Local Group and ex Ravenscliffe Student helps Council win prestigious award

Posted on 5th November 2020

Calderdale Council has won the Children’s Services Category in the prestigious national LGC Awards 2020. The annual awards, run by the Local Government Chronicle, were held virtually on 28^th October. The Council’s win in this category was thanks to sustained improvement and innovation in working with children and young people who have Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in Calderdale. The Children’s Services Award recognises the success of those councils that adopt a genuinely strategic approach to this vital service area.

The Council’s winning journey began in January this year when a delegation from Calderdale went to the Local Government Awards in London to do a presentation. Their entry was called ‘Living a Larger Life’ and was about supporting young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). It talked about aiming to be the best Borough in the North, a great place for children to grown up with opportunities and aspirations and a council that has embraced co-production with families and is focused on the unique skills and strengths of children.

The Calderdale delegation included a Special Needs Officer from the Council, a young man who had graduated from Ravenscliffe Special Educational Needs School and a Parent Carer from Family Voice Calderdale (the parent carer forum for Calderdale). The presentation lasted 20 minutes with the time split equally to talk honestly from their own perspectives on how Calderdale approaches preparing for adulthood for young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

Family Voice Calderdale is delighted that Calderdale won the award.

No other Local Authority sent a young person, a Parent Carer and an Officer to represent them. This demonstrates in a real way how powerful working together can be. The parent part of the presentation told the story of the newly published ‘Charter for Working Together in Calderdale’, which can be found on the Unique Ways website www.uniqueways.org.uk.