What we do - Have your say! - Other local and national surveys and consultations

See below for other local and national surveys, consultations, petitions, etc. you might like to take part in.

National Consultation on the Revised Use of Reasonable Force

The Department for Education (DfE) has recently launched a public consultation on the revised use of reasonable force and other restrictive interventions guidance.

The guidance aims to help schools proactively minimise the need to use reasonable force and other restrictive interventions through early support, prevention and de-escalation strategies. It also includes new statutory guidance for recording and reporting each significant incident where a member of staff uses reasonable force on a pupil.

The DfE is seeking views on the proposed revisions to the guidance to ensure it is fit for purpose. The consultation runs until Tuesday 29th April 2025 and can be accessed [HERE].

Hear How People with Lived Experience can Shape Services and Policies in Wiltshire

Voice It Hear it is inviting people to a free online briefing event on Tuesday 1st April 2025 from 11:00am to 12:00pm. The aim of the session is to introduce and explain Voice It, Hear It, provide an opportunity to learn more about the impact of their work, hear about current and upcoming engagement projects, and explore ways to get involved. The session is open to individuals, organisations, and anyone interested in meaningful engagement.

To find out more and/or book a place, please click [HERE].

Help to Shape How People are Supported to Move from CAMHs to Other Services

Sarah Reeves is the Clinical Team Manager for the B&NES and Wiltshire CAMHs Single Point of Access Service (SPA) and is looking at future service development within CAMHs. One of the areas Sarah is looking at is the use of “warm handovers” across services. A "warm handover" is a process where a person is supported to move from one provider to another in a sensitive and person-centred way, ensuring continuity of care and minimizing any potential gaps. It is often used in healthcare, but mostly in general health settings.

Sarah is looking for a small group of parent carers who would be interested in forming a focus group to explore the idea of a ‘warm handover’. The focus group session would take place online via Microsoft Teams, with the intention of it taking place either Wednesday 2nd April 2025 or Thursday 3rd April 2025, for approximately 1 to 1.5 hours.

Whether you’ve had personal experience and are happy to share these or just share ideas, your input would be invaluable.

If you are interested in being part of this focus group, please complete this [short form], which will give you the option of specifying times and the date that would be most convenient for you. The form will close at 5:00pm on Sunday 23rd March 2025.

Thank you for taking the time to consider this opportunity.

Help to Shape the New Integrated Care Centre in Trowbridge

The Community Engagement team at the Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon, and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board (BSW ICB) collaborates with councils, local authorities, and other health and care organisations to enhance health services in our local areas.

The BSW ICB Community Engagement team is thrilled to announce an exciting project this year: the construction of the new Trowbridge Integrated Care Centre at Hammersmith Fields in Trowbridge, which will replace the current Trowbridge Community Hospital on Adcroft Street. This state-of-the-art £16 million facility will rejuvenate health services in the town and benefit Trowbridge residents for years to come.

The new facility is expected to open in the first half of 2026 and as construction gets underway, members of the community are being asked for their input into some important aspects of the new building; this includes input on signage, colour palettes and design details in public areas.

To achieve this, there is a proposal to create a public engagement focus group to gather insights from different groups as the construction of the build progresses.

The BSW ICB Community Engagement team is looking for a small, focused group of individuals to meet on a few occasions over a six week period over the coming weeks, in order to progress decisions on a number of design choices and ensure the views of different patient groups are taken into account in these key areas. Your input will be invaluable in making design decisions that reflect the needs of diverse patient groups.

If this is of interest, please email:- bswicb.engagement@nhs.net and someone will be in touch over the coming weeks.

There is more information on the new Trowbridge Integrated Care Centre on the ICB website here:-
• [Health leaders break ground at site of new £16 million integrated care centre]
• [Green light given for multimillion-pound health and care facility in Trowbridge]

Thank you for considering this opportunity to contribute to a project that will significantly impact the Trowbridge community.

Changing the way OfSTED Inspects Education

OfSTED is consulting on a new approach to inspecting education providers and the introduction of report cards.

Proposals for a new inspection model include:-
• Introducing the OfSTED report card, giving parents detailed information about standards across more areas of practice in their child’s school, early years, or further education provider.
• Replacing the ‘single word judgement’ with a new 5-point grading scale for each evaluation area, including a new top ‘exemplary’ grade to help raise standards.
• Returning to schools with identified weaknesses, to check timely action is being taken to raise standards.
• Increasing focus on support for disadvantaged and vulnerable children and learners, including those with SEND.
• More emphasis on providers’ circumstances and local context.
• New toolkits to tailor inspections to the phase and type of provider.

