Every Disabled Child Matters
c/o Council for Disabled Children
National Children's Bureau
8 Wakley Street
London EC1V 7QE
tel +44 (0)20 7843 6448
fax +44 (0)20 7843 6313
[email protected]

Local authorities challenged to make disabled children matter

Media Release - for immediate release
17 October 2006

The Every Disabled Child Matters campaign is challenging councils to sign up to a new campaign charter, as research is published showing that local authority plans are failing disabled children. Off the Radar, the new campaign briefing, and the Every Disabled Child Matters Local Authority Charter are being launched at the Local Government Association / Association of Directors of Social Services Conference tomorrow (Wednesday 18 October).

Off the Radar analyses 20 Children and Young People’s Plans to show that:

Three-quarters of local authorities failed to involve and consult with disabled children and their parents when drawing up their plans
Only a quarter of the plans included any level of analysis of the size and characteristics of the population of disabled children in the local authority
Only 1 in 20 plans include any actions on how they are to provide childcare services for disabled children

Regulations require local authorities to consult children, young people and parents, and the guidance to local authorities has a specific focus on consulting with disabled children and young people. The lack of priority for childcare services for disabled children in the plans fails to reflect important new duties on local authorities created by the Childcare Act 2006.

Responding to the findings, Jo Williams, Mencap Chief Executive, comments:
‘Despite most local authorities identifying disabled children as a priority group, there is very little hard evidence to show that these key decision makers have considered the needs of disabled children. Off the Radar highlights the lack of planning, participation and action by local authorities, which would show that every disabled child matters.’

To make disabled children a greater priority for local authorities, Every Disabled Child Matters is also launching a Local Authority Charter. The Charter, produced with the support of Children Now magazine, commits local authorities to providing a range of services for disabled children and their families by January 2008, and also to addressing the needs of disabled children in their strategic planning and local area agreements.

The growing Every Disabled Child Matters campaign supporters network will be asked to lobby their Lead Member for Children’s Services to sign up to the charter. Christine Lenehan, Director of the Council for Disabled Children, comments:
‘Our Charter is ambitious but realistic. We want every local authority to show their commitment to disabled children by signing up. Local authorities are already required to address most of the issues in the Charter through law and guidance. We want our supporters to use the Charter to make disabled children a key priority in every local authority’

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Notes to Editors:

For information on Every Disabled Child Matters, media copies of Off the Radar, the Local Authority Charter and Between a rock and a hard place, or to arrange interviews and/or case studies, please contact:
Georgina Webb, Press Officer, Mencap
020 7696 5524 / [email protected]

Every Disabled Child Matters is a campaign by four organisations working with disabled children and their families: Contact a Family, Council for Disabled Children, Mencap and the Special Educational Consortium. It is a three-year campaign funded by a grant from the True Colours Trust, a Sainsbury’s family trust.

Off the Radar reports on the findings of an analysis of 20 children and young people’s plans (CYPPs), selected to represent a broad geographical spread and to cover every type of local authority (Metropolitan, Unitary, Shire, London Borough). The Children Act 2004 places a duty on local authorities to produce and publish an over-arching strategic plan for all children in their area by April 2006. Regulations require local authorities to consult children, young people and parents. The guidance is quite specific on disability and states that it may be necessary to arrange special events in order to consult with disabled young people.

In response to the findings in Off the Radar, the campaign is calling for:

Ofsted to monitor the delivery of CYPPs through the Joint Area Review process, with a specific focus on disabled children
The DfES to issue guidance to local authorities clarifying the importance of including disabled children and their parents within the CYPP planning process
The DfES to issue guidance to local authorities and their partners to promote better practice in collating sound data as a basis for local strategic planning for disabled children and young people

The Every Disabled Child Matters Local Authority Charter was developed in consultation with leading disabled children’s services managers within local authorities. The charter asks local authorities to make a range of commitments by January 2008, including that:

they will know how many disabled children live in their area and that all agencies in the area will be planning services on the basis of this knowledge.
there will be a key worker service in the authority providing support to families who access more than one specialist service.
parents and carers in the authority will be getting accurate and timely information and advice on the full range of services available to them and their families.
the Children and Young People’s Plan explains how the authority will provide specialist services and also make all universal services including extended schools and children’s centres accessible to disabled children.
disabled children and families will be involved in the planning, commissioning and monitoring of services in the authority, including both specialist and universal services.

There is significant research and policy evidence to show that disabled children and their families experience multiple disadvantages compared to other children and their families. For example, disabled children are 13 times more likely to be excluded from school than other children.

A report by the Audit Commission in 2003 stated that ‘the time for a major turnaround in disabled children’s services is long overdue. The urgency of the situation is growing. Not only are some services provided at unacceptably low standards, but the prevalence of certain needs is increasing. Without change, the situation can only get worse.’

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� National Children's Bureau 2006 � Reg Charity No. 258825