Short BreaksProcedures Handbook

Version 7

Document History

Current Version

Document Name Short Breaks Procedures Handbook

Last Updated By Kim Green

Date Created 11.09.2017

Version 7.0

Status Updated

Revision History

Date Version

Author Changes Made

03.02.17 1.0 Arielle Jardenico

10.02.17 2.0 Kim Green Amended Care & Support Plan Process and Application to EHC Panel Process – to provide more support to keyworkers from SEND Team.

17.02.17 3.0 Kim Green Following input from Tim Armstrong, Sue Sharp and Helen Sweaton: Further information added to monitoring and reviewing section.

09.03.17 4.0 Kim Green Change templates for Care & Support Plan, Planned spend and EHC Panel referral form

14.03.17 5.0 Arielle Jardenico Amended FAQs

24.04.17 6.0 Kim Green Amended process as highlighted

11.09.17 7.0 Kayleigh Masefield/ Arielle Jardenico

Changed FACE name Minor amendments to order of process, EHC panel decisions now uploaded to

Care Director, Amended the information on

implementing the support package also included the Direct Payments guide with TPSA,

Additional guidance re use of overnights is now included

Process Overview

TriageGather information to understand what the family/referrer is hoping the referral will result in. This up front work will help determine whether an alternative route would be better for the family.

(Please note than you cannot refuse to complete an assessment of need, but by doing some initial checks it might be that you determine that this might not be what the family actually wants).

Making Use of Existing ResourcesAs part of the triage process and initial work with the family it is important to check whether the family are accessing/have tried to access services and activities that are already available in the community.

For example, a family may say they want a specialist short break and assessment because they are not aware that they can access a range of leisure activities, designed specifically for children with SEND, in their local communities.

Information about what is available is on the Local Offer Website and you can also contact KIDS WESAIL on 01924 379015 for more information.

If a family needs support to access activities or the family feel they need a break from caring duties, you will need to complete a holistic assessment of need to help further unpick what unmet needs there might be and what can be put in place to help address them. This may, or may not be, a specialist short break.

Assessment of NeedAny child with a disability, or their parent carer, who feels they have a need for care or support, can request a needs assessment. This is a statutory right and is regardless of the level of those needs. The statutory timescale to complete an assessment is 45 working days.

There is no such thing as an assessment for Short Breaks however, an Early Help assessment or Single Assessment of need may identify that Short Breaks would benefit the child, young person or family.

Accessing an AssessmentWakefield is adopting a ‘No Wrong Door’ approach to assessment. Therefore, no matter where a child, young person or parent carer first requests an assessment of need, someone will work with them to ensure they are supported at the right level, rather than just turned away to find support elsewhere.

To help with this, a referral tool has been designed to help families and practitioners more easily determine what level of assessment would be most appropriate as a starting point. The referral tool will be available online later in 2017. For now, a paper version can be found in the Appendix.

Purpose of AssessmentThe purpose of assessment is to work with children, young people and their families to help them identify:

• their strengths; • what would make the difference for them and;• what would make the difference to them.

An assessment may be used to determine if a child, young person or their parent carer is eligible for Specialist Short Breaks.

Completing an AssessmentAssessments must be holistic and informed by the views of the child and their family. Assessments must follow the guidance as set out in Working Together to Safeguard Children 2015. In Wakefield district, the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board Continuum Of Need provides further information about assessing need

The Council (Social Care Direct and Early Help Hubs) and various support agencies such as; schools, health visitor and KIDS WESAIL can assist the family with completing an assessment of need.

The Council teams and support agencies will complete the assessment documents that are available to them such as; Early Help Assessment, Single Assessment and Common Assessment Framework (CAF).

There is specific information needed to complete the Resource Allocation System. There is a prompt guide available in the Appendix. You do NOT need to complete a paper RAS assessment.

Hints and TipsHint and Tips about working with children and young people with disabilities, and their families, to complete an assessment of need is available in the Appendix.

EligibilityAlthough all disabled children are entitled to some form of assessment, Specialist Short Breaks only have to be provided where one of the relevant statutory duties applies. Other than in relation to residential short breaks, the key duty is in section 2(4) of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970. This requires short breaks to be provided where an assessment shows that there is an unmet need.

