Family Worker Introduction for Parents

Highfield Ely & Highfield Littleport Welcome meeting for new families.

Family Liaison Workers Rachel Grant (HLA) Carole Darlow (HEA)

What do we do and how could we help? 

Referrals for early help

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Referrals for short breaks

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Referrals for a social care assessment

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Support with accessing emotional/mental health support (camh)

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DLA forms and PIP assessments

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Advice on behaviours, sensory issues, sleep, diet concerns etc.

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Continence advice & referrals to NHS services

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Charity applications

Early Help 

Early help – Sometimes families need a bit of extra support. You might be worried about your child's behaviour or development. Or you and your family might experience some changes or difficulties that you can't manage by yourself. Whatever you are worried about, Early Help can support you and your family so that small problems do not become big problems.

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Early Help gives children and families the support they need, at the right time. We listen to your needs and bring together professionals who work with your whole family.

This helps make things better for everyone.

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The professionals who know you will assess the needs of your family using an Early Help Assessment. This will help you to get you support as quickly as possible.

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It is a voluntary process. You choose whether to be involved and can withdraw from the process at any time. Sometimes, children and young people can make their own decisions about whether they need an Early Help Assessment, and who they want to support them.

Short Breaks 

Enable disabled children and young people to develop the skills to Prepare for Adulthood, to access community activities and to also increase independence skills. This is achieved through an allocation of a personal budget that can be used for agreed activities or support. This support will provide the carer with a short break.

How you can access short break / early help funding 

1. Through self-assessment

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If your child or young person doesn't receive services from social care and has high rate Disability Living Allowance (Care Component) or the enhanced rate Personal Independence Payment (PIP), they have an automatic entitlement to our local short breaks offer. You will receive a personalised budget that can be used for agreed activities and support as identified in your child’s short break plan. To apply please complete the form below:

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Self referral form for short breaks funding

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You will need to provide some information about your child, your contact details and upload or attach a photo of their DLA or PIP entitlement. If you do not have everything you need at hand you can save the form at any point and return to it at another time. Once you have submitted your completed form you will receive a confirmation email with a reference number. We will contact you within seven days to introduce your child’s allocated worker. They will work together with you and your child to create your support plan and we aim to complete this within four weeks of the team receiving your request.

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If you are unable to apply online, contact our Referral and Access Team on 01480 372767. After a brief chat they will send you a self-assessment form to complete.

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2. Through a disability social care assessment

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If your child or young person has a disability and will require lifelong support from statutory services, their social care assessment may indicate that they are eligible for short break / Early Help funding. You will receive a personalised budget that can be used for agreed activities and support. For some Early Help Plus enables an increased personal budget to meet assessed needs. Early Help Plus plans are reviewed at least every six months to ensure that needs continue to be met and is overseen by a social work manager.

Social care – Disabled children 0-25 Service 

In order to determine what your needs are, we carry out an assessment. If your child has a disability they are entitled to an assessment. When we assess the needs of disabled children and young people we take into account the needs of their parents and other children in their immediate family.

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A member of staff from Children’s Social Care will come and meet you and your family. We will ask your permission to talk to other people who know you and your family’s circumstances. The information we gather is used to write a report which is the assessment.

After an assessment, the level of service required to meet those needs is determined by taking into account a range of factors:

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Child’s needs

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Child’s abilities

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Strengths and needs of parents/carers

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Impact of caring for the child on the family

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Support available to the family

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Support available to the child

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Home environment

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Child’s social networks

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These factors will be assessed against our 'needs grid', which helps us decide what level of support a family can be allocated. The needs grid will be shared and also explained to you during the assessment. The detailed information in the eligibility criteria document below will be explained during your assessment.

Emotional Health and well-being 

We are able to refer students to a range of services both in school and external which support their emotional health and well-being.

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Centre33, Blue smile, Kooth, CAMH, Ollie and his superpowers, Caring together, Play therapy, Lego therapy etc.

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Talk to us if you have any concerns about your child's, siblings or your own mental health concerns – we are here to support you all.

DLA and PIP ď ľ

DLA & PIP forms can be quite daunting so both Carole & Rachel can support you through the process. We will help you complete the forms and help you gather the evidence you need for DLA and PIP assessments.

General support 

Being a parent is hard work! Were here to help and try and think of some ways to make things a little easier. We’ve run workshops on sleep, behaviours, continence advice, sensory issues etc. If you have any specific concerns about your child you can talk to one of us and the class teacher who will do our best to help you.

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We can signpost you to agencies, charities who can help. We can make charity applications on your behalf.

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Facebook – both schools have their own pages and we share both school related info and anything we think may be helpful to our families!

Special needs Community Information Point - SCIP Countywide (0 – 25yrs)

SCIP provides information to families on events, activities, general information and much more. Families can request information from SCIP. If you need help to find a support group, a hairdresser who has experience of children with special needs; information on grants, transport, youth clubs in your area, and much more - SCIP can help.

SCIP Card

The Card was developed following requests from families who on occasion need assistance while out with their child, especially where the condition is not visibly evident, when a child is likely to react to a situation such as loud noises, or is in an uncomfortable situation and may react in a way that draws attention.

Activity Passport This booklet has been produced to help you provide essential information about your child

To Join SCIP If you would like to join SCIP and apply for a SCIP Card, please complete the online form here: www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/scip

Parent/Carer Support Line We offer an opportunity to speak to a friendly professional from the Early Help District Children’s Team about any child or young person aged 0 to 19.  You can ask a question, request support about your child’s or young person’s behaviours, get help with new routines and boundaries, or maybe just talk about how you are managing parenting in the current situation.  We will give you advice, support, and help with signposting or just listen to your parenting experiences.

You can telephone or email for support any time, please leave a message with your contact details, someone will call you back (on a Tuesday or Thursday) T: 01354 750420 E: Districtearlyhelpteam.cambridgecity@cambridgeshire.gov.uk This service has been open to access throughout the lockdown, and has proved to be extremely useful to parents at this challenging time.

SUPPORT SERVICES AVAILABLE TO HELP US Starfish+ Starfish+ is a specialist learning disability service that provides an intensive multi-disciplinary therapeutic approach to children and young people up to 18 years.