WPCC's Preparation for Adulthood Information Event - 2nd November 2022

OVERVIEW OF NOVEMBER INFORMATION EVENT

Following the success of our last information event earlier this year, we are delighted to be running our next information event on Wednesday 2nd November 2022

What to expect at this event…

We are expecting over 30 services and providers to attend and promote information about the services and support they offer. This will be in our popular Market Place, where you will be able to walk amongst the information stands, talk to providers and find out more about what may be on offer to support your child or young person.

Refreshments

Our refreshment area will be open throughout the event, so that all attendees can take a rare opportunity to sit with a free cup of tea or coffee and cake while chatting with other parent carers, helping you to realise that you are not alone and enabling you to meet other people who understand what it is like to be a parent carer.

We are not providing lunch at this event. This venue costs significantly more than the Corn Exchange in Devizes. The majority of people who responded to our survey about planning this event said they would opt for lunch not being provided and were happy with the WPCC providing free cakes, tea and coffee instead. The majority of people said they preferred this venue over the Corn Exchange in Devizes.

Workshop

OVERVIEW OF MARCH INFORMATION EVENT THE WORKSHOP...

As a result of the suggestions we received in the survey we sent out about planning this event, we are running a workshop focussing on themes relating to preparing for adulthood. In response to suggestions in the survey, we have asked the workshop facilitators to cover: -

• Post 16 education options/apprenticeships

• Information to inform preparing for adulthood choices, including college choices, work experience and community opportunities.

• Residential provision, independent living pathways and work experience pathways.

• Social and leisure opportunities for young adults, including during school holidays.

• How young people will be supported to find work after education.

• Examples of classic/typical routes that young people with learning disabilities take after education and examples of the normal outcome from the options/support available.

• Options and support available to help young people to live independently, including what supported living is, and other options available

The session will be facilitated by colleagues from Wiltshire Council. The workshop session will last an hour and will be repeated to enable as many people to participate as possible. We have asked the facilitators to build time into the sessions for questions and answers. Spaces will be limited and booked on a first come, first served basis.

WHY DON’T YOU HOLD THIS EVENT IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF WILTSHIRE?

We are sometimes asked by parent carers why we hold our big information events in just one location. In the past, this has typically been Devizes or Trowbridge.

We recognise that holding our large information events in one location may mean some parent carers having to travel to attend and we apologise for any inconvenience. We take the decision to hold large information events in one location, as centrally located in Wiltshire as possible, for a number of reasons:-

• it costs on average at least £2,500 to host one of these events and we simply don't have the financial resources to repeat these events across the county; even events on a smaller scale, as the cost would not be sufficiently less.

• these events require the commitment from a large number of professionals and we would be unable to secure their time for several events.

• we sometimes have to pay for external keynote speakers and facilitators who typically charge in the region of £350 to £450 per day; repeating these events would significantly increase these costs.

We realise the Civic Centre isn’t as centrally located in Wiltshire as The Corn Exchange, but we are guided by the responses to the survey we sent out about planning for this event; the majority of people who responded said they preferred the Civic Centre for this event.

People who have attended previous WPCC events at the Civic Centre have told us in their evaluations that parking was better, the venue was brighter and more modern, and the layout of the venue meant it felt more accessible. The Civic Centre is a 10 minute walk from Trowbridge train station which has regular trains from towns including, Salisbury, Warminster, Westbury and Chippenham. There is a large multi storey car park adjacent to The Civic Centre, offering some free parking places. There is also a large long-stay pay and display car park which is two minutes from the venue.

We thank you for your understanding, and as always, we will pay parent carers' travel, car parking and childcare expenses.

WHY IS THE EVENT NOT IN THE EVENING OR AT THE WEEKEND?

One or two parent carers have asked why WPCC information events take place during the day and do not take place or are repeated in the evening or at the weekend; the WPCC Steering Group has considered and discussed this, and it has also been discussed with WPCC staff.

The WPCC Steering Group has made the decision not to hold or repeat its information events in the evening or at weekends. This is to respect the demands on WPCC staff and volunteers, most of whom are parent carers and would not be able to commit additional time due to their caring responsibilities. Additionally, it is unlikely that many professional colleagues would be able to commit additional time on top of their normal working day, and many are also carers. Venues often cost more in the evening and at weekends and this would have a significant impact on what the WPCC could offer. Repeating events of this scale would not be financially feasible for the WPCC.