Eligibility criteria for Specialist Short Breaks in the Wakefield District have been set so that the Council is making best use of its resources in deciding what can be considered ‘necessary’.

The most up to date eligibility criteria for Specialist Short Breaks is in the Appendix. It is important to note that the eligibility criteria applies to Specialist Short Breaks only and that there are a range of mainstream/universal and targeted Short Breaks available in the Wakefield District without any eligibility criteria.

Checking Eligibility Eligibility can only be determined by first completing an assessment of need.

The information from the assessment needs to be used to determine an overall level for the child’s developmental needs, the family/environmental factors and parenting capacity.

The combination of these overall levels, determines eligibility for a Specialist Short Break, as detailed on the eligibility criteria.

Should an assessment indicate that someone is eligible the information from the assessment can be inputted into the Imosphere Resource Allocation System (RAS). (see Calculating the Personal Budget Offer).

Only Council keyworkers can complete the RAS system and therefore, any external practitioner who feels a child or young person is eligible for a Specialist Short Break will need to complete a referral, attach any relevant assessments and refer the family into the appropriate team to progress and calculate the Personal Budget offer. This is likely to be the Early Help Hubs, Assessment and Localities in Children’s Social Care or the Complex Care Needs Team.

A paper version and the EHC Panel Front Cover Sheet can be used to refer the family into the Council. Both of these documents are available in the Appendix.

Please note that if an assessment* has determined that the child/young person does not need specialist support and/or is not eligible for support, then the external practitioner needs to support the family to access targeted and/or universal services.

*This does not have to an assessment completed by the Council.

Calculating the Personal Budget Offer

The Council’s Imosphere Resource Allocation System (RAS) is used to calculate an indicative personal budget offer. The RAS is a tool that enables families to have an equal and fair allocation of support based on their assessed and unmet needs.

The budget calculated is always indicative as the actual cost of providing the support needed to meet the assessed unmet needs may increase or decrease depending on what the family chooses and the availability of some services.

For more information about how the indicative Personal Budget is calculated, see the Calculating Your Personal Budget document in the Appendix.

Process Allocated Council keyworker to use the assessment of need to complete the RAS.

Only staff who have completed the RAS training will be given a username and password.

If you need to complete the training, then please contact the SEND Team via send@wakefield.gov.uk

The online RAS is available here: https://wakefieldchildrenssocialcarelive.carecalc.co.uk

Log in using the username and password you have been given.

If you experience any problems with your log in, then please contact the SEND Team.

Complete each section of the needs profile using the information gathered during from the assessment of need.

The RAS will produce an allocation summary which shows an indicative budget (IB) amount and a number of hours eligible for the child/young person.**

Please export your RAS summary and completed Needs Profile as a .pdf document to attach to Care Director. For information on uploading documents to Care Director, please follow the guidance in the Appendix.

Both of these documents will be needed for the Education, Health and Care (EHC) Panel application.

**It is not possible to configure the RAS based on the cost of every available service. Therefore the indicative budget is currently a broad average and may be much higher than is actually needed by the family, particularly if they are looking at direct payments to employ a Personal Assistant. In the medium term, please only share the number of hours allocated in the Indicative Budget with the family, rather than the financial allocation.

Care and Support Planning

The care and support plan sets out clear outcomes you agree with the child/young person and their families. It can include support from family and friends, community organisations and school, as well as formal paid services (if applicable).

The Care and Support Plan must also show how any money from the indicative Personal Budget will be used to achieve the agreed outcomes.

Good support planning is person-centred and focuses on building on universal services and community wealth before looking at targeted and specialist resources.

It is recognised that there are a number of options for families and these can be difficult to navigate. As such, the SEND Team will be supporting with all Care and Support Plans and will handle the submissions to EHC Panel to help reduce the workload and expectations on those staff working directly with the families.

Managing a Personal BudgetAllocated keyworkers are responsible to ensure all Personal Budget options are explored with the family.

There are 4 ways in which a personal budget can be managed. Direct Payments (cash budget) Managed Account Individual Service Fund Combination/Mixed

More information about the different ways a Personal Budget can be managed (and the support available to families) is provided in the Appendix.

