received.

WPCC Lockdown Survey – brief survey overview

WPCC Lockdown Survey slides for a brief overview of the survey results.

Survey Draw
Parent carers who participated in the survey were invited to enter into a free prize draw with a chance of winning a £50 voucher. To make the draw was as random and fair as possible, we assigned a number to each person who entered the draw and we used a random name picker called: Picker Wheel. Entry number 14 was drawn and the lucky winner has been sent their voucher. You can see the draw [HERE].

WPCC’s Returning to School Parent Carer Survey

The WPCC ran a 'Return to School' survey at the beginning of September to gather feedback about what the preparation for the return to school after the summer was like for families. We have written a summary overview of the survey findings which has been shared with the Local Authority. You can read the summary here.

Difficulties with Shopping

You Said, We Did…

You Said: You told the WPCC that some of you were having difficulties getting to supermarkets at times that fitted in with your caring responsibilities. We had particular feedback about not being able to use supermarket priority times for carers, the elderly and disabled people.

We Did: -

• We put information on our website and in our newsletters with details of different supermarkets’ delivery and priority arrangements.
  
• We have worked in partnership with Carer Support Wiltshire to address this issue by writing to MPs.
  
• We have worked with the Community Engagement Team to raise the issue with our Wiltshire Supermarkets and Wiltshire Council.
  
• We raised the issue with the National Network of Parent Carer Forums and asked that be raised nationally.
  

As a Result: We have seen some supermarkets implementing additional measures to make getting shopping easier (e.g. Sainsbury’s in Melksham’s new Click and Collect service as promoted in our newsletter). Michelle Donelan has responded to the letter she received and said that she is happy to support the unpaid carers in Wiltshire and has written to the Minister of State for Care, Helen Whately MP. In her response, Michelle went on to say that she agrees it is very important the needs of carers are heard and met.

We are truly grateful to Carer Support Wiltshire in supporting this issue. In the meantime, please remember, if you are experiencing issues getting food because of social isolation and you don’t have any family etc. who can support you, help is available from the Wellbeing Hub. You can request this help by calling the Wellbeing Hub helpline on: 0300 003 4576 or via email at wellbeinghub@wiltshire.gov.uk. It's available from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 4pm Saturday and Sunday.

Transitions to Adulthood Webinar – Recording Now Available

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Transitions to Adulthood webinar on 15th January; it was a very constructive session, and we grateful appreciate all the insightful comments we received on the draft Multi Agency Preparing for Adulthood and Transition policy and procedure.

The draft policy and procedure is out for consultation, and comments are welcomed until 24th January 2020. To help parent carers access and understand the draft policy, the WPCC ran a webinar on Wednesday 15th January 2020. This webinar aimed to describe and explain the contents of the policy and invite feedback that will inform the final version.

If you were unable to join us, a recording of the webinar is now available and can be found [HERE] on the WPCC website. You can also click [WEBINAR] to go straight to the recording. We invite as many parent carers as possible to watch and listen to the webinar and comment on the draft policy. Information about how to comment on the policy is included in the webinar.

If you would like to look at the full Draft Multi Agency Preparing for Adulthood and Transition policy and procedure, you can find it here: POLICY

Comments on the policy can be submitted by downloading and completing and a FEEDBACK FORM and sending by email to FACT@wiltshire.gov.uk. Alternatively, you can simply email any comments to FACT@wiltshire.gov.uk if you prefer.

Please remember that all comments on the draft policy must be received by Friday 24th January 2020.

Community Child Health Service Q&A Sessions - May 2019

In May 2019, Wiltshire Parent Carer Council (WPCC) organised a series of question and answer sessions for parent carers across the County to provide an informal opportunity to ask questions about Community Child Health Services in Wiltshire, hear about service developments and provide feedback. The following shows the questions asked, comments made and answers given – Q&A Sessions May 2019.

Overview of Adult Social Care Services in Wiltshire - 2018 to 2019

A report highlighting how Wiltshire's adult care services have worked and performed in the county over the past year has been published.

The Adult Social Care Local Account 18/19, provides an overview of how adult social care services work in Wiltshire, what the budget is spent on and the service's key achievements.

The report highlights the provision of new accommodation for a further 12 people with learning disabilities, meaning they now have their own homes and are able to live independently. Other highlights within the report include:-

• Almost 50 people took part in autism training in 2018/19
  
• An additional mental health professional service is available in the north of the county, ensuring more people receive timely support
  
• Mental Health In-patient Delayed Transfer of Care has been kept down to a minimum, going from up to 20 a week down to an average of no more than one.
  

The Adult Social Care Local Account 18/19 can be found here: 18/19 REPORT

Care Accommodation in Wiltshire – Feedback Report

At the end of last year, Wiltshire Council asked what you thought about Care Accommodation in Wiltshire: What was working well? What could be done better? This review was designed to inform provision of care accommodation across adult services and therefore does not focus solely on the needs of people with SEND. The WPCC supported this piece of work by organising a series of workshops which helped to develop an understanding of the SEND related priorities and concerns of customers and providers in more detail.

The feedback has now been collated, along with responses from providers about what their thoughts were, and a report has been produced to share the results Care and Accommodation Strategy Report.

The work carried out at the end of last year was about looking at what historical trends say about what accommodation might be needed over the next 3-5 years. In the months that followed, several projects have been identified that aimed to reduce the impact of those trends, and work is now taking place to look at the impact of those pieces of work.

Towards the end of 2019, we will enter the next stage of planning for the future, which will focus on co-designing solutions with customers and providers. At this stage we will once again be asking for your input as Wiltshire Council does the detailed design work on what accommodation they’ll be commissioning or building over the next few years, to allow them to meet customer needs at best value to Wiltshire. We will advertise these opportunities in due course.

Children & Young People's Emotional Wellbeing/ Mental Health Discussion Groups for Parent Carers Report - April 2019

In March 2019, Wiltshire Parent Carer Council ran 3 sessions in Salisbury, Corsham and Trowbridge for parent carers of children/ young people with special educational needs and/ or disabilities (SEND) about children’s emotional wellbeing and mental health; 25 attended (41 booked). The aim of the sessions was to review the new CAMHS service which went live on 1st April 2018, to explore any barriers for children/ young people with SEND when trying to access support for their mental health, and also to discuss talking therapies.

To read the full report, please click here