EARLY INTERVENTION SERVICES AND/OR SERVICES FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE WITH COMPLEX AND ADDITIONAL NEEDS FRAMEWORK 2011

Appendix I - Mini-Competition Core Specification EI 1

Supporting Young Carers and Siblings of Children with Complex and Additional Needs

Two recent national documents: Grasping the Nettle[1] by C4EO andEarly Intervention: The Next Steps[2],a review led by Graham Allen MP, clearly lay out the benefits for intervening early with families in order to prevent escalation of issues.

Using these principles, and building upon good practice already established in Trafford,the funding available for early intervention serviceswill be used to identify and tackleproblems emerging for children, young people and their families as soon as possible, using evidence-based practice.

For the purposes of this document, we will use the definition of early intervention from Grasping the Nettle:

“Intervening early and as soon as possible to tackle problems emerging for children, young people and their families or with a population most at risk of developing problems. Early intervention may occur at any point in a child or young person’s life.”[3]

Within this context Trafford CYPS are looking to commission services for young carers and siblings of children with Complex and Additional Needs.

Young Carers

In the information that follows, young carers are defined as:

“Children and young people under 18 who provide regular and ongoing care and emotional support to a family member who is physically or mentally ill, disabled or misuses substances.”[4]

Young carers can: “…remain ‘hidden’ from health, social care and education services – partly as a result of those services needing to do more to identify them but also because of family fears that they will be taken into care or because the young people themselves are concerned about the reactions of others and bullying by their peers.”[5]

Because of their caring responsibilities, young carersdon’t have the same opportunities enjoyed by other children to play, learn and develop friendships. They may be bullied and/or socially isolated and this can mean that they struggle both in their education and social development.

Siblings of Children and Young People with Complex and Additonal Needs

According to the national charity, Sibs:

“Siblings of disabled children often grow up in a family where, regardless of the age of the sibling, the majority of family resources, parental attention, and professional services are directed, indefinitely, towards another child (i.e. the disabled child). Siblings of disabled children often take on caring role. As the siblings do a lot of the care work in the family, they often miss out on social opportunities with their friends / peer group.”[6]

CYPS wishes to commission services that address the issues of young carers and siblings of children and young people with Complex and Additional Needs.

We are aware that services in this category may have to operate at a higher level of support than that normally covered by early intervention services, and accept this will be a feature of the services provided. However, preventing escalation of issues through early identification and support should also be a principal focus of applications.

CYPS is also keen to commission provision that supports the recruitment, training and mentoring of volunteers, particularly in communities where parents have not historically been involved in volunteering.

1. / Priority Provision
(i.e. those services which will best meet our local needs and which are a priority for us to commission)
Type of provision / Max funding allocated
(full year effect) / Delivery commencement date
Supporting Young Carers and Siblings of Children with Complex and Additional Needs / £150,000 / 1 July 2011
Mini-Competition Core Specification EI 1 - Sub-categories
Please note thatwithin Mini-Competition Core Specification EI 1, there are 2 sub-categories of services required.
You must ensure that your bid covers the full service requirements including all of the sub-categories within Mini-Competition Core Specification EI 1.
Bids that do not cover all of the requirements of each of the sub-category areas will automatically be rejected.
This means that for Mini-Competition EI 1, your bid must provide detail on how you will provide services across all of the following:
  1. Support services for young carers
AND
  1. Support services for siblings of children and young people with complex and additional needs
If your organisation is not able to provide services that cover all of these sub-categories then you should look to bid in partnership with other providers, either other members of the framework or other providers you would subcontract,who specialize in those areas to ensure you can make a full service offer between you.
The types of services you provide should offer proactive identification of and support for young carers and siblings of children with complex and additional needs and address one or more of the following features:

early or preventative support for those who could become at risk of physical or emotional harm;

promotion of good physical, mental and emotional health;

improving educational attendance and attainment and providing opportunities for leisure, breaks, friendship and play;

enabling choice and control and offering opportunities beyond caring;

engaging young carers and siblings of children with Complex and Additional Needs in decision making;

  • tackling poverty in the families of young carers and siblings of children with Complex and Additional Needs;
  • support with the transition to adulthood, raising aspirations and help to access training and employment;
  • raising awareness of the issues faced by young carers and siblings of children with Complex and Additional Needs;
  • Work with families to ensure relationships are strengthened and parents have an understanding of their children’s needs in the context of being a young carer or sibling of a child with Complex and Additional needs;