Process Allocated Council keyworker to work with the family to agree person-centred

outcomes that support the child/young person to work towards their aspirations. If child has EHCP then please use outcomes from this wherever possible as a starting point.

Keyworker to support the family to identify any universal services or community wealth that will help achieve the agreed outcomes.

Keyworker may also wish to support the family to look at the Local Offer and identify any targeted services that will help achieve the agreed outcomes.

Keyworker to complete the outcomes column on the Care & Support Plan and input any preferences already expressed by the family re providers, preference for managing the budget

Keyworker to complete EHC Panel Referral Sheet

It is essential that all of the relevant sections are completed, including Child Voice, Parent Voice and Practitioner Recommendation section. Guidance about the information to include in these sections is provided in the Appendix.

The following documentation will also need to be submitted

o Referral cover sheeto Draft Care & Support Plan o Resource Allocation Summary*o Completed needs profile from CareCalco All completed assessment/s which have the evidence/information for your

RAS scorings

The completed referral and paperwork must be emailed to the SEND Team send@wakefield.gov.uk As the documentation includes sensitive information, it must be sent via Cryptshare.

The SEND Team will then use the information provided and consider the preferences of the family to source a suitable and availability service (where needed).

The SEND Team will then update the proposed Care and Support Plan and complete the Planned Spend Sheet. Both Documents are available in the Appendix, for reference.

The SEND Team will liaise directly with the keyworker to discuss the draft plan but, if requested by the family, can also liaise directly with the family.

The SEND Team will apply to EHC Panel for approval. (See Agreeing the Personal Budget Offer).

In the vast majority of requests, the final Personal Budget being requested will be equal to, or less than, the original Indicative Budget.***

If the keyworker feels the Personal Budget offer is not enough to meet the assessed needs, then the keyworker can utilise the professional recommendation box to outline what additional is being requested and why (including any applicable costs).

This includes the use of overnights. There is more specific guidance about when overnights may be appropriate (see appendix).

*** As more Short Breaks packages are implemented, the RAS will be improved to give a greater accuracy between indicative and actual budgets. Support planning can then be based on the financial allocation, rather than the number of hours.

Agreeing the Personal Budget OfferAll decisions relating to Personal Budgets in Children’s Services are made at Education, Health and Care (EHC) Panel. EHC Panel is a multi-agency panel that meets weekly. No packages can be started without first having EHC Panel approval.

It is very unlikely that there will be an emergency situation related to Short Breaks, particularly one that cannot wait until the next weekly EHC Panel meeting. However, if an emergency does arise, Team Manager’s will need to review and determine the most appropriate course of action. Where funding is needed, one of the chairs of EHC Panel can be approached by the Team Manager to request an emergency decision outside of panel. This will be an interim decision until ratification at the next EHC Panel. The full process will still need to be followed.

Process SEND Team to update the EHC Panel Referral Sheet and submit it, along with all

documentation to EHC panel via ehcpshortbreaksreferrals@wakefield.gov.uk . As the documentation includes sensitive information, it must be sent via Cryptshare.

The majority of referrals are considered at the next EHC Panel meeting.

EHC Panel will review the information provided and make a decision regarding the application.

EHC Panel will also ensure that the annual review date (if known) is documented to ensure that all support is reviewed simultaneously going forward.

The Panel Administrator will upload the EHC panel decision by the Friday after EHC panel and will assign the referring keyworker a task to let them know the decision.

The keyworker will need to ensure the panel decision and all referring documents are uploaded onto Care Director (in the child’s attachments).

If the Personal Budget is agreed then the allocated keyworker will need to progress and set up the support written in the Care and Support plan.

If the personal budget is not agreed by the EHC Panel, Panel will make recommendations on how to proceed.

Changes to ProvisionA child, young person or family may change their mind about how they would like to receive their support. I.e. would like to swap from one provider to another or would like to now take Direct Payments (for example). Personalisation allows and actively encourages them to do this and have more control.

However it is important that all changes are documented and agreed at the appropriate level.

Process Family contacts keyworker to discuss altering the agreed provision.

All changes to provision must first be agreed by the family’s keyworker to ensure that the provision still supports the agreed outcomes to be achieved.

The keyworker must contact the SEND Team to update the Care & Support Plan and Planned Spend.