OfSTED’s consultation is seeking the views of parents, carers, professionals and learners, on a new approach to inspecting and reporting on education providers, from the autumn.

Further information about the proposals are available on the [GOV.UK website]. You can also watch an explanation on [YouTube].

To contribute to the consultation, please click [HERE].

This consultation will close at 11:59pm on Friday 28th April 2025.

Help to Shape an New National Waiting List Prioritisation Tool

NHS England's Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme is developing a national waiting list prioritisation tool for CYP. This aligns with ambitions to address health inequalities in elective care reform. The aim is for this tool to consider the holistic impact of prolonged waits on children and young people (CYP) and support better prioritisation of CYP in resource allocation decisions.

To determine what factors should be included in the tool, NHS England (NHSE) will be running a Delphi consensus building exercise. Experts invited to the panel will be either by experience (CYP/parents) or by profession (clinicians working with CYP or academics).

The Delphi process will involve three rounds of an anonymous online questionnaire. After each round, a steering group meeting is held to review the interim findings.

Parent carers and Children & Young People are invited to join the expert panel for the three rounds on:-

• Friday 21st March 2025 at 9:00am-11:00am (round 1)
• Thursday 1st May 2025 at 3:00pm-5:00pm (round 2)
• Tuesday 13th May 2025 at 2:00pm-4:00pm (round 3)

For people interested in participating, please email your name and email address to:- participation@nnpcf.org.uk and they will pass your details onto the meeting organisers. All meetings are virtual. We have been advised that ideally they would like attendance at all 3 sessions, but if this is a barrier then attending the first one, and then one of the other two would also be OK.

Have Your Say on Wiltshire’s Growing Well App

As part of offering increased digital access to health promotion advice and support for families in Wiltshire, the Wiltshire Children and Families Wellbeing Service launched the ‘Growing Well Wiltshire’ App in May 2024. The App has easy to access information about the service, how to access support, a chat function to support direct access to the team which is available 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday, as well as lots of health promotion information, videos and local links to wider support services.

As part of promoting the App to increase awareness and to gain feedback on content and use of the App, the Wiltshire Children and Families Wellbeing Service is currently running a survey to seek the views of children and young people, parents and carers and other stakeholders. This will help to improve content and to coproduce elements of the App.

There are three different posters attached to enable Children and Young People, parent carers and other family members, and other stakeholders to have their say by using the QR code on the relevant poster.

Parent carers and other family members, please see Family survey poster

Children and young people, please see CYP survey poster

Other stakeholders, please see Stakeholder survey poster


The surveys will remain open until Monday 3rd March 2025.

Review of How Care is Provided at Home

Wiltshire Council is reviewing how care is provided at home (domiciliary care). They aim to improve care services for the future by learning from people's experiences.

Wiltshire Council wants to hear from individuals who receive care and their carers, including unpaid carers, regardless of whether their care is council-funded or privately paid.

They are really keen to hear your experiences to try to understand what has worked well, what challenges you have faced, and what you would like to see in homecare services moving forward.

Carers and family members whose children and young people receive homecare, can share feedback by completing this [SURVEY]. if sharing it with your clients is more feasible.

Your feedback is essential, as it will help shape the future of homecare contracts in Wiltshire, which providers will tender for in 2026. This will ensure that care services support a wide range of needs.

Unpaid Carers' Survey for Healthwatch BANES, Swindon and Wiltshire

Ella Langron is from Healthwatch Banes, Swindon & Wiltshire (BSW) and is a project research and engagement officer on student placement. Healthwatch exists to be the voice of the patient. They listen to the views and experiences of people using health and social care services in order to help improve them.

Ella is leading a project for Healthwatch BSW into unpaid carers' experiences when the person they care for rejects being given care. She has designed a survey to look at the experiences of unpaid carers looking after people over the age of 18. This is to find out what happens when someone rejects being given care and the impact that this has on their carer, along with hearing views on what it is like to access care on behalf of someone else and the barriers that carers face.

To take part in the survey, please click [HERE]. All responses will remain anonymous.

Thank you for taking part and making your voice heard.

Family Experiences Research - Dingley's Promise

Dingley’s Promise provide education to children under 5 with SEND and support to their families. They work to ensure the voices of children and families are heard and to push for policy change which improves lives. If you have a child aged 0-5 with SEND please complete the short research survey below and Dingley’s Promise will ensure that your voice is heard.
[Family Experiences Research - Dingley's Promise].

