Welcome to our brand new website for the Cheshire West and Chester branch of the National Autistic Society.
If you would like to become a member of the Cheshire West and Chester branch of the national autistic society please locate the information you need in the membership section.
The N.A.S Cheshire West and Chester branch is a group of parents whose children/adults have an Autistic Spectrum Disorder.
NAS are planning to run a workshop for parents living in Cheshire West and Chester on February 1st in Chester. Please download the details.
There is no charge for this event, because NAS have received funding to deliver these events for a short time only and we are fortunate to be included in this.
But, we always appreciate support at our various fundraising activities, so we can provide more training / support for our families.
If you are interested in attending please email us and we can send you a booking form. Booking will be facilitated via the Branch.
Our own Parent Partnership will be attending to provide support to families on local issues / queries.
Bookings have now opened for the Mountain View Lodge in Anglesey. This is a purpose built lodge that can be used by families living in Cheshire West and Chester who have a child with a disability aged 19 or under.
Booking details can be found in the flyer.
Are you uncertain whether you or the person you care for is receiving the correct benefits? There is now a new service in Vale Royal to help families. For full details download the flyer
Cheshire West and Chester Council will be holding Welfare Benefit Surgeries at the Cheshire Halton & Warrington Race & Equality Centre offices located at 92 Watergate Street, Chester every first Wednesday of the month between 1.00pm and 3.00pm.
The benefits team will be able to offer essential advice and assistance. They can also explain about new benefit changes from April 2011 as well as offering help accessing debt, mortgage or employment/training advice.
This is a completely free service and is open to all.
To book an appointment please telephone 01244 400730
Cheshire Autism Support and Development Team (CASADT) will cease to function as one team across the two authorities at the end of August 2011. From 1st September 2011 each authority will provide its own autism service. Both teams will form part of the wider specialist teaching teams in CWaC and CE. Contact details are given below.
CWaC Autism Team
Head of Specialist Teaching Teams: Julie Morley
Address:
Rosebank Cottage
Rosebank School
Townfield Lane
Barnton
Northwich CW8 4PU
Phone No: 01606 781745
CE Autism Team
Head of Specialist Teaching Teams: Sue Cook
Address:
Cheshire East Council
Floor 7, Delamere House
Delamere Street
Crewe CW1 2JZ
Phone No: 01270 685960
For any child or young person currently receiving support from CASADT this will continue with services provided from 1st September by either the autism team in Cheshire West and Chester or the autism team in Cheshire East.
If you have any further questions relating to the team or your child’s provision please contact the appropriate team manager noted above.
Section 25 of the Children and Young Persons Act requires Local Authorities to provide short breaks for families with disabled children. This came into force on 1 April 2011. Called ‘Breaks for Carers of Disabled Children Regulations’ these regulations are to provide breaks from caring to assist parents and others who provide care for disabled children to continue to do so, or to do so more effectively.
These new regulations, referred to as the short break duty, are designed to build upon the progress made on short break provision, so far brought about through the Aiming High for Disabled Children Programme. The aim of the breaks is to provide opportunities for disabled children to enjoy themselves; fulfil their potential and lead ordinary lives. In addition, it is to enhance the abilities of carers to care more effectively. The Act also requires the Local Authority to publish a short breaks statement so families know what services are available in their area, the eligibility criteria for these services and how the range of services is designed to meet needs. This statement can be viewed using the link below or by contacting Melanie Theobald who can send you a hard copy melanie.theobald@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk or phoning 01244 972305
http://www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=9369
This document is subject is regular reviews and Melanie would welcome any comments on its content, the activities that your son / daughter are already accessing or activities you think should be commissioned.Please remember your views are important and can shape the activities that are on offer.
The Learning Disability Forensic Support Service (FSS) is a relatively new initiative which was developed following a successful bid for funding from the North West Specialised Secure Commissioning Team in 2008. The service is linked to a low secure unit for adults with learning disabilities and provides assessment, intervention and support to patients entering, leaving and receiving care in the secure hospital setting, other secure environments and importantly the community. The FSS is a nurse led service and is comprised of mainly nurses with some psychiatry input and a full time social worker. The team is based on the secure service site near Macclesfield and primarily provides for patients across the areas served by Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. In addition professionals in the team provide an assessment, consultation and advice service into Liverpool Prison and a clinical review service to people with learning disabilities who originate from Cheshire and Merseyside and who are placed in secure (NHS and third sector) services outside the region.
The FSS is a tertiary service offering specialist advice and support to the community learning disability teams within Cheshire and Wirral and to other major stakeholders such as the police, probation service and the courts, for service users who are in trouble with the law as a result of their behaviour or in danger of becoming so. In this context the focus of our work is on gaining an understanding of people’s behaviour and other problems in order to reach conclusions about risk and how this can best be managed. Our work involves people with learning disabilities who are already going through criminal justice proceedings and in this context our focus is upon liaison with the various services in the criminal justice system in order to educate, inform, influence and achieve positive and beneficial outcomes for patients.
The Secretary of State for Justice asked Lord Bradley in December 2007 to undertake a six-month independent review to determine to what extent offenders with mental health problems or learning disabilities could be diverted from prison to other services and what were the barriers to such diversion. Lord Bradley made a total of eighty-two recommendations however he concluded his review by stating,
“The first step to the effective management of offenders is the existence of good early identification and assessment of problems, which can inform how and where they are most appropriately treated”.
He went on to add,
“By ensuring early identification and assessment, along with improved information sharing, there will be better informed charging, prosecution and sentencing decisions. In the longer term, the impact may be that more offenders can be treated in the community, ensuring that those individuals who must be in prison can receive targeted, effective care while they are there”.
Against the backdrop of the Bradley Report (2009) a key function for the FSS is to develop capacity within our stakeholders through both collaborative working and the provision of learning and development activities. There are many barriers which need to be overcome in order to provide a cohesive response to the needs and risks of people with learning disability who engage on offending behaviour and local area expertise is essential if this is be achieved.
The FSS have therefore developed a training pack which has been successfully delivered to over 300 probation service staff, approximately 300 police officers and recently we have been able to extend this opportunity to the custody sergeants covering Cheshire.
The training includes –
The FSS can be contacted on –
Forensic Support Service
Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Trust
York House
Alderley Unit
Chelford Road
Nether Alderley
SK10 4UJ
Tel: 01625 860969
Fax: 01625 860787