EDCM challenges all councils and health bodies to take chance to change lives for disabled children and families
Every Disabled Child Matters (EDCM) today welcomes a major new package of support for disabled children and their families announced at a national conference by Ed Balls MP, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, as part of the Aiming High for Disabled Children programme.
A raft of new announcements, including the publication of key anti-bullying guidance for schools and a new ‘Core Offer’ for families with disabled children, were made during the Secretary of State’s speech.
Delegates at the conference, including many of the most senior representatives of local authorities and primary care trusts in England, heard Ed Balls describe Aiming High for Disabled Children as a ‘chance for transformation’.
Steve Broach, EDCM Campaign Manager said:
‘We are delighted that so many senior managers responsible for improving the lives of children across England are at today’s conference to hear the Secretary of State make his latest speech on disabled children. This is a recognition that disabled children and their families must be a priority for the reforms to children’s services nationwide.
But there are many areas that are not represented today and EDCM will continue to push for disabled children to be made a priority in every single locality. Aiming High for Disabled Children must bring an end to the postcode lottery. It should not be too much to ask that families with disabled children, wherever they live, should have the same right to an ordinary family life as other families.
Signing the EDCM Campaign Charters is the best way local areas can make sure this happens, alongside delivering the government’s new Core Offer for disabled children.’
Describing Aiming High for Disabled Children as a ‘programme of transformation’ which is about ‘delivering fairness and social justice’, Ed Balls said that the test of whether the programme has succeeded would be whether disabled young people would feel included, not excluded.
The Minister urged all areas to ‘take best practice, and turn it into common practice’, showing they were systematically listening to the views of children and young people. In response to a question on the specific amount of short breaks funding for PCTs, the Minister told the conference to expect ‘clarity in the children’s health strategy’, to be published in the autumn.
Other key announcements made today included:
- The childcare accessibility pilot programme with 10 local areas chosen to pilot £35 million of additional funding
- Together for Disabled Children, the new national support body for the programme, bringing together Serco and Contact a Family to support the delivery of short breaks and parent forums
- New programme summary documents for parents and children and young people, and a new section of the Every Child Matters website for parents and professionals.
