Aiming high for disabled children (AHDC)
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Welcome to the Buckinghamshire County Council Aiming High for Disabled Children website.
Recent News
| 30/06/10 | Issue 3 of "Keeping you in the Picture" Newsletter |
| 08/06/10 | Findings of residential short breaks consultation with disabled young people |
| 01/04/10 | Aiming High Training Opportunities Released published |
This website will be updated regularly to keep you up to date on the Aiming High for Disabled Children Programme in Buckinghamshire. This is an exciting programme which aims to transform short breaks for disabled children.
In May 2007 the Government published a report called Aiming high for disabled children: better support for families. (The link for this document is set out below). This sets out the vision that all families with disabled children should have the support they need to live ordinary family lives.
What priority areas did the report identify?
Access and empowerment:
- Local authorities and health services will be expected to deliver the five elements of a ‘core offer’: information, clarity about how support is determined and allocated, integrated assessments, participation of disabled children and their families in local services and accessible feedback and complaints procedures.
Responsive services and timely support:
- Making sure that the focus is on services that disabled children and their families need and that they are available, particularly at significant life stages, such as the early years and the transition to adulthood. Improving what information about the population of disabled children and their needs is gathered in order to inform planning and design of services.
Improving quality and capacity:
- Increasing services which families say they need most: childcare for working parents of disabled children, improved provision of wheelchairs and equipment, high quality palliative care services through the NHS, and, in particular, making short breaks available to more children and families and developing different types of short breaks so that a wider range is available.
What are the main work streams within the overall programme?
- Short breaks
- Transition to adulthood
- Childcare
- Participation of parents, children and young people
- Palliative care
- Community equipment including wheelchair services
A new measurement to look at how well local authorities are delivering the services is being introduced: National Indicator 54, and standards for the Core Offer to meet.
The development of short breaks provision (previously known as respite) is a major part of this programme and Local Authorities have been awarded grant money from the Government to be able to develop more short break services for disabled children and their families.
Buckinghamshire County Council has been awarded approximately £2.2 million up to April 2011 to deliver the short breaks programme.
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The AHDC programme includes measures to transform the system of service provision, as well as investment in specific services. The AHDC system reform covers the core offer and the disabled children’s services ational indicator outlined below.
The core offer
Underpinning the programme and critical to the system reform necessary for its success is the core offer. Published in May 2008, the core offer sets out five standards for services for disabled children:
- information
- transparency
- assessment
- participation
- feedback
The purpose of the core offer is to improve access to services by ensuring that disabled children, young people and their families:
- are aware of services available to them in their area
- understand how those services can be accessed
- will undergo only the minimum possible assessment to qualify for services
- are actively involved in the planning and delivery of services in their local area
- are aware of ways in which they can give feedback on their experiences of services
Disabled children’s services national indicator
The disabled children’s services national indicator is the critical success measure for the AHDC programme and for PSA12.(1) The national indicator is framed around the core offer standards. It assesses parents’ general experience of services for disabled children (aged 0–19) and service delivery across the health, social care and education service sectors according to the five elements of the AHDC core offer. The national indicator forms part of the local authority national indicator set (NI54) and is also one of the NHS ‘Vital Signs’ indicators (VSC33). As a national indicator it can be included in Local Area Agreements and will be part of the Comprehensive Area Assessment.
For more information call 0845 6884944 or email familyinfo@buckscc.gov.uk
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