We are sorry if this is inconvenient to some parent carers. We would encourage parent carers who wish to attend our information events to speak to their employer as many are open to considering the needs of carers. Carers’ UK explains on its website that people have the right to request flexible working if you are an employee with 26 weeks (six months) continuous employment at the time you make an application.

Your employer might also be agreeable to you attending one of the WPCC information events for just an hour.

Some parent carers attend our events in a professional capacity in representation of their work place. This creates an opportunity of benefiting the place where the parent carer works as they not only represent their place of work by attending and networking with others, but also take information back to their work place to share with colleagues.

IF YOUR PLANS OR AVAILABILITY CHANGE

We often have a number of people book to attend our events who don’t attend on the day. Some attendees kindly let us know if they are going to be unable to make it; we are very grateful to them and we appreciate the unexpected can happen.

Catering for large numbers of people who don’t make it on the day and don’t let us know they are unable to attend, is both wasteful and expensive and we want to do all we can to avoid this.

We appreciate that sometimes things happen that make it impossible to let us know, but we politely ask that if you have booked and you know you are not going to be able to attend, please let us know as soon as possible so that we can amend our catering numbers.

Thank you

PRIZE DRAW

We have launched our fundraising mission to try offer some young people with disabilities or special educational needs living in Wiltshire, the opportunity to enjoy an amazing experience or activity, adapted to meet their needs. These experiences could be a supercar experience, a flying experience, skydiving, skiing, and many more.

Every parent carer and young person with SEND who attends this event will be able to enter our FREE Prize Draw on the day. We will be offering ablenet gift vouchers to the winners, to cover the cost of the chosen experience. To find out more about ablenet and the experiences they offer, click: www.ablenet.co.uk. As the experiences take place outside of Wiltshire, we are hoping to raise enough to be able to contribute towards the cost of travel to participate in the experience as well.

If everyone registered with the WPCC gave just £2, we could raise over £8,000!

Donations can be as small as £2.00, simply click on the GIVE NOW button on WPCC’s JustGiving page: www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/wiltspcc, then type the amount you want to donate in the empty box below the 'Donation Amounts' boxes.

If you would like to donate but don’t want to do so through our JustGiving page, please call the WPCC on 01225 764647 and ask to speak to our office manager, or email office@wiltspcc.co.uk, to discuss other ways to donate.

Please help us to give memorable experiences to some of our very special young people in Wiltshire by spreading the word and encourage as many people as you can to support our fundraising mission.

The more we raise, the more prizes we can offer! Can you help our fundraising mission?

MARKET PLACE STANDS

Organisation Information

Wiltshire Centre For Independent Living (CIL)

Carer Support Wiltshire

Support disabled people living in Wiltshire to have choice and control to live independent lives.

Help carers to access services, information, respite, and breaks from their caring role. They ensure carers have a voice and work with health and social care professionals to raise carer awareness and develop best practice.

4Youth (South West)

Support young people to develop the confidence, resilience and relationship skills they need. They run youth groups and also deliver counselling sessions to help young people to explore the difficulties affecting them in a safe environment. Wiltshire Council: SEND Team

Fairfield Farm College

The Living Well Service Fairfield Farm Trust

Wiltshire Parent Carer Council (WPCC)

Employment & Community Skills (WEST and Community Connecting)

Wiltshire Autism Diagnostic Service (WADS)

Splitz Support Service

Wiltshire Council Carers Lead

Shine Friendship Cafe

SEND Preparation for Adulthood and Post 16.

Post 16 SEN provision focusing on skills for employment and independence. Also offer Work Placement opportunities to develop skills for employment at Hope Nature Centre.

Support within the community to access volunteering, work placements, social activities/clubs and much more.

Signposting and support for parent carers of children and young people aged 0 - 25.

Supports the pathway to employment, including travel training, community inclusion, internships and paid employment.

Adult autism diagnostic service, offer post diagnostic follow up appointment, if diagnosis is made, for signposting to services, helpful advice, books, websites etc.

Support, advice & information for those who have experienced domestic abuse aged 16+ throughout Wiltshire and Swindon.

Carers lead at Wiltshire Council.

A weekly pop up cafe for adults 18+ with a learning difficulty, this popular social space provides karaoke, prize bingo, hot drinks bar, tuck shop and hot and cold beverages.

Provide a range of opportunities for individuals with

Elizabeth House

disabilities, offering a relaxed and friendly environment for people to gain confidence and independence for choice, creativity and responsibility.

MARKET PLACE STANDS

Organisation Information

Healthwatch Wiltshire

The Brandon Trust

WHC Continence Service

Family and Community Learning

Leader's Unlocked

Your local health and social care champion. They make sure NHS leaders and other decision makers hear your voice and use your feedback to improve care. They can also help you to find reliable and trustworthy information and advice.