Wiltshire CIL - Young Pioneeer Update December 2024

Calling all young people with SEND living in Wiltshire, the latest Young Pioneer Update is out now! Please see the attachment:- December Newsletter full.

Be a part of the change happening in Wiltshire!

Meet new people and find out all the exciting things They’ve done, and how you can get involved after Christmas.

Their Coproduction Team work alongside children and young people with SEND aged 5 to 25 years, enabling them to share their views and work towards future goals. You, (or your Young Person), do NOT need to have a ‘formal ‘diagnosis, and they do NOT need to have an EHCP.

This can be done during Young Pioneer sessions, online/over the phone, meeting in person or with a visit to your school/educational setting, so please contact the team to find out more.

Email: getinvolved@wiltshirecil.org.uk
Call: 0300 1233 442

1. getinvolved #wiltspioneers #innovators
   
2. SEND #disability #disabilityrights #disabilityawareness #disabilitycampaign
   
3. independence #wiltshire
   

Wiltshire Council SEND Youth Forum

Wiltshire Council is looking for young people aged 11 to 24 with SEND to be part of a new Wiltshire SEND Youth Forum.

What is it?
• A space to be heard on the things that are important to you
• A chance to be part of positive change and influence decision about services within Wiltshire Council

Sessions could take place at weekends or evenings with food, activities. Discussions will take place in an informal way through discussions, drawing, writing. Everyone will have a chance to share their thoughts in a way that is accessible and comfortable to them.

If you are interested in being part of the Youth Forum, click [HERE]; this will take you to a short survey where if you wish to join, you can put your details in and you will be contacted with further information.

Wiltshire Centre for Independent Living Pioneers – helping young people with SEND have their voice

The Wilts CIL Coproduction Team works alongside children and young people with SEND aged 5 to 25 years, enabling them to share their views and work towards future goals as Wiltshire’s Young Pioneers. Young people joining the Pioneers do not need to have a formal diagnosis or an EHCP.

Young Pioneers come together for sessions, and there are opportunities to engage with the WILTS CIL Coproduction Team online, over the phone, in person or with a visit to your school/educational setting; please contact them to find out more.

Email: getinvolved@wiltshirecil.org.uk

Call: 0300 1233442

Share Your thoughts on Childhood Vaccinations and the Vaccination Service in Wiltshire

Healthwatch Wiltshire has been asked by Wiltshire Council to gather views about childhood vaccinations and the vaccination service in Wiltshire. Their [survey] takes approximately 7 minutes to complete and your responses will kept anonymous.

Have Your Say on How to Fix the NHS to Make it Work Better for Disabled Children

The government has launched a major consultation on the future of the NHS, inviting everyone to suggest ways to improve our health services.

This is a great opportunity to set out what needs to change to make the NHS work better for our children, including investment in community health services and access to therapies.

The consultation runs until the end of the year and will inform the next NHS 10 year plan to be published in the spring setting out NHS priorities for the next decade. [Find our more including how to respond to the NHS National Conversation consultation].

BANES, Swindon & Wiltshire (BSW) Experiences of Young People’s Transition from CAMHS at 18 years Old – Parent Carer and Young People’s Surveys

Oxford Health Foundation Trust Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) and Avon and Wiltshire Partnership Trust Mental Health Service (AMHS) are keen to better understand the experience of young people and their parents/carers as they transition at 18 years of age from CAMHS to AMHS in Wiltshire, Bath and North East Somerset and Swindon.

The surveys below are for parent carers and young people who have had experience of transitioning from CAMHS at 18 in the last 2 years.

This survey will take 5 minutes to answer. Your input will help shape the future of this important process.

The focus on learning from these surveys will happen in one area at a time starting with Wiltshire and in time moving on to Bath and North East Somerset and Swindon as a fuller picture of need is developed.

The aspiration is that every young person under CAMHS will receive information about a range of options in adult mental health services, be asked their views to add to any adult mental health service referral and receive information on support available for parents/carers.

Responses will be stored and analysed in a group with other responses by a joint CAMHS and AMHS service development team, in order to improve services for young people in the future. It will not be linked to your young person’s clinical records or used to inform their individual care. If you would like to discuss your young person’s individual care please contact their clinician(s).

The surveys will be anonymous unless you choose to provide your details to be contacted to join a focus group or take part in a semi-structured interview.

Please click on the links below or scan the QR code to take part in the surveys:

[Parent carer survey]





[Young people's survey]