Children and Family Outreach Support Service User Guide

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About Autism TogetherWelcome to Autism Together (formerly known as Wirral Autistic Society). The society was formed in 1968 by a group of parents and friends of autistic children who were concerned at the lack of facilities available for these children after they reached 19 years of age. The Wirral Autistic Society set up a voluntary organisation with charitable status.In 1977 Raby Hall was opened, since then services have continued to expand. There is now a range of homes, community and vocational services (CVS), respite, community support and domiciliary care services across Wirral, Cheshire and North Wales.In 2015, we changed our name to Autism Together as we were to provide services outside of Wirral and the new name better reflected our geographical spread.

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Children and family service outreach support service user guide

Our values, aims and objectives

We promote positive

communication

Everything we do is

person-centred

We are an organisation

that promotes learning

We are respectful

We use strategies such as visual structure, helping people to organise their environment, using diaries, lists, tick sheets, social stories and reminders to help organise daily living.We want everything we do to be driven by the needs, abilities and aspirations of the people we support.

Autism Together has a commitment to promoting individuals’ rights

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We are a specific branch of Autism Together that provides autism specific support services for children, young people and their families.Our service is for families who have a child or young person 0-18 with a diagnosis of autism, who are undergoing a diagnosis of autism, or who have social and communication difficulties as their primary need. We offer a range of services including outreach support and activity clubs for children on the spectrum.

We can offer 1:1, autism-specific support for children and families within the community, or in their own homes.This support will be outcome focused and can be used to help individual children with their specific goals and aspirations, such as building confidence and independence in the community, travel training to get to and from college, or accessing social activities, or groups. We can provide assistance to children to enhance their communication skills through the use of PECS and visual schedules.It can also be used to assist families to develop strategies to support the child with autism. This may include toileting routines, sleep or bathing routines, or help for children to understand their autism diagnosis.The support may also just be to assist families in their day-to-day lives, such as providing a few hours’ respite for a night out, or some help in the school holidays to provide support to working parents.

Our support staffHere at Autism Together we are aware that staff play a vital role in the welfare of the people we support. To make sure that staff have the skill and experience they need to support the children, we do the following:

• We employ enough staff and with lots of different skills, to meet your needs. • The staff are contracted to work a flexible rota, set in advance of the shifts

required to be covered. • We have recruitment policies and practices that respect equal

opportunities and protect service users’ safety and welfare.• The staff have a range of training specifically designed to enable them to

meet the needs of service users with an autistic spectrum condition and/or learning difficulties.

• All staff receive induction and ongoing training, with enhanced autism and communication training included within this, along with training to support

About children and family services

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Children and family service outreach support service user guide

other conditions associated with autism, such as epilepsy and diabetes. All staff are trained in Positive Behaviour Support, MAPA (managing actual or potential aaggression) and safeguarding adults and children at risk.

Will I have a consistent support worker?Within the Children and Family Service we try to assign consistent support workers to children, however, this will depend on the amount of support the individual requires and the length of time the individual requires the support for. This may be one specific individual, or a team of two to three for someone who requires a lot of intensive support.If only one staff member is required, then we will only offer the support for up to 42 weeks per year as they will need some time off for annual leave and training.

When can I have the support?We try to be as flexible as we can with the support hours, however, as we support a number of families it is not always possible to accommodate all requests, therefore a degree of negotiation is always required. Support can be provided on any day of the year, apart from Christmas Eve/Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve/Day.

How much support can I have?A support session will be a minimum of 2 hours. An individual child’s support level will be based on their needs which are assessed and the outcomes that the individual wants to achieve from the support we offer. How much does the service cost?The service costs £17.50 per hour of support per staff member – this cost is the same regardless if support is delivered at the weekend, or during the week. This cost will rise annually in line with inflation and will be communicated to families in advance.• Food and activity costs for the time supported will be met by the

individual/family.• Leisure activities, unless otherwise specified, will be paid for by the

individual/ family. If, in addition to this, there is a staff cost for activities, then this will also be met by the individual/family.

