New look Parent Carer Support Pathway

We are writing to you to inform you of changes to the way in which we support parent carers throughout the county.

As an educational lead for children whose parents are receiving such support from Warwickshire County Council, we wanted to provide you with information about the new way in which we intend to provide help and also the rationale behind this decision.

We would welcome your support in sharing this information with parents either by email or through your school newsletter. We also have a poster that may prove helpful.

What has changed?

We are offering the new look Parent Carer Support Pathway to all those who care for a child with a disability.

We will be offering a wellbeing conversation as part of the assessment – a practitioner from the Children’s with Disabilities Team will carry this out with the parent. This conversation will lead to better informed decisions and allow us to identify the parent’s needs and tailor available support that will help them, as well as their child and your wider family members.

Importantly, the parent carer support pathway can be completed as a standalone assessment or in conjunction with an assessment of the disabled child’s needs.

Accessing the assessment

If the parent already has an allocated social worker and has already completed a social care assessment or parent carer assessment – they should contact their named social worker.

How can the Parent Carer Support Pathway help?

The wellbeing conversation may result in signposting to an appropriate local provider. For instance, if the parent is experiencing health or mental health needs, a referral can be made to adult services for support for the Parents’ themselves.

It may be that providing an agreed one-off financial payment for a specific outcome in order for the parent to purchase a service, piece of equipment or access an activity could help to support them in their caring role and improve their wellbeing.

The important thing to remember is access to the parent carer support pathway and a wellbeing conversation has no restrictions. It is not time limited and can be accessed as often as is required. If the parent’s needs change following the agreed outcome, parents are encouraged to contact Warwickshire County Council either by email childrenwithdisabilitiesteam@warwickshire.gov.uk or by calling 01926 413737 (option 4).

Next steps

Further information and clarity can be south by going to the new webpages on the Warwickshire County Council website. To access these please go to https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/directory-record/6501/parent-carer-support-pathway

Thank you for your continued support.