New service making a difference to young people with additional needs

A service launched earlier this year for children and young people with additional needs is already making a difference to their lives.

Dorset Council's Birth to Settled Adulthood Service, which launched in April, supports children and young people with complex health needs, disability or who have special educational needs and is currently making a difference to almost a thousand children and young people.

It is designed to help the transition into a settled adulthood, with the social care teams from both children's services  and adults' services working closely together alongside colleagues from health and other partners.

The approach of the service is to embed principles of independence, strong links with communities and an ambition that young people are supported to thrive.

One young person with complex needs, including being non-verbal, has constant supervision from his parents to keep him safe both at home and in the community. Through the service, he was able to grow in independence with short-breaks to places and activities he enjoys, such as walking at National Trust gardens and at the beach.

Cecilia Bufton is the Independent Chair of the Birth to Settled Adulthood Delivery Board. She told the Health and Well Being Board: "A prominent feature of the service is that children and young adults should be supported to live safely in their own communities where possible.

"We've started to achieve this by joining up the work of children's and adults' services along with the services that health colleagues provide. This will ensure that the young person's health and social care needs are clearly understood, and they have the support available for a successful move into adulthood."

The partnership includes those who work closely with children, young people and their families. Dorset Parent Carer Council is run by parents and carers, for parents and carers of children and young people age 0-25 with special educational needs or disability (SEND) who live in Dorset.

Lesley Mellor, from Dorset Parent Carer Council, said: "Earlier this year there was a Local Area Ofsted and Care Quality Commission inspection for children with special educational needs and disabilities.

"We were really pleased that the inspection found that the local area partnership's arrangements for children and young people who have special educational needs and disabilities typically led to positive experiences and outcomes.

"The Birth to Settled Adulthood Service has been designed to improve children and young people's experiences even further and with even greater integration, so we feel this service is a great step forward for them and their families."

Since the launch, Best Start in Life Advisors have joined the service with a focus on education and development for 0-5 years. The Young Carers Service have also been included.

Councillor Clare Sutton, Cabinet Member for Children's Services, Education and Skills, said: "We want all our children to be prepared for adult life and this includes young people who might have additional needs.

"It's great to see the progress being made by this new service, which cuts across both children's and adult's services, and I look forward to hearing more about the successes over the coming months so that our young people really feel they are part of their community."

Councillor Steve Robinson, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, who chaired the Health and Wellbeing Board, said: "This is a phenomenally innovative, creative and brilliant programme that started at concept level and has developed into addressing definitive issues that have been able to help real young people as individuals.

"As a former YMCA leader, I know that one of the best feelings you can ever get in your life is when a young adult comes up to you, years after their difficult transition to becoming an adult, and says the impact you have had on my life was foundational.

"The work that this project is doing has the same promise. It will take years to see the outcomes, but it is an investment in peoples' lives that I think is golden. I think it is absolutely fantastic," he added.