CHILDREN'S SOCIAL CARE
Child in Need
Local authorities in England have a legal duty under the Children Act 1989 to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children in need, including disabled children, and to provide services that support their health, development and family life. Disabled children are explicitly recognised in law as ‘children in need’, which strengthens their entitlement to assessment and support.
The Children’s Social Care National Framework sets out principles for good practice, including working in partnership with families, providing early, accessible support, ensuring disabled children’s needs are understood holistically and using evidence-based approaches.
In practice, however, parents often find that they are assessed under a safeguarding framework and that they are unable to access support from disability social workers. We can support the process, led by Justine, an experienced social worker, guiding the family through what can be experienced as a worrying and confusing process, and enabling social workers to gain a better understanding of the support needs of the child and the family. We can also support good social care input into EHCP reviews.
Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 sets out the overarching duty toward all children in need. The local authority must safeguard and promote the welfare of children in need in the local area, promote their upbringing within the family, where this is consistent with the child’s welfare, provide a range and level of services appropriate to the child’s needs (e.g. practical support, financial help, respite, family support), assess the child’s needs and consider the child’s wishes and feelings as far as practicable, support the whole family, not just the child, where this promotes the child’s welfare (e.g. support for parents, siblings) and facilitate provision by others, including voluntary organisations.
A child is in need if:
-
they are unlikely to achieve or maintain a reasonable standard of health or development without services;
-
their health or development is likely to be significantly impaired without services; or
-
they are disabled.
This means disabled children are automatically classified as children in need and qualify for assessment and potential support. Disabled children have additional entitlements because disability itself meets the legal threshold for ‘child in need’.
Each local authority publishes its Child in Need procedures on its website. Manchester’s is available at https://manchestercs.trixonline.co.uk/contents/contents.
Coram have more information on the duties to children in need on their Child Law Advice website, https://childlawadvice.org.uk/information-pages/child-in-need-services
Short breaks
Short breaks for children with disabilities are essential for providing them with opportunities to have fun and new experiences. They can also help work towards the outcomes in their EHCP. Short breaks funding is accessed through an assessment by Children’s Social Care.
Options can include overnight stays, day trips or activities that allow children to engage in social interactions and develop vital skills. Where the child or young person is unable to access activities without a facilitator, or where the adult to child ratio is not sufficient for them to feel or to be objectively safe, short breaks can provide funding to make this possible.
Disabled children and young people are entitled to short breaks. Which services are funding will depend on the family and young person’s needs. Short breaks also benefit the family, offering a break so that parents can spend quality time with other children or partners or pursue activities to resource them so that they can maintain and renew their capacity to meet the needs of their family.
The funding can be used for activities in the evenings, at the weekends or for daytime activities out of normal term time.
Where appropriate, ATTACH-Manchester may be able to provide appropriate support or activities so that there is continuity of provision for those children and young people who we work with. We are open for 48 weeks a year and are currently developing this provision.