Current projects - Disabled Pathfinder

Disabled Children & Adults Pathfinder projects

Wiltshire services for people with special educational needs and disabilities are currently undergoing an important review process, called the Disabled Children and Adults (DCA) Pathfinder. The aim is to put in place a different system that will give:

• Better support for life outcomes
• More control and confidence for parents
• More power to communities and front-line professionals
  

To find information about the projects being tested as part of the DCA Pathfinder in Wiltshire, please visit our personal budgets, single assessment and Transition 14-25 pages.

You can also discover more about how the DCA Pathfinder project is being carried out in our county by visiting Wiltshire Council's Pathfinder web page.

To download a leaflet that explains the basics of the DCA Pathfinder, click either of the links below:

1. DCA Pathfinder customer leaflet
2. DCA Pathfinder Easy Read leaflet

Background

In October 2010, the WPCC was invited by Wiltshire Council to be involved in a review of all services for disabled children and adults, called the Disabled Children & Adults Review. This was a great opportunity for parents and carers to have a broader influence on service development.

Then, in the summer of 2011, key stakeholders, including WPCC and Wiltshire Council, gained pathfinder status on the Support & Aspiration: A New Approach to Special Educational Needs and Disabilities green paper.

By early October 2011, the Corporate Leadership Team decided to merge the two pieces of work into one and the project is now called the Disabled Children & Adults Pathfinder.

Pathfinder status

Wiltshire is just 1 of 20 local authorities to be awarded pathfinder status and WPCC is thrilled to be fully engaged in this work, with 2 parent representatives (Maurizia Quarta and Stuart Hall) as part of the core design team and a further 3 as change champions (Jon Woodhead, Alice Jackman and Patti Harrison).

Being a pathfinder means there is no existing model: the Department for Education will be looking to us and other pathfinder colleagues across the UK, to design a model and evaluate its effectiveness.

So these are really exciting times for us here in Wiltshire. Some ‘blue sky thinking’ could potentially bring about some radical improvements to services for our children and families.

Your Pathfinder representative