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Our Voice – Special Schools Report

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Our Voice Special Schools Report OUR VOICE = PARENT VOICE Background Special Schools visited Current Support What parents told us about Education, Health, Housing ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Our Voice – Special Schools Report


1
Our Voice Special Schools Report
  • OUR VOICE PARENT VOICE

2
Background
  • Special Schools visited
  • Current Support
  • What parents told us about Education, Health,
    Housing, Leisure and Social Care
  • Short Term Goals
  • Long Term Goals
  • What works well and can be improved
  • Questions raised
  • Excellent Ideas offered

3
Special School Visits
  • Over a period of 4 months we visited a number of
    special schools in the borough in order to get
    parents perspectives on how services were working
    for them and their disabled/special needs child.
    These were Waverley, Russet House, Westlea and
    Durants.
  • We would like to thank parents for the support
    they offered Our Voice by attending and taking
    part.
  • We discussed three main areas Education, Health
    , Housing Leisure Social Care. Parents input
    into these sessions was very informative and high
    lighted areas of good practice, areas that are in
    need of attention and offered new ideas.

4
Current Support
Below is a list of the different types of support
that parents are currently receiving in the
borough it is fair to say that some parents are
getting more than others and some are getting
very little or no support. One parent gave an
analogy that we were like pirates looking for
treasure.
  • Pre-school support service
  • Play and movement group
  • Early support
  • Key workers
  • After school clubs
  • Dazu youth club for children with special needs
    and their siblings
  • Capag during holidays no siblings allowed
    anymore
  • Cheviots after school, weekends half term
  • Holiday play schemes
  • Buckets and spades
  • Overnight breaks
  • Crossroads
  • Direct payments
  • Haven House
  • Social workers

5
What did parents tell us about Education?
  • Speech and Language/Communication
  • Although Speech and Language comes under the
    Health umbrella, it is a top priority for all
    parents when discussing education. The lack of
    SALT therapists and the small amount of SALT
    sessions that are offered to their children is
    felt to be unacceptable .
  • Parents would like to see the development of
    communication within the childs peer group.
  • Lack of funding is no excuse for the borough
    falling short of providing appropriate
    communication aids.
  • In some schools older children are relied upon to
    communicate back to parents about their school
    day parents feel that the school book needs to
    come home from school too.
  • Parents would appreciate more communication from
    school regarding what their child ate and didnt
    eat during the school day.

6
What did parents tell us about Education?
  • Mainstream/Transition
  • Parents would like to see more inclusion for
    their children into mainstream kids learn from
    kids, more mainstream mixing will help integrate
    into daily life.
  • Transition from pre-school to school key
    workers have been extremely helpful and
    supportive for parents in helping them to cope
    with all the different professionals that come
    into their lives when their child goes to school
  • Transition from Russet house to mainstream e.g
    Suzanne has been excellent
  • Links to post 16 education
  • Waiting list for school places too long.
  • Problem arise when authorities put a child into
    mainstream first instead of early intervention.
  • Statements to be quicker and not to have to fight
    to get one

7
What did parents tell us about Education? contd
  • Training
  • Parents feel it would be beneficial all round for
    more personal skills/training for staff who have
    little understanding of their childs needs
  • They would also welcome workshops for themselves
    on personal care how to toilet train, learn to
    sign and to feel confident undertaking a
    physiotherapy session with their child at home.
  • Resource Units need to be developed and well
    staffed .
  • Try new things ( this may already be happening in
    some schools)
  • Taster courses for children e.g music therapy
  • Opportunity to rent out instruments to see if
    child likes it or not
  • Access to services music with adaptations

8
What did parents tell us about Health?
  • Medical
  • Parents feel very strongly that there should be
    a school nurse present for duration of school day
  • They would like to have trained first aiders in
    schools at all times
  • School to use common sense when dealing with a
    child who has been taken ill
  • They would like for hospital staff/doctors
    nurses at AE to understand our children and to
    treat them for what they have gone to AE for not
    to go into an elaborate discussion about the
    birth and diagnosis. The majority of these
    children have been to Great Ormond Street for
    that.
  • Children given medication which doesnt solve the
    problem some need to receive alternative
    therapies and parents would like these areas
    investigated further
  • Therapy
  • Speech and language therapy there is a severe
    shortage of SALT in the borough , parents would
    like regular weekly sessions and for this to be
    incorporated in the class room as well as 1-2-1
    sessions
  • More physiotherapy sessions
  • More occupational therapists would give
    children proper seating, changing tables etc at
    school, school settings would be properly
    assessed for health and safety. Waiting list for
    equipment would be reduced