2. / Service Outcomes
  • improved support for those at risk of poor health outcomes, including poor mental health and emotional well being, to develop the skills and mechanisms to improve their overall health and emotional well being and build their resilience;
  • improved partnership working and joint delivery of services and outcomes;
  • reduced incidence of bullying;
  • increased participation in employment, education and training and positive activities by both the child and their family members;
  • increased stability of home life and housing arrangements;
  • improved family and peer relationships and community cohesion
  • inclusive provision which breaks down barriers in accessing support;
  • improved levels of educational attendance and achievement
  • improved achievement and readiness of children starting school
  • reduced likelihood and/or incidence of offending behaviour, anti social behaviour or truanting;
  • reduced need for the child to be placed in the care of the Local Authority;

3. / Impact
We will need you to show how your service has made a difference to children, young people, parents and families; below are some of the things we want you to be able to demonstrate and evidence.
Children and young people will say that:
  • they feel more secure and stable in their lives;
  • they can rely on their own skills and also their parent/carer to receive the support they need to thrive;
  • there are less arguments at home or with peers;
  • they know what to do if they feeling stressed, sad or scared;
  • they understand the impact of risky behaviours and are engaging with positive activities instead;
  • they enjoy school and have plenty of options for out of school activities.
Families say that :
  • they can manage their problems better themselves, know what to do and how to access help in times of crisis and feel more confident to take the appropriate action when necessary;
  • they understand what they need to do to achieve a healthy lifestyle and are proactively accessing the relevant support;
  • that multi-agency working was a positive experience for them;
  • they have received support which is relevant, timely and accessible;
  • that the support they received promoted their resilience rather than their reliance on services;
  • they were fully involved in decisions affecting them, were consulted on service planning and were asked for feedback about service quality and effectiveness throughout.
Parents will say that:
  • they feel more confident to make decisions and deal with an issue in a positive manner;
  • they understand their children better and have learned helpful coping strategies;
  • they feel more confident in their own abilities and are taking steps to return to work or training;
  • they are more able to deal with their own difficulties of adult life and therefore feel better equipped to focus on their responsibilities as a parent which allows them to support their own children’s needs.
Providers will say:
  • all staff working with or on behalf of children and young people are able to recognise the contribution that they make to children and young people’s emotional well being and social development;
  • referrals to specialist services e.g. CAMHS, Social Care or Adult Services have reduced or are more appropriate;
  • because of these services, they have been able to allocate their own resources more effectively elsewhere.

4. / Target Groups (including age range and level of need)
Children, young people and families who are vulnerable to poor outcomes due to health conditions or health related behaviours. These include: children with disabilities; Special Educational Needs; children with mental health needs; obese and overweight children; children of adults with mental health needs; parental obesity; parents not engaging with health services on behalf of their children. Children from low income families, including: families in receipt of the higher level child tax benefits; families in receipt of free school meals for their children and those living in deprived areas. Minority groups, and those with associated needs; including: ethnic minorities; Gypsy / Roma families; children who speak English as a second language. Children and young people vulnerable due to offending or antisocial behaviour; siblings of children and young people known to be offending; children whose parents are known to police or in prison. Other vulnerable groups, particularly: families with parents in the armed forces; children who are underachieving due to low family aspirations.
And who are
Children and young people:
  • aged 0 -19;
  • attending Trafford schools/colleges;
  • resident in Trafford.
Parents and families, particularly those:
  • which typically do not access support services;
  • living in areas where provision is not readily available or accessible;
  • resident in Trafford.

Please note: Trafford CYPS will refine the outcomes, outputs and impact measures for each service to be commissioned at the contracting stage. This will allow for:

(a) an opportunity for information included by providers in their applications to be considered for input as part of the final service specification;

(b) closer links to outcomes in the Children and Young People’s Strategy, which will be in its final form by May 2011.

[1]Grasping the Nettle (C4EO, 2010)

[2]Early Intervention: The Next Steps (Cabinet Office, 2011)

[3]Grasping the Nettle p.4 (C4EO, 2010)

[4]Working Together to Support Young Carers- A Model Local Memorandum of Understanding between Statutory Directors for Children’s Services and Adult Social Services

(Adass/ADC, 2009)

[5]Recognised, Valued and Supported: Next Steps for the Carers Strategy, p.8 (DoH, 2010)

[6]Professionals Supporting Young Siblings, The Needs of Young Siblings (Sibs website, April 2011)