Shine a Light on Care: Listening to Parents and Carers Report

Recommendation  

Response from Council

Invest in training and career progression for early years workers  

• We know that recruitment and retention is a challenge in Bristol. Through the Recruitment and Retention Forum we are working with training providers and early years employers across Bristol to make sure that people can enter the childcare workforce and that they receive good training.  

• Economy Strategy – We believe that all employers should be providing ‘good work’ which can mean many things, for the care sector this means employers having an improved development, training and pay offer for care workers. Additionally, we want employers to recognise and receive training to better support their staff who may be unpaid carers.   

• Economic Strategy – We have committed to explore piloting initiatives to enhance employment conditions, pay and training.  

Increase training and pay for care workers to improve retention, job satisfaction, and the continuity of care provided to individuals and families  

• Economic Strategy – We believe that all employers should be providing ‘good work’ which can mean many things, for the care sector this means employers having an improved development, training and pay offer for care workers.   

• Additionally, we want employers to recognise and receive training to better support their staff who may be unpaid carers.  

• We have committed to explore piloting initiatives to enhance employment conditions, pay and training.  

• As a council we have consistently supported the Real Living Wage campaign and continue to advocate for employers to become accredited.  

Improve access to information about financial support for carers  

• We heard that 73% of respondents who we spoke to during the process of developing the All Age Carers Strategy rated access to information, support and guidance as very important to them. We have committed to making sure all information and advice is consistent and easy to access for carers.  

• We made this one of our three priorities in the strategy and are working to make sure all information and advice is consistent and easy to access.   

Commission targeted outreach to identify and engage carers who may not be accessing existing support  

• Through the government’s Accelerating Reform Fund we have completed a marketing campaign to identify young adult carers (18-24). We know that young carers are disproportionately underrepresented in the groups of carers who access support services.  

Fund carer support organisations to deliver financial advice and practical assistance tailored to carers’ needs  

• We commission four organisations to provide support to carers – Carers Support Bristol and South Gloucestershire , Bristol Black Carers, Bristol Carers Service, and Chinese Community Wellbeing Society – Supporting the Chinese speaking community across the South We…  

• All of them provide information, practical assistance financial advice, signposting to legal advice and 1:1 support including carers assessments and general information.  

Provide tailored financial guidance for parents, helping them navigate and access available financial support schemes  

• See above for our commissioning commitments.  

Fund and commission accessible and affordable legal advice for carers  

• Carers BSG provide advice and signposting to legal advice – https://www.carersbsg.org.uk/legal-and-rights/legal-and-carers-rights 

Expand access to inclusive services such as after-school clubs and trusted care activities, particularly for children with SEND and other vulnerable groups  

• Our SEND and Inclusion Strategy emphasises the importance of enabling children with SEND to remain in mainstream settings as much as possible. After-school clubs and care activities should be as inclusive as possible.  

Invest in care services that provide regular breaks for carers, including both short-term and extended respite options  

• All Age Carers Strategy – Ensuring breaks are available to all carers, both in and out of the home, is a key priority for our Carers Strategy. We know how important formal breaks are for health and wellbeing.  

• Carers of all ages identified how important formal breaks from caring away from the home is to their health and wellbeing in the engagement for our Carers Strategy. 

Continue and expand funding for local support groups for parents and carers, particularly those with specific caregiving needs – such as parents of children with SEND, elderly carers, young carers, and those supporting individuals with complex health conditions  

• SEND and Inclusion Strategy – We have committed to spending money fairly and equitably so children and young people with SEND and their parent carers get the right support at the right time and we are working to simplify the process of applying for support funding.  

• We want to make sure that parent carers are well-supported and have access to valuable peer support opportunities.  

• Through our Children’s social care services give children and families choice and control around how short break support is delivered.  

Improve the transition from children’s to adult services  

• All Age Carers Strategy – The creation of the Carers Strategy has improved joint working between Adults and Children’s social care in the council.   

• One of the key priorities identified in the strategy is to ensure all young carers who request a Transition Assessment receive one between the ages of 16 to 24.  

• Both services are working with Bristol Carers Voice to develop an action plan.  

Explicitly recognise the intersectional and gendered nature of care across adult social care and funding strategies  

• Our All-Age Carers Strategy is clear that the burden on unpaid care falls disproportionately on women.   

• 58% of unpaid carers are women and women provide higher intensity care at ages they would expect to be in paid work.   

• We also know that 47% of young carers in Bristol are from global majority ethnic backgrounds.   

• Our action plan working group will include Bristol Black Carers and Chinese Community Wellbeing Service to ensure more voices are represented and listened to in co-producing the actions.