Advice and Guidance

Link Newsletter April 2021

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Vaccinations for Unpaid Carers

Vaccines are the way out of this pandemic. By getting vaccinated unpaid carers can help protect themselves from becoming seriously ill from COVID-19, so they can continue to be there for their family, friends, and the people they care for.

Covid Vaccine info

Carers are now being invited to receive their first COVID-19 vaccination, providing they are either:

• eligible for a carer’s allowance

identified as a primary carer by their GP

• receiving support following a carer’s assessment from a local carer’s organisation. In Trafford our local carer’s organisation is Trafford Carers Centre

• the sole or primary carer who provides close personal care or face to face support for someone who is clinically vulnerable to COVID-19.

All eligible unpaid carers will be contacted by the NHS when it’s their turn to receive the vaccine and will be given information about how they should book their appointment.

Those who are identified as a primary carer on their GP’s register or who are eligible for a carer’s allowance will be invited first, followed by those who have had a carer’s assessment or who are receiving support from Trafford Carers Centre. 

 

Registering with your GP

It is important you contact your own GP and let them know you are a carer so they can register you.

If you have been refused a vaccine but you think that you are eligible Contact has produced a useful template letter to help parent carers complain if their GP tells them they are not a priority for the COVID-19 vaccine. Please contact them first for advice.

You can also contact Trafford Parents Forum for support.

Justine Bailey, Director of our Trafford Parents Forum is urging Greater Manchester Unpaid Carers to come forward for COVID-19 Vaccine – Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership article

 

What is an Unpaid Carer?

A carer is anyone, including children and adults who looks after a family member, partner or friend who needs help because of their illness, frailty, disability, a mental health problem or an addiction and cannot cope without their support. The care they give is unpaid.

It can be difficult for carers to see their caring role as separate from the relationship they have already have with the person they care for, whether that relationship is as a parent, child, sibling, partner, or a friend.

However there is additional support or benefits available that you may be eligible for if you are registered as an unpaid carer:

We are encouraging parent carers of a child or young person with SEND to register as an Unpaid Carer with their GP or consider accessing other carer services, even if you are not eligible for the vaccination.

 

Vaccine information for carers

Every possible effort will be made to vaccinate eligible carers at the same time as the people they care for. You may be offered the flexibility to book their vaccine through the local GP vaccination service instead, so that where possible you can be vaccinated at the same time as the person you care for. 

If you are eligible and are accompanying the person you care for to their vaccination appointment at their local GP vaccination service when you haven’t received your invitation yet, you must let the GP surgery know in advance that you want to receive your vaccination at the same time. Vaccination sites are not able to support walk-in appointments.

If caring responsibilities are shared equally with another person and both carers are critical to continuity of care for a person who is clinically vulnerable to COVID-19, you will both be eligible to receive a vaccination. 

You will not have to prove you are a carer when you go get your vaccine. It is advised however that you take along with you confirmation of your appointment, photo ID to prove your identity and your NHS number if you have it.

If you do not have a photo ID, that’s okay as you won’t be turned away, but you may be asked to confirm your identity such as your name, date of birth and address. If you do not have an NHS number that is also okay. It is helpful to have one as it’s used for administration purposes but it is not a pre-requisite.

If you are a carer but are unsure if you are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, please contact Trafford Carers Centre for advice.

If you are unsure if the person you care for is clinically vulnerable, or you think that they should be included as someone who is clinically vulnerable, speak to your GP and they will be able to advise you.

For more information about how to get the vaccine, Trafford COVID-19 Vaccination Hotline, more on safety, side effects and more: In the Spotlight… COVID-19 Vaccinations article - December edition of the Link Newsletter

 

What to expect with the vaccination

The government have produced easy-read guides providing information on coronavirus (COVID-19) and vaccination including:

Covid Vaccine info

 

Update from Trafford SENDIASS

The daffodils are blooming outside signalling that change is happening around us as we move through Spring and into the Summer months – it has been a long and difficult winter.

Flower

Schools have reopened for the majority of children and young people which is great news, as for some families remote learning has been a real challenge.

A recent Ofsted Report published in January 2021 highlights that parent carers of children and young person with special educational needs and/or disabilities reported that they had experienced more difficulties engaging with remote learning compared with the accounts from parents of children without additional need.

The report also emphasises how schools and settings have been working hard to support their pupils' physical and emotional wellbeing as well as their academic learning. Strong relationships with school, maintaining some kind of routine and having access to additional equipment or assistive tools have also been important.

We have been very happy to support your communication with schools and professionals over the last year to help overcome any difficulties you may have experienced over the lockdown periods.

Change can be daunting but can also be a good thing. We as a team have had to adapt to working remotely over this last year. We have ensured that we support each other by regularly catching up and with daily continuous communication. We have been able to support more children, parent carers and professionals by attending meetings virtually. We are looking forward to some more face to face meetings in the future but it is likely that some of the different working practices we have developed over the last year will be carried on in the future.

At SENDIASS we have found that when dealing with change it is important to set clear goals with some milestones and ‘quick wins’ along the journey if possible. Communication and feedback throughout the process helps us to keep the focus on the outcomes we want to achieve. We can help you manage your queries and organise your thoughts around SEND related issues so that you know what to expect from any changes on the horizon.

Now that the majority of pupils are back in school you may feel more ready to explore questions regarding SEND issues. We continue to operate our helpline Monday through to Friday every week 9 am to 12 noon; you can leave us a message outside of these hours. We aim to get back to you within 3 working days or sooner. You can also send us your queries via email to sendiass@trafford.gov.uk.

The government updated its COVID-19 guidance for parent carers so they know what to expect from their early years provider, school or college when pupils started to return this month. This guidance covers many topics including shielding, face masks and testing. The guidance also confirms that your child or young person should be receiving the support specified in their EHC plan. You can read the full document at: What parents need to know about early years providers, schools and colleges during COVID-19 - GOV.UK

We continue to communicate the very latest news and events both locally and nationally using our Facebook and Twitter social media accounts. Please do give us a like and a follow to stay up to date.

We are also excited to announce that we will soon be adding Instagram to our social media pages. We will be posting information factsheets and lots of useful information in a more visual format so please follow us there too!

As usual we are always keen to hear your views about the service and to listen to any suggestions you may have. You can let us know these by completing our short survey or by leaving some feedback on our website.

Trafford SENDIASS Website: sendiass.trafford.gov.uk

Email: sendiass@trafford.gov.uk

Helpline: 0161 912 3150 9am-12 noon Monday to Friday. 24 hour answer machine service.

 

Alone/Together: Shining a Spotlight on Youth Loneliness

Between 22 and 26 March The Horsfall at 42nd Street shone a spotlight on youth loneliness. We shared resources and amplified