Provide support to individuals with learning disabilities in Wiltshire. Also provide supportive living and flexible support packages.

Adult Continence Services in Wiltshire.

Offer adults online and community-based courses designed to help people of different ages and backgrounds. Their courses include wellbeing, job skills, English and Maths.

Run projects nationwide on education, criminal justice, health/ wellbeing, diversity and policing, with a focus on hearing young voices and bringing them to the forefront. They run Youth Commissions which focus on capturing young opinions (14 25) to influence both local authority practice and policing guidance.

Shared Lives South West

Deliver long term and short break care services throughout Devon, Cornwall and Somerset. They provide care and support and are an alternative to supported living and residential care. They specialise in supporting people with learning disabilities, autism, mental ill health, dementia and older people.

Wiltshire Council: SEND Transport

OpenStoryTellers

The Whole Life Commissioning Team

Special Educational Needs Transport.

A community arts day service that support people with a learning disability to find their voice, and then use it!

Commissions support services for adults of working age who may present with mental health needs, learning disability, ASD, physical or sensory needs, social, emotional and behavioural needs, speech, language and communication needs. They also support young adults (16 25) to enable a smooth transition in preparation for adulthood.

MARKET PLACE STANDS

Organisation Information

Marlborough and District Dyslexia Association and Wiltshire Dyslexia Association

Inner Flame

Swindon and Wiltshire Careers Hub

Support, advice and resources for Dyslexic Children, Adults and families.

Inner Flame is a Wiltshire based charity that offers free courses to develop confidence, self-worth, life skills, and employability in 16 25s.

Bring together schools, colleges, employers, and apprenticeship providers in local areas across England. They aim to make it easier for schools and colleges to improve how young people prepare for their next steps.

Wiltshire MIND Support people in Wiltshire who are experiencing mental health problems or emotional distress.

Wiltshire Service Users' Network and the Wiltshire Autism Hub project

New College (Swindon)

Employ My Ability

Supports individuals 14+ years, with a diagnosis of Autism. Provide direct assistance to help with particular issues you might be facing. Offer 1 2 1 peer support, peer group support and travel support.

Further and higher education institution offering academic, vocational and technical qualifications, higher education and degree level courses, apprenticeships and business training courses.

Post 16 SEN Provision.

Soundabout

Run interactive and inclusive music making sessions for people of all ages with a learning disability. Their offer includes the Wiltshire Inclusive Choir, online sessions and website resources for families to use together.

Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

Offer FREE Safe & Well visits, which is a person centred home risk assessment, to help ensure people's homes are safe; they provide life saving fire safety information tailored to your home and household. May also install smoke detectors, carbon monoxide alarms and heat detectors free of charge.

Children and Families Commissioning

Commission services to support children and young people, adults and families and carers. This includes services for children with SEND, young adults transitioning to adulthood, and adults of working age who may present with a variety of needs. Also support for parents and carers of children with SEND.

Although the Government has removed all domestic COVID restrictions, we continue to do all we can to responsibly organise this event to reduce risk where we can.

We ask that everyone attending is mindful that attendees and standholders may care for, work with, and/or live with vulnerable people, and be respectful of the measures the WPCC, Civic Centre and individual attendees have put in place to keep people safe while attending this event.

We expect attendees to act responsibly and adhere to the following guidance while attending the event:

General Guidance

• We recommend attendees regularly use hand sanitiser where available

• We respect individuals’ preferences for wearing face masks while entering/exploring the event

• Capacity in the Workshop will be limited

• We ask people to be mindful of social distancing at all times, including in the Market Place and Refreshment Area

• Individuals who aren't from the same household may choose not to share elevators

• The number of Information Stands will be reduced

WE KINDLY ASK ATTENDEES NOT TO ATTEND IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU HAVE BEEN IN CLOSE CONTACT WITH HAVE ANY SYMPTOMS OF COVID

We hope you have found this Pre-Event Information Pack helpful and informative.

You are kindly asked to book places to attend.

To book your place to attend the event, simply click: www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/WPCC-November-Event-2022

We very much look forward to you joining us on Wednesday 2nd November 2022 at The Civic Centre, Trowbridge.

Please remember to book early, as places are limited. Booking closes at 5pm on Wednesday 26th October

If you find nearer the time that you are unable to attend, please let us know so that your place can be offered to someone else.

This also helps us not to over-cater and thereby not waste food or spend more of our funding on this event than necessary.