‘Let me flourish’ - national review of early help, care and support and transition for disabled children in Wales

What we did

The national review programme began November 2019. We looked at how well disabled children were supported to reach their full potential and considered how different professionals and organisations worked together, in partnership with families, to ensure children had access to and received the right support at the right time. We also reviewed how effective local authorities were at ensuring disabled children and their families had their voices heard.

We worked in collaboration with Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (HIW).

Our key findings

Safeguarding: We found local authorities and their partners recognised safeguarding as a priority. There was evidence of good joint working to ensure disabled children were safeguarded.

Well-being: We found a lack of sufficient service provision to promote the well-being of disabled children. Many parents and carers told our inspectors they and their disabled children would have benefitted from additional services and support.

Child’s voice: We saw some good examples of the efforts made by staff to develop professional relationships with disabled children and families, but found variable practice across Wales regarding how well the voice and choices of disabled children were sought, heard and captured.

Carers’ assessments: We found that data submitted by local authorities identified very few parents/carers of disabled children had received an assessment of their needs nor a support plan.

Next steps

The review and its findings will provide a benchmark for CIW and HIW to monitor the progress made by local authorities and local health boards, and will be used to drive improvement for disabled children and their families.

View our findings and full report via the link below.