What our Citizen Survey told us
People reporting that they live in the right home for them
87% of carers, 86% of children and 86% of adults agree that they live in the right home for them. For many it is important that they can continue to remain in their own home for as long as possible, and for carers, the home environment needs to be able to facilitate their role, e.g. for moving and positioning activities, for which adaptations are often necessary. Staying at home ties in with retaining a network of family, friends, neighbours and the wider community and is therefore an important factor in measuring well-being.
Children and young people reporting that they are happy with whom they live
78% of children and young people reported being happy with the people that they live with, across a number of settings.
Everyone in my house loves me and I love them.
People reporting they have received care and support through their language of choice
97% of carers, 97% of children and 96% of adults agreed that they felt able to communicate with Social Care in their own language.
We speak both Welsh and English. It’s very important to us that we have the chance to converse in Welsh occasionally with people in Social Services.
Young adults reporting they received advice, help and support to prepare them for adulthood
68% of children aged 16 or 17 and 73% of adults aged 18-24 agreed with this statement, with the additional comments suggesting that young people value the support of their parents/carers to guide them and can feel lost and without direction if this isn’t provided or taken up.
People reporting they chose to live in a residential care home
78% of adults agreed that it was their choice to live in a residential home with comments suggesting that this decision is made following consultation with family members and advice from professionals once medical conditions or physical deterioration become difficult to manage.
How well are we doing?
43% of all care leavers are in education, training or employment 12 months after leaving care (PMC34a), and 26% at 24 months after leaving care (PMC34b). These isn’t as good as last year, we’d like to do better. Not all care leavers keep in touch – this is based on those who are still in touch with us.
5% of care leavers have experienced homelessness during the year (PMC35). This is an improvement on last year, and less than half the average for Wales (2016/17 data).
Young Persons Positive Accommodation and Support Pathway
We’re working really hard to improve outcomes for young people. A plan has been developed to create a new approach to helping young people remain living in their family networks wherever possible, or to access and sustain suitable housing. The plan is focused on meeting the needs of young people aged 16-34 years old and care leavers up to their 25th birthday.
The aim of the plan is to work effectively across the council, and with partners to provide an integrated approach focused on:
- Ensuring young people, their families and those who work with them have information and guidance to understand housing options.
- Pro-actively preventing a housing crisis.
- Making sure our processes, including assessment and allocation of housing, are clear to young people.
- Having a suitable range of value for money accommodation and support options to meet the varying needs of young people.
- Helping young people to access and sustain settled accommodation.
The project will target youth homelessness by focusing on prevention and early intervention through a multi-disciplinary and agency approach.
Developments so far have resulted in securing a leaving care flat as a move-on resource, with a focus on supporting care leavers in preparation for independence, to successfully manage finances and sustain settled housing.
Next
We are going to look at developing the provision of accommodation needs for young people by implementing a ‘one-stop-shop’ for young people at risk of homelessness plus affordable one-bedroom and studio flats.
Extra Care Housing
Our Extra Care Housing Schemes offer residents the opportunity to live in modern, age-friendly environments which provide opportunity for independent living and regular social interraction. The following feedback demonstrates the convenience and flexibility introduced to one lady’s life following her move to Llys y Coed in Llanfairfechan.
Case Study
My Grandma has been at Llys y Coed twice for respite care and she has loved it. She has now got her own flat here and is moving in today and she couldn’t be happier. After living in her house for 60 years, we thought she would never want to leave her home but having a ‘taster’ of Llys y Coed has made her so excited. She is a very sociable lady but does need the care and support so Llys Y Coed is perfect for this; she has dinner with all the other residents, plays bingo and other activities but when she wants to be alone she can go back to her own flat where a carer will also cook her tea for her.
The staff at Llys y Coed are amazing and really go out of their way for my Grandma. They have kept us updated throughout this whole process too. The apartments are lovely, there is a hairdresser on site, lounges and a library. There is nothing we could fault about this place.
Progress on Mwy na Geiriau/More than just words
This aims to strengthen the provision of Welsh services in health and social care, ensuring that Welsh speakers receive services in their first language, using existing skills and resources.
External Care Providers
We’ve been considering the ability of our External Care Providers and home care staff to be able to communicate effectively through the medium of Welsh. As a result we will be visiting the homes with low levels of Welsh-speaking staff to promote Mwy na Geiriau.