9
What did parents tell us about Health?
  • Diet
  • Parents would like advice on diet they feel that
    this plays a role in childs behaviour
  • Some children suffer from digestive problems due
    to anxiety (further investigation would be
    welcomed)
  • Why do they need to ask GP for referral to
    specialist dietician
  • Children to be assessed for allergies
  • Care for carers
  • Counselling to help parents cope and understand
    from the onset not when they are at breaking
    point
  • Care plan provided for children short breaks,
    equipment, sessions with professionals
  • Information on how to get a social worker/key
    worker

10
What did parents tell us about? Housing,
Leisure Social care
  • Housing
  • Financial help for home owner needing to move to
    bigger home
  • Housing waiting list too long this needs to be
    reduced and when house finally offered not
    suitable in many cases
  • Basic adaptations not met
  • Safety issues e.g. Cooker switches, lights ,
    door handles
  • Leisure
  • Access to sport and leisure activities with
    proper equipment e.g hoists and changing
    facilities
  • Ability to go on holidays with family knowing
    that there is support available at the chosen
    destination
  • Specialist Equipment e.g chairs, beds, stander,
    hoists, changing facilities etc available at
    holiday destinations for hire /rent
  • Better disabled parking at hospitals
  • Carers
  • Increase carers allowance
  • Support for carers/parents - need help to help
    care for their children.
  • Parent/carer pampering if they arent looked
    after mind body and soul they have no energy left
    to care for their disabled child
  • Not enough caring professionals at the other end
    of the phone, there needs to be greater
    understanding amongst professionals of the range
    of different days a child might have
  • Reduce the waiting time for social services
    assessment
  • Social workers can be good or bad it all boils
    down to the individual

11
Short Term Goals
  • One Stop Shop for information on whats available
    for special needs children
  • Information available for parents at onset of
    diagnosis
  • SALT is a real issue for parents and schools
    this area needs dramatic improvements asap
  • Ask local swimming clubs to improve disabled
    changing facilities
  • Waverley swimming pool open at weekend and
    parents are prepared to pay small charge for
    usage
  • Text communication when meetings are taking place
  • No fizzy drinks machine crisps or chocolate
    machine in school.
  • Remember that often English is not first language

12
Long Term Goals
  • Improvement in housing
  • Increase in carers allowance
  • Disability Living Allowance to fill form in
    once every 5 to 7 years for those with long term
    illness

13
What works and what doesnt
  • Good practice
  • Befriending (Autistic society)
  • Paediatricians monthly clinic at school
  • Counselling at Russet House excellent - (Claire
    Silver home school liaison teacher)
  • Westlea school excellent work on self esteem
    the after school clubs are very successful
  • Not so good practice
  • Given place at play scheme but no transport to
    get there
  • Parents do not receive information about whats
    available, this information can also be
    contradictory to what someone else has been told,
    there seems to be no yard stick to measure
    information regarding whats valid and whats not
    valid.

14
Questions raised?
  • Do boroughs work together to link information?
  • Does a parent qualify for short breaks when their
    child attends school in Enfield but lives in a
    neighbouring borough?

15
Excellent Ideas Offered
  • At holiday play schemes teach children how to
    cook, dance, play an instrument, swim, play
    football
  • Offer activities that allow their children to
    shine and tap into their talents with sessions
    like drumming , horse riding and music
  • Learn life skills that will enable them to be
    independent
  • Choir group for all
  • Offering support to siblings through friendship,
    brownies, girl guides, cubs and scouts.
  • After school clubs open to all regardless of
    borough
  • Youth group open to all needs and not specific
    groups
  • Young carers support group in Enfield a good
    model that is already working is one group based
    in Barnet
  • More short breaks

16
Summary
  • Enfield provides a good service and continue to
    work hard to offer good services to parents and
    their families.
  • Parents do appreciate the hard work that is
    involved in providing the existing services and
    in many cases parents feel that they are well
    catered for with their needs met.
  • In some cases the parents would like to know that
    they are listened to and are understood by the
    decision making bodies . They would also like to
    feel that their input has been respected and
    valued.
  • In short there are a lot of concerned parents out
    there wanting the best for their disabled child
    just like any other parent, but the stark reality
    of this is that they have to work extra hard to
    get what they need for their disabled child which
    is their childs basic right as a member of
    society.
  • There are some tired, worn out parents whose
    energies are low from having to work extra hard
    emotionally and physically and having to bear
    their souls every now and then to get the support
    that require to keep going as an individual, as a
    couple, as a parent and as a family unit.
  • That said, when providing an open forum for
    parents, it is acknowledged that the balance of
    discussion can swing more towards the negative
    than the positive.
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