SEND Team Manager will then agree the proposed changes with one of the co-chairs of the EHC Panel.

SEND Team will notify the keyworker of the outcome.

Keyworker to update the documentation on Care Director.

Any agreed changes will need to be actioned following the same processes as outlined in “Implementing the Support Package” section. This will be the keyworker’s responsibility.

SEND Team Manager will produce a brief ‘Information Only’ report for EHC Panel to inform them of any agreed provision changes.

Changes to OutcomesChanges to outcomes and/or requests for reassessments cannot be agreed by the SEND Team. These changes will require a full reapplication to EHC Panel.

Implementing the Support Package

Allocated keyworkers are responsible for supporting the family to set up the support agreed in their Care and Support Plan.

There are different processes, for making sure that all of the different elements of support are set up.

ProcessOptions Link to the detail/workflowDirect Payments

Direct Payments with TPSA

Managed Account – Commissioned Providers

The SEND Transformation Team will implement this on behalf of the family and worker.

The SEND Transformation Team will ensure that the family’s preference of support indicated in their care and support plan will be used as first choice however in the event that the preferred provider is unavailable, the SEND Team will work with the worker and family to identify an alternative provider which will be suitable to meet the family’s needs.

Managed Account – In-House Services – Residential and Non-Residential

Individual Service Fund None currently available in Wakefield

Monitoring and ReviewFor the majority of families, once the support is set up, their situation is settled and they no longer need an allocated worker.

All support packages must be reviewed at least annually as local provision rates may change and the amount and type of support needed by the family may change.

In order to support a “Tell us Once” approach, it is important that keyworkers look to combine reviews, i.e. join EHCP Annual Review or My Support Plan Reviews.

Process Once the support package has been set up, the allocated keyworker will review the

support with the family after a period of 3 months to ensure that everything is working ok and meeting need.

If everything is settled and there is not an active Child in Need plan, or any safeguarding/child protection concerns, then the case can be closed.

The date for the EHC or My Support Plan annual review is to be noted (please note this may be sooner than 12 months).

Around the time that the annual review is due, school is likely to contact the Team Manager to request an update to the information in the plan and contribution to the review.

An invite is usually sent approximately 6 weeks prior to the meeting, however, please do not assume the review is not taking place if you do not get an invite. This is why service-level scheduling is still important.

The review of the Short Breaks support will be undertaken by the allocated keyworker.

Where the family are no longer open to a worker, a referral will be made to the Early Help Hub to progress.

As part of the review, it will be necessary to ensure that all of the information in the assessment of need is still relevant and up to date and that the family still meet the eligibility criteria for support.

The Care & Support Plan will need to be reviewed to ensure it still meets the family’s assessed needs and circumstances.

As part of reviewing the Care & Support plan, it is important to update the information in the RAS to review the actual Personal Budget to the new Indicative Budget, i.e. rates may have changed and alternative, more suitable and cost-effective options may now be available that still meet need.

The update and conversations with the family need to be done prior to the meeting and can be co-ordinated with other practitioners who may also be updating information with the family.

At the meeting, any changes to the EHC or My Support Plan will be discussed and agreed with the family.

If there is a change to the Short Breaks provision request, and the child has an EHC Plan, the school will write a letter to SENART and submit the updated EHC Plan for approval. You will not need to do an application to panel.

If there is a change to the Short Breaks provision request, and the child does NOT have an EHC Plan, then you will need to follow the same process as detailed in Care & Support Planning, i.e. you must email a referral to SEND@wakefield.gov.uk.

Appendix

Section Description Document

Assessment

Referral Tool

Assessment of Need – Prompt Questions

Hints and tips for working with children and young people with SEND and their families

Eligibility Eligibility Criteria

Calculating the Personal Budget

How your Personal Budget is calculated

Saving and retrieving a part-completed assessment

Use of Overnights

Attaching a document to Care Director To be added

Personal Budget Management

Different ways to manage a Personal Budget and the different support available to do this

Care and Support Planning

What to include in the EHC cover sheet and referral document

Care and Support Plan

Planned Spend

Implementing the support package

Direct Payment Agreement

Direct Payment Care Director Technical Process

Penderels Referral Form and Process

CO1

CO2

CO3

Adding Activities to Care Director

Other Frequently Asked Questions