Internal Workforce
We’ve also been looking at how many internal staff can communicate in Welsh, and a high number of Conwy’s staff have expressed an interest in attending Welsh lessons through the Work Welsh scheme delivered by the Welsh Learning Centre; the lessons will commence in September 2018. All new employees now receive information about working bilingually through our new induction form. A key action for 2018 will be to monitor and report on take-up of Work Welsh training.
Active Offer
Quarterly data is reported to Heads of Service and Service Managers on the active offer, and performance is showing a good increase.
MA in Social Work programme – Bangor University
The Tri Partnership Agreement with Bangor University (Gwynedd, Ynys Mon and Conwy) was reviewed in 2017 as part of the MA Programme revalidation. A new partnership agreement was established to address the challenges partners are experiencing in the recruitment of Welsh-speaking social workers. The 2018 cohort of students undertaking placements within local authorities will be bilingual and it is anticipated, upon qualifying, they will be recruited by partners and increase the number of welsh speaking social workers within the workforce.
Volunteering within the Youth Justice Service
Case Study
Our Youth Justice Service is currently working with a young person (P) who had been excluded from several mainstream schools and Pupil Referral Units due to challenging behaviour towards teaching staff and other pupils. As a result, periods in education were sporadic and significant time was spent not in education, employment or training (NEET). Towards the end of 2017 it was agreed by the Local Authority that P could attend one-to-one tuition two mornings a week on the condition that an appropriate adult also attended to minimise any risks. P’s primary carer was unable to provide support due to their own health issues so at this point the Case Manager and Volunteer Coordinator began the matching process to find a volunteer with the relevant skills and experience to support P.
After a match was found and introductory meetings held, both P and the volunteer agreed that they would meet with the tutor in a mutual place in the community twice a week. Over the months P and the Volunteer began to build a relationship and spent time before or after the lessons discussing other aspects of P’s life, including aspirations and motivations, family, relationships and offending. The volunteer provided the pro-social modelling that P desperately needed. Five months into the tuition the Local Authority reviewed the arrangement. It was agreed that the risks P previously posed have been minimised and the tutor was happy to proceed without an appropriate adult. In order to end the professional relationship appropriately for both P and the volunteer, several closure meetings were held giving both the opportunity to say goodbye.
Early Intervention and Prevention Team – Monitoring our performance
Our Early Intervention and Prevention Team based within the Disability Service offers a first response to individuals who have been referred to us and are:
- Under the age of 65 with a physical disability
- Any age, with a learning disability or sensory impairment
The team offers support with occupational therapy, communication, rehabilitation and advocacy and it is important that all relevant parties work together to provide the optimum level of support to the individual. A recent audit of the team’s occupational therapy (OT) referral activity suggests that this is the case.
- Within a twelve-month period 482 OT referrals were received.
- Most referrals requested an assessment of living accommodation, both private and residential, or for other housing and adaptation-related issues.
- During the twelve-month period 241 cases were closed and following review 82% had not been re-referred.
- The 18% who were re-referred within twelve months were now placed across various therapists within the Integrated Disability Service, with no individual therapist being responsible for a disproportionate number or re-referrals.
The results of the audit suggest that the OTs are successfully meeting the service users’ personal outcomes for at least twelve months after closure and for approximately eight out of ten people that were assessed.
Employment Support
Conwy’s OPUS project has just celebrated its first year of supporting citizens aged 25 and over in finding work. The team comprises mentors, advice on welfare rights and occupational therapy, and supports people to overcome barriers to finding work, volunteering opportunities or work-related qualifications. So far over 100 people have been supported on their work journey.
The ADTRAC project supports young people aged 16 to 24 to progress into work, training or volunteering and achieve their goals.
Case Study
‘A’ came to OPUS with no qualifications and had been out of work for over a year. They had been applying for jobs in construction but did not have the Health and Safety certification now required to work on a building site. They had years of practical experience but could not afford the training as they were unemployed; the family were also expecting their first baby.
We were able to support ‘A’ to undertake training and complete a written exam to get the Health and Safety certification needed. ‘A’ got a job shortly after and told the team:
I am over the moon and excited about my family’s future