Social Care

The Children's Disabilities Team is a small specialist team working in Children’s Social Care at North Tyneside Council.

The team will work with children up to 17 years who have severe and complex disabilities which have a significant impact on day-to-day life.

 

Support available

The team supports children and young people with disabilities, and their families by:

Assessing needs and finding services and support to meet them
Reviewing and monitoring the support in place
Providing support for children in need, children in our care, those in need of protection, and those subject to public law proceedings

The Team is led by two Team Managers who are qualified social workers. 

 

The team includes

Social Workers who carry out assessments, and develop plans to support families with disabled children who have a more complex level of need.
A Transition Worker who works with young people from the age of 14 in preparation for adulthood.

 

Who can access the service

The team supports children and young people with a broad range of needs, up to the age of 17.

This includes children / young people with:

Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy and other physical disabilities that significantly impact on the child's wellbeing.
Learning disabilities
Autistic Spectrum Disorder, which has a significant impact on their communication needs, social and behavioural development.
Multiple or severe disability
Global development delay
Severe sensory impairment
Complex physical disability and health needs

The team will look at the severity of the disability and the level of need.

 

How to access the service

Telephone Front Door on 0345 2000 109

 

 

 

 

The Community Learning Disabilities Team (CLDT) provides an assessment service for people with a learning disability. The team can offer:

• Assessment and care co-ordination
• Independent supported living
• Support for parents and families
• Care management
• Mental health assessment
• Forensic services
• Support for adults with learning disabilities and complex health needs.

 

How to access the service

Telephone Front Door service on 0345 200 109

 

If you are already receiving support from the team and want make contact

Telephone: Social Work 0191 643 7885  or  Health 0191 293 3000 

Email: cldt_duty_admin@northtyneside.gov.uk

Address: Adult Social Care, Quadrant West, Silverlink North, Cobalt Business Park, North Tyneside, NE27 0BY

The Transition Team (TT) is an integral part of North Tyneside Council’s Social Care resource, working alongside the Community Learning Disability Team (CLDT adults) and Children’s Disability Team (CDT), all of these fall under the umbrella of the Whole Life Disability Service. These teams have developed a close working partnership with CLDT Health colleagues.

The Transition workers have been transferred from the adult Community Learning Disabilities Team and received relevant training and preparation in relation to working with children, young people and families.

When a child/young person reaches the age of 14 and is open to the Children’s Disability Team, the allocated Social Worker will introduce a Transition worker.

The role of the worker, if required by the family, will be to support as smooth a Transition from Children’s to Adult services as possible, becoming the contact point for any query relating to Transition processes and to Preparation for Adulthood, including independent supported living, employment/volunteering and developing friendships.

 As well as guidance and advice, the Transition worker can provide practical support such as independent travel training, they will also provide an information pack for families regarding available resources and contacts, this includes the Adult Ways to Wellbeing Assessment, which is the tool used to assess eligible Social Care needs for someone 18 years old and over.

The Transition Team can be contacted via CDT admin, 0191 6434151.

 

Friends, Relationships and Community 

Having a wide circle of friends, positive relationships and contributing to their local community, are all recognised as being beneficial in promoting a feeling of general wellbeing in people.

A Transition worker can provide support for any young person who is open to the Children’s Disability Team (CDT), to widen their circle of friends.  The worker will complete a checklist of the interests someone has and use this to find opportunities to meet likeminded people. They can then provide short term support to enable someone, where possible, to travel independently to, and become confident in a new social setting, with the aim of building relationships and developing natural support.        

If a young person wishes to have a stronger presence in their local community, the Transition Worker can provide support to improve this aspect of their lives, with the aim of, not only having a presence in their community, but of making a positive contribution. This is often by promoting volunteering opportunities, and again they can provide travel training and contribute to short term support whilst natural, supportive relationships are being developed.

Those interested can enquire via their allocated Social Worker or by contacting CDT admin. Tel: 0191 643 4151.

 

Independent Supported Living 

The Transition Worker can provide practical support and advice regarding the options for, and availability of, Independent Supported Living opportunities for young people who are open to the CDT.

The CDT Social Worker will introduce a Transition worker to the interested family, this worker will ensure that young people and their family are well informed regarding available options and will make a referral to the CLDT Housing Team. The Transition worker will then remain in place at all stages, from the point of an initial discussion, enabling informed decision making, through to agreement on an accommodation pathway.

Matching people who have similar personalities and interests and who are seeking to share a tenancy and support, is an important part of the process. The Transition worker will identify any potential sharing opportunities and then provide practical support for people to meet over a period of time to find out if they get along well enough to consider living together.  

Part of the Transition worker role will be the completion of a baseline assessment of the young person, regarding the skills required for Independent Supported Living. This assessment will then inform the adult Ways to Wellbeing Assessment, which will be completed between the ages of 17 - 18 and will formally identify the eligible needs and support requirements of the young person. 

