Summary
Provide high staff support for children and young people with complex and multiple needs. Sustain young adult group one evening per week with door-to-door transport. Maintain ASN parent/carer support group who meet monthly in the centre. Support family and service user transitions.
What SUPPORTING ADMISSIONS TO TRANSITIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR CARERS did
.COJAC provided after school care 3 days per week during term time, (39 weeks) and three full days during 7 weeks of the school summer holidays for 3 children with complex needs that required 1:1 staff: child care. We provide a children's service up to 18 yrs. Some of our children display challenging behaviour, are wheelchair users and require personal care or assistance with toileting. Demand for our summer programme from carers, particularly those we felt were most in need, resulted in us increasing our places with 2 additional staff, reducing the hours of our Transitions worker. One carer stated that 'she was going home to sleep' as her child keeps her most nights and she had been crying with despair.' This allowed us to increase our places during the summer school holiday.
We also provided a transitions group every Monday evening from 6 until 9.30pm for 45 weeks for 11 young adults up to 25 yrs.' with door to door accessible transport. This ensured carers enjoyed the maximum respite without dealing with drop off or collections. A Transitions worker supported families and young adults with their transitions to adult services or other changes to their lives. Two of our young adults had started to display challenging behaviour due to changes in their lives, becoming physically violent with both staff and their own families.
Supported a monthly ASN parent/carers support group for families within the South East area of Glasgow in partnership with South East Carers Forum. This was not only for our own centre families but for any carer with a child or adult with additional support needs. Around 10 carers meet and two carers have established a friendship going out with their children socially.
All services were provided from the COJAC centre in Castlemilk.
What COJAC CENTRE has learned
We found that demand for breaks during the summer holiday break is always going to be higher. Even with the best planning, a carer will find halfway during the summer that they are not coping and could do with somwhere for their child to go to that provides a quality child centred experience. Carers want somewhere they know their child/young person will be looked after and their individual needs met. This year, we had to increase our summer places due to demand, as we felt those parents/carers really needed that break, even one day can make a huge difference.
Our parent/carer support group for ASN families has attracted new people and this year they will be undertaking training in autism and previous training they have undertaken parenting skills. The informal group are able to talk about issues around education, social work or event about services they didn't know existed. For some, it is a first step in recognising their caring role.
We secured addtional funding from the Clutha Trust, which enabled us to offer drama, performance, stage, costumes and prop making skills for our children and young people. This led to a performance in March this year with 'The Trolls', 'Grease' and 'Scottish New Year'. This was attended by over 70 families. Tutors were skilled in ensuring that everyone participated, either through prop making, assisting with costumes or with the music and lights.
How COJAC CENTRE has benefitted from the funding
It hasa llowed us to work with those families most in need. Those who are already isolated due to their child's disability and require support locally that recognises their problems, the discrimination from other families as they try to cope with challenging behaviour and understand their need for a non judgemental break with no justification about what they do with that time away.
We were also visited by a respite service from Iceland. All the staff came to visit - 15! We enjoyed hearing how they operate and learned that they have difficulty also moving young adults on to appropriate adult services and they often continue respite up to 25 years in their facility. They enjoyed looking at our resources as they are currently refurbishing and couldn't believe our space with outdoor play space and indoor soft play area.
Project Outcomes
Outcome
6 multiple support needs children attending after school and during school holidays 3 days per week.
10 additional support needs young adults attending a Monday evening undertaking social, recreational and leisure activities.
Results
Due to higher demand during the school summer holidays, we increased our support workers by 2 and reduced our Transition hours to keep us within budget. This allowed us to provide a child with 2 staff:1 child care. We provided for three children who use wheelchairs every week that require one to one care when out on trips during school holidays. Two days per week we had two wheelchairs in on one day.
We provided 3 sessions after school for 6 children and during the school holidays, except during the summer school holiday, when we increased places to 8 children.
This was offered 39 weeks of the year (Term time) and 3 days per week during the summer school holidays.
For 45 weeks of the year, we provided a transitions group from 6pm until 9.30pm with door to door transport for eleven young people with additional support needs.
