Agenda item

Cabinet Members – Councillor W.Gareth Roberts, Dilwyn Morgan and Gareth Thomas

 

To receive the following reports  (attached):-

 

(A)       Learning Disability Services

(B)       Childrens Services

(C)       Education Service

 

Submitted - the report of the Cabinet Member for Adults, Health and Well-being, the Cabinet Member for Children and Families, and the Cabinet Member for Education elaborated on the current services in the field of Autism and the plans to develop them over the coming years.

 

Since the work was taking place across a number of services and as they were planned and maintained by three Departments within the Council, the three Departments provided separate reports.

 

The Cabinet Members and officers expanded on the content of the reports, and also responded to questions/observations by the Members.

 

(A)     Learning Disabilities Services

 

The following main points were noted:-

 

·         Concern was expressed that the needs of adults with autism, but who did not have learning disabilities, were not being met and that autism was being discussed under the learning disabilities services. Most people with autism did not have learning disabilities and there was now a move toward considering autism as a condition rather than a disability. Furthermore, everybody had a contribution to make and it was important to promote the skills of each individual.  In light of the fact that the Autism Bill was currently being discussed by the Senedd in Wales, the Council would have to take seriously the needs of people with autism, and treat these needs differently henceforth. In response, it was noted that the Learning Disabilities Service took these needs seriously.  It was confirmed that autism was not a separate service within the Adults, Health and Well-being department at present. It was believed, however, that it was currently located where the expertise existed to deal with complex cases within the Departments, and that this was where coordination across the Department and contact with other Departments took place.

·         It was noted that there was a lack of support for people with less profound and less long-term conditions and the importance of supporting adults before they became isolated or before they found themselves in a situation where they needed professional help or medication was emphasised.  It was also noted that early intervention saved money in the long term and reference was also made to the lack of mental health experts in the Health Service.

·         The view was expressed that the Council should employ an autism officer to be a point of contact for families and who would be able to collaborate with the third sector.  It was also suggested that information should be included on the website about which resources, groups were available.  In response, it was noted that a support worker had been appointed through the IAS Project to work in Gwynedd.  Also, as requirements changed, and more data emerged about things the Council needed to do, the Department would continue to consider what exactly to provide. This could, eventually, lead to the need for a coordination officer or the like, but the Council had not yet reached this point.

 

(B)     Children’s Service

 

The Cabinet Member took the opportunity to thank Councillors Beth Lawton and Angela Russell for their contribution to the performance challenge meetings and to the Chair for his part in the report on the recent audit of the service.

 

The following main points were noted:-

 

·         It was noted that one of the current shortcomings was the lack of resources which meant that there was inconsistency across North Wales on the structure of the Neurodevelopmental service established for children with autism across Wales and that waiting lists were longer. Some resources had been transferred from the services for disabled children to the new service that affected Derwen, and any intervention was dependent on short term grant funding. Another shortcoming was that only health staff were employed / seconded to the Neurodevelopmental service and that Education had very little time to contribute to the arrangement. The service had no social workers, which meant that families were not receiving carer assessments and support services, etc. and a group of children and young people with autism existed that did not receive much service beyond the diagnosis. Services also lacked resources in terms of the time of clinical psychologists, with waiting times of over a year in some parts of North Wales. There was also a clear lack of resources to develop short break resources further since the service's budget had already been reduced through the Gwynedd Challenge process.

·         It was noted that the Council could not afford to cut more services for children and their families since the problems were long term and this was the most fragile cohort of our society. 

·         It was emphasised that a Children and Families Service Manager was a key post within the service; and in order to ensure continuation, a plea was made to retain the post after Iona Griffiths, the current post-holder, retired at the end of the month.

·         The Derwen staff were congratulated and thanked for their excellent work.

 

(C)    Education Service

 

The following main points were raised:-

 

·         It was asked whether awareness should be raised in schools about autism so that interventions could take place at schools where children were low on the spectrum. In response, it was noted that a training programme was being developed for schools and that it was part of the new strategy relating to additional needs and inclusion.

·         An enquiry was made about the future of the Autism Centre on the Ysgol Coed Mawr site as a result of closing that school as part of the plan to modernise education in the Bangor area. In response, it was explained that the hope was to find another location for the centre within another school building in Bangor.  As it was not possible to confirm the situation at present, the Cabinet Member agreed to raise the matter and bring the answer to the local members in Bangor. Concern was expressed that members did not know about the unit in Coed Mawr and that it was not, therefore, possible for them to evaluate its importance when considering the plans for schools in the Bangor area.

·         The vision of placing the child at the centre was praised. Yet, the question was raised as to how this could be reconciled so that every child was given the same opportunity. Concern was raised that several families who entered the process mentioned very different experiences - some failed to gain access to the service because the school would not accept that a problem existed, others were on a waiting list and were not getting support as they had not been given a diagnosis. In response, it was noted that the coordinator and head teacher had a duty to identify the children, with the assistance of the educational psychologist, and to work through that process. There was a process of grading and of identifying, at the secondary level also, in addition to a specific and comprehensive training programme.  In terms of reconciling and monitoring, the service had created a monitoring programme that would be a way of sharing good practice, and four quality officers were responsible for reconciling the service the department and schools provided for pupils.

·         A question was asked as to how success was measured. In response, it was noted that Estyn would be used to monitor the schools' provisions and that the progress of the pupils would be measured against the Therapeutic Outcomes Measurement, which looked as soft skills, and this would be reported back to the Management Board.

·         It was asked whether it would be possible to arrange training for parents through Skype. It was noted in response that, although it would be possible to arrange general training through Skype, the type of training provided for parents would usually be more in-depth and that Skype would not be suitable.

·         It was noted that the lack of follow up and support for parents following diagnosis fell on the school psychologists and special teachers, and that the question of providing support for parents would have to be put to the Health Board.  From the child's point of view, it was noted that the basis of the new strategy was that the Education Service intervened early by looking at the needs of the child, rather than the condition, and prepared an individual development plan that met the needs of the child and not the diagnosis. In response to a comment suggesting that this did not happen in every case, it was explained that this was a very new and innovative strategy. It would take time to rationalise the service across the whole county, but that was the service's aim.

·         A more comprehensive report was requested for the Committee, which detailed the numbers of children receiving out of county education, the number of children who did not attend school and who had autism / did not have autism along with information about special schools.

·         It was asked whether there was a waiting list to see an educational psychologist.  In response, it was noted, although a clinical psychologist had to be seen for a diagnosis to be given, it was not necessary to see an educational psychologist to obtain the provision under the new arrangement.  Schools liked the new arrangement as it was easier for them to raise matters under their own school, but parents were familiar with the old arrangement of seeing an educational psychologist and they did not always understand that education differed from health.  It was also noted that the Council had a full and fairly young team of educational psychologists who were able to conduct assessments through the medium of Welsh.

·         In response to an enquiry, it was confirmed there was good collaboration in the field of autism between the three departments. Big steps were being taken in the collaboration with the Health Board, with the Alltwen project being a catalyst for that with much discussion and consideration given to problems from the user's perspective.