For further information please contact CDT admin. Tel: 0191 643 4151.

North Tyneside Short breaks statement

Introduction

The Children's Act (1989) requires all councils to provide services that are designed to give a break for carers of disabled children and young people. The Breaks for Carers of Disabled Children Regulations (2011) tells all councils that they must provide a range of services that are designed to meet the needs of disabled children and young people and assist carers in providing care to them.

The Children & Families Act (2014) places a duty on councils to produce a Short Breaks Statement that is published on the SEND Local Offer.

This statement is for parents and carers living in North Tyneside who have a child or young person with special educational needs and /or a disability (SEND). It provides information about the short break services in North Tyneside and describes:

• What is a short break

• Types of short breaks

• Eligibility and Assessment 

• How short breaks services are reviewed 

 

What is a short break?

Looking after a child who has complex special educational needs and disabilities can bring challenges and difficulties that other families do not have.

It may be harder for these children to participate in activities, develop their independence and make friends like other children do. Family members can become overwhelmed and tired from their caring duties.

A short break is an opportunity for the child or young person to spend time away from their primary carers and engaging in activities that are enjoyable. They promote social inclusion as well as developing personal and social skills. Short breaks also provide primary care givers with a valuable and necessary break from their caring responsibilities.

Short breaks can include day, evening, overnight, weekend or holiday activities and can take place in the child or young person's own home, in the home of an approved carer, in the community or a residential setting.

Short breaks range from supporting children with SEND to access a break within a universal setting or to providing specialist services.

 

Aims of our short breaks offer

•           Children and families get the support that they need at the right time. This includes early intervention and preventative support to prevent families reaching crisis.

•           Provide high quality services that meets the needs of children and young people with SEND, ensuring that parents / carers can trust in our services and can have a restful break.

•           Offer enjoyable experiences, where children and young people thrive and are supported in their personal, social and emotional development.  This supports in developing friendship, networks and community participation.

•           Provide a broad offer so that families are able to choose from a range of services that are suitable to meet the identified needs of the child / young person and the family.

•           Improve wellbeing by reducing the impact that caring has on the whole family and providing them with opportunities to spend quality time together without the additional caring responsibilities.

•           Helping young people and their families to prepare for adulthood.

•           Providing access to leisure facilities

•           Listen to families’ experiences and use this feedback to develop and improve our offer.

 

Types of short breaks

Not all children and families will need the same level of short breaks or for the same amount of time. The type of short breaks that is accessed will be dependent on the needs of the child / young person and family circumstances.

There are three types of short break services available in North Tyneside.

•           Universal service: The majority of children and young people are able to access universal services with reasonable adjustments made where necessary.

•           Targeted service: A smaller number of children and young people will require targeted services that can provide more support than universal services.

•           Specialist service: The smallest number of children and young people will require access to specialist services.

 

Access to short breaks is either non-assessed or assessed.  Families can access non-assessed (universal and targeted) services directly without any assessments. 

 

Short Break Categories

Non assessed

Universal

Available to all children and young people in the local area with or without SEND.

• After school and holiday clubs –Homepage | Childcare Choices   
• Leisure centre’s - Leisure centres and swimming pools | North Tyneside Council 
• Family Hub’s - Family Hubs | North Tyneside Council 

Services must make reasonable adjustments where necessary to support the child / young person.  

Contact the services directly to discuss your child's needs. 

 

Targeted

Specific activities for children and young people with SEND, there may be some eligibility criteria.

• HAF provisions  
• LD North East  
• North East Autism Society  
• Pathways for All  
• True Colours  

See Leisure Activities section on North Tyneside SEND Local Offer

https://my.northtyneside.gov.uk/category/1249/leisure-activities-and-things-do

Each service will have its own eligibility criteria. 

 

Assessed       

Specialist

For children and young people that are unable to access universal or targeted services or require more support to access them than is regularly available. 

• Activities where direct payments or personal budgets are used.  
• Personal Assistant’s 
• Overnight short breaks or a support package commissioned for Overnight short breaks.  
• Daytime activities  
• A support package in the home  
• Holiday play schemes specifically for complex SEND. 

An assessment of need will be carried out to determine the right support at the right time. 

 

Eligibility and assessment

All children and young people who have a disability as defined by the Children's Act 1989 are children in need, and therefore eligible for a social care assessment known as a Single Assessment. 

Single Assessment

This is a holistic assessment of your family's needs and is carried out by a qualified social worker. This is a complete assessment of your family's needs and is carried out by a qualified social worker.