• Children/young people may be entitled to a free travel pass to use on public transport. However, if support is required on public transport, then the individual/family would be liable for the support worker’s travel costs. Should a vehicle be required to transport the individual, then the cost of this would need to be met by the individual/family. This would be a

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mileage charge for the staff member’s car (if the staff member has business use included in their motor insurance), or petrol in mobility cars (should the driver meet insurance requirements).

How is the service funded?The service can be funded through direct payments, personal budgets, privately, or through a local authority, or NHS commissioning.

What if I need to cancel my support?If you need to cancel your support at less than one-week’s notice, then sessions will still be charged. Should you be able to give more than one week’s notice, then the support will be rearranged.

What if my support is cancelled for any other reason?There may be occasions, due to unforeseen circumstances, that we need to cancel the planned support.We would not take any decision about this lightly and would try to give as much notice about this as possible. If we needed to do this, we would attempt to rearrange the support for you at an alternative date/time. Should you not wish for this to happen, then you would not be charged for the support.

Policies and procedures

To support the work we do, we have many policies and procedures that are very important. These include policies on;•Recruitment•Training•Safety at work•GDPR•Safeguarding•Medication

If you would like a copy of any of these policies, or the full list, then please ask the registered manager.

Details of our insurance policy

We have good insurance to be able to carry out the work that we do. We have public, employer and product liability insurance cover.The insurance company is called Travellers.If you would like any further information, please ask the staff, or contact the registered manager.

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Children and family service outreach support service user guide

How we make sure we are delivering a good service?We want to make sure that we deliver a good service. We will:

Contact usHead office Address; Autism Together, Oak House, 6 Tebay Road, Bromborough, Wirral CH62 3PA 0151 666 9960www.autismtogether.co.ukenvelope enquiries@autismtogether.co.uk

Who else checks we are delivering a good service?Other organisations also check that we are doing a good job

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) Regularly inspects all registered services to ensure they meet minimum standards.

Contracts and compliance departmentWe are also monitored by the Contracts and compliance department of local authorities that contract with us.

We will also ask families and individuals we support to complete a survey every year to ensure our standards are kept high; the results of this survey will be published and sent.

We will listen to complaints and concerns

We will encourage you to be part of the planning of your service

Monitor the service on a regular basis using our own internal quality assurance systems

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Complaints procedure

Autism Together aim to provide services of a high quality. However, we are continually trying to improve and appreciate any comments that enable us to provide a better service. Because of the communication problems that people with an autistic spectrum condition have, it is recognised that others may have to advocate on their behalf. All complaints will be dealt with in confidence – only those who need to know the details of the complaint in order to investigate it will be informed. All complaints will be acted upon within 28 days. Our complaints procedure encompasses the following stages:

Stage 1 – Problem solvingIf there is something that we have done that has not lived up to expectation, or if someone has not been treated in the correct manner, then the registered manager should be informed. They will do their best to sort it out and hopefully stop it from happening again.

Stage 2 If an individual is unhappy with the response from Stage 1, then they should write to the Director of Operations /Deputy CE0, c/o the registered office at Oak House, 6 Tebay Road, Bromborough, Wirral CH62 3PA.This Stage 2 complaint must be in writing. Written acknowledgement of the complaint will be made within 48 hours.A written response to any complaint will be given within 28 days.

Stage 3If after Stage 2 the individual is still not satisfied, they can ask for their complaint to be looked at by the Chief Executive who can be contacted at the Oak House office.They will look at your complaint and how it was investigated; they may decide to undertake further investigations. They will acknowledge receipt of your complaint in writing within 48 hours and will endeavour to respond formally in writing to your complaint within 28 days.

Other stages:If the individual is not satisfied after Stage 3, they may wish to:• Contact the Local Government Ombudsman, who may investigate individual complaints once the organisations procedure has been followed. Telephone the Advice Team on 0300 061 0641 (8.30am – 5.00pm Mondays to Fridays). An online complaint form can be completed at www.lgo.org.uk/making-a-complaint, or you can email to advice@lgo.org.uk•The Care Quality Commission is willing to listen to complaints made about a regulated activity, but cannot investigate individual complaints. They can be contacted at:Care Quality Commission, North West Region, Citygate, Gallowgate,Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE1 4PATel: 03000 616161You can also contact your social worker, who can also investigate your complaint.