Case study
Our child with 2:1 needs has cerebral palsy, blind and is fed through a tube into the stomach. He has been socially isolated with young parents and has a younger non disabled sister. We have noticed a huge change in him and mum. He laughs and enjoys our sensory room very much. He is now out of the house more, going on trips and being around children ensuring that he does not become lonely at home during the long school holidays. Mum had difficulty getting out and about with him and his younger sister and school holiday excursions such as taking her daughter swimming was impossible on her own. Mum does not have much family or friend support around her.
Outcome
10 parents/carers will have a free evening once a week where there young adult is collected from home and return enabling them to pursue their own choice of leisure or recreational activity.
6 parents will have a free day once a week whilst their child participates in an after school activity.
Results
20 carers had one free evening per week with their young adult collected from home and returned home after 9pm. This gives them around 3 hours break per week to use how they please. This took place 45 weeks of the year.
6 parents/carers enjoyed a longer break while their child was at school and then was dropped off at the COJAC centre. ASN transport picks up children from the school and brings them to COJAC at the end of the school day. Parent/carers then has to collect from the centre up to 6pm.
One parent/carer commented that she was going 'home to sleep' after dropping her child off due to lack of sleep as child was prone to being up most of the night.
10 parents/carers attended our parent/carer support group hosted in the centre in partnership with South East Carers Centre.
Case study
One parent carer was having a hard time as her child did not sleep well and mum was feeling the frustration of lack of sleep and exhaustion. Mum commented after one drop off during the school summer holidays 'that she had been crying to her own mum about coping, and that she was now going home to sleep'. It can be clearly seen that even a break one day during the school holidays can allow a carer the opportunity to re charge and rest.
Outcome
10 parents/carers will have a free evening once a week where their young adult is collected from home and return.
10 parents/caers will feel better supported and advised through the parent/carer support group that we provide monthly in the centre.
Results
The parent/carer support group will have increased information around what services are available to them. Parents/carers are provided with more opportunities to socialise and meet with others similar to them. 10 parents/carers met monthly and two have forged a strong friendship and are now socialising with their ASN children.
Therer's been a positive change in the children and young people’s behaviour and mental health/wellbeing and we have reduced carer stress and anxiety through improved support regarding transitions and pathways to adult services.
We have increased our young adult tranistions group from 10 to 11 for a carer who is recently widowed and daughter is going through some home and service changes.
Case study
We have increased the numbers of our transitions young adult group from 10 to 11 since our mid grant report. One new girl joined us. She has limited comnunication and is deaf. She uses Makaton and other pictorial guides which we ensure staff that are working that night are able to use.
The parent/carer is recently bereaved, so the family are coping with bereavement and a total change in circumstances.
Outcome
10 Parent/carers are more aware of services and benefits available to them. For some, they are finidng out what COJAC can offer them even though they live locally, they were not aware of our service.
Two parents/carers from the support group have become firm friends after being quite isolated.
Results
11 young adults have had access to fun, friendship and to be independent from their parents/carers, thus increasing their confidence. There has been improvement with one young man who was displaying violent and challenging behaviour. This has benefitted mum with reduced stress and worry.
6 children and 8 during the summer holiday period have had oppoprtunties to attend mainstream activities, trips and leisure events , during at time when they would be most likely to be isolated at home
Case study
We have increased the numbers of our transitions young adult group from 10 to 11 since our mid grant report. One new girl joined us. She has limited comnunication and is deaf. She uses Makaton and other pictorial guides which we ensure staff that are working that night are able to use.
The parent/carer is recently bereaved, so the family are coping with bereavement and a total change in circumstances.
Outcome
16 additional support needs children and young people will have access to fun, make new friends, sustain friendships, network with their peers, and achieve new personal goal, increased self-confidence and self-belief.
Results
We provided after school care activities for 6 children with complex support needs 39 weeks of the year. In addition, we provided 8 children with complex support needs during the school summer holidays. They enjoyed trips out every day to the cinema, bowling, beach, parks and places of interest. We ensured that all our children had a full and active summer break.
We provided 11 young adults with a weekly evening club that allowed them to be indepedent away from home, making friends and being with their peers.