Specialist short breaks are provided to those families where the children and young people have profound or complex disabilities that impact their daily living for a significant length of time. This includes:

Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy and other physical disabilities that significantly impact on the child's wellbeing.
Learning disabilities
Autistic Spectrum Disorder, which has a significant impact on their communication needs, social and behavioural development
Multiple or severe disability
Global development delay
Severe sensory impairment
Complex physical disability and health needs

In addition, some families will need support from the Council to access appropriate short breaks due to individual family circumstances. For example, a family that has multiple children with disabilities, parents / carers have their own medical needs/disabilities or additional support is required to safeguard a child.

How to request an assessment 

Contact North Tyneside Front Door.  Telephone: 0345 2000 109

The assessment process

In North Tyneside, we do not carry out assessments for short breaks independently. We look at the whole family and develop a Child in Need (CIN) plan with you. This plan may include access to a specialist short break or refer you back to universal and targeted services. We will work with a multi-agency team, which includes health colleagues to ensure your family has all the right support in place.

Specialist short breaks

We currently commission a range of services through our Children’s Short Break framework, which include, support into the home, outreach, day service, after school support and holiday and group provision and targeted support with teenagers and this is an open framework, some of these services who are regulated with Ofsted and CQC can also support children and young people with complex health needs. 

Within your Child in Need (CIN) plan, if specialist short breaks are the right service for your family, we will discuss with you what this includes.  Each child’s plan is unique to them, it may include one or more of the following:

 

Direct payments: This is money that is provided to you by the Council to cover the costs of a specific service, for example paying for a personal assistant to support you at universal / targeted activities or to help with your care needs at home.

 

Overnight Short Break Care: In North Tyneside, Addison Street Short Break Care Home offers short breaks for up to 5 children/young people aged 6-17 years with disabilities. The service is based in a specially adapted property.

 

We also have children with complex health needs who access St Oswald’s Short Break Service. We also use several alternate private overnight short break services providers that are commissioned. 

Community outreach/activities: Services that provide specialist activities in the community or with a high level of support for those unable to access universal / targeted services with support.

A support package in the home or elsewhere: Managed and delivered / commissioned by the Council.

 

How we plan and review our short breaks services 

The Children’s Disability team have a variety of ways that they review the needs of a family and the short break offer.  This can be via the allocation of a social worker, the expectation of regular child in need reviews and the need to see the children direct and gather their views.  This will always be done in the best interests of the child, young person and their family.

As part of our planning process for the strategic development of our short breaks offer, we must understand more about the number of children and young people with disabilities in the local area, and how many there are likely to be in the coming years. We also need to know what types of disabilities they have and what types of activities are popular.

To do this we collect information from a range of sources including, early years, schools, health and social care. We have two dedicated SEND Participation Officers and SEND Outreach and Inclusion Officer who listen to the views of children and young people with SEND and their parents / carers.

North Tyneside Council is committed to working in partnership with children and families.  In 2021 and 2022 we held a range of engagement sessions with children, young people and their families to understand what the need was around short breaks.  This is a continuous process and over 2023 we have worked closely with parent carers and families to develop holiday provision.  We plan to engage again on the offer again in 2025 via the new engagement hub and direct sessions with families.

 

We also welcome feedback on our short breaks at any time. You can do this via the SEND Local Offer website or by contacting us:

Email: local.offer@northtyneside.gov.uk 

Telephone: 0191 643 8216 

You can also provide feedback to North Tyneside Parent Carer Forum, an independent group of parents and carers of children and young people with additional needs and disabilities in North Tyneside. They work in partnership with key organisations to ensure the needs of the child are at the heart of all services. Find out more online:

Web: North Tyneside Parent Carer Forum

Facebook: NTPCF   

My Care North Tyneside is our social care information and advice website for adults in North Tyneside.

My Care offers information and advice on a range of care and support options for you as a carer.

It will ensure you are informed and can make your own choices and can also help you to identify your own support needs as a carer.

 

 Living Well North Tyneside can be used to find services, groups and activities that may help your child and you, as their carer.

Should you need any help navigating the website, or need any further  help and support, please feel free to contact us:

Telephone: (0191) 643 2777
Email: childrenandadultscontactcentre@northtyneside.gov.uk

North Tyneside Carers’ Centre is a local independent charity offering support to young and adult carers. They provide:

• Information, advice and guidance
• One-to-one support
• Peer support groups
• Support for carers in employment
• Advocacy support
• Mental health
• Counselling services
• Training sessions for carers

Telephone: (0191) 643 2298
Email: enquiries@ntcarers.co.uk

 

North Tyneside Parent Carer Forum (‘NTPCF’)

North Tyneside Parent Carer Forum CIC is a parent led organisation offering support to parent carers within North Tyneside who have a child/young person aged 0-25 with special education needs and/or disabilities.

•  Telephone: 07572 787 044
• Websitre: www.ntpcf.co.uk
• Email: info@ntpcf.co.uk