Carers of Wiltshire young people to help develop new council service

Face-to-face discussions are going to be held

Author: Aaron HarperPublished 2nd May 2023

Parents carers of young people in Wiltshire with SEND, are being invited to help Wiltshire Council develop a new service to prepare young people, and their carers, to move from child to adult services.

In a partnership with the Council and Carer Support Wiltshire, the Wiltshire Parent Carer Council (WPCC) is setting up face-to-face meetings, one of which is in Salisbury on May 9th, to discuss the proposed new service.

The proposed service, called the Moving On Service, will work with eligible people aged 18 to 25.

Cllr Jane Davies, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care said:

“We know it can be challenging for both young people and their families to navigate adult support compared to that for a child.

“Our teams already provide that bridging information, however this new service will ensure a much more seamless service designed to ensure people feel comfortable and not overwhelmed by what’s to come.”

The development of a new service has been brought about by feedback from young people and carers who helped create a guide on who to contact and where to go for support once people with SEND turn 18.

Stuart Hall, Strategic Director of the Wiltshire Parent Carer Council (WPCC) said:

“Parent carers have told us that the transition process for young people from children’s services into adult services is daunting for both young people with SEND, and their parent carers.

Parent carers tell us that there isn’t enough known about what to expect and information about what is available is often lacking. Young people and their parent carers are not prepared and supported early enough for this significant change in their lives.”

A face-to-face meeting will be taking place next Tuesday (9th May) in Salisbury, between 11.00am and 1.00pm.

There'll also be a Teams meeting that families can join on Monday 15th May between 6.00pm and 8.00pm.

Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.