Wide range of support for families, says council

This is clearly a very worrying time for everyone in Edinburgh but even more so for those families with children who have complex needs and require additional support.

Our teams from across Children’s Services have worked tirelessly to put in place a series of measures across the city. These include:

• Residential respite care at our own Seaview Centre and third sector partners Action for Children and Barnardo’s Caern targeting families most in need
• Day care in two special school hubs for children of key workers and to provide respite to some families with children with complex needs
• Our Additional Support for Learning service is taking a small number of children outdoors for activities as these children would struggle in a hub school due to their vulnerabilities.
• We’re engaging with third sector providers to develop more bespoke one to one services for children with additional support needs to give families respite
• The All of Us campaign with the NSPCC provides support and advice with parenting or the worries about family life and where to turn to if there are concerns about a child
• Some families with children with disabilities/complex needs have been unable to get online supermarket deliveries as they cannot shop with their children due to their complex needs (i.e. ASD) so our staff are shopping and delivering supplies to them

Council Leader Adam McVey said: “Now more than ever we have to ensure there is continued support for children with additional support needs and their families during this pandemic.

We’ve put in place a series of initiatives to do just that and thanks must go to our hard-working staff and third sector partners who are providing these vital services.

Depute Leader Cammy Day said: “Our teams have been identifying families and contacting them in person which means those in the greatest need are benefiting from the wide range of services available.

In many cases it involves targeted one to one support which is crucial in supporting families and preventing the need for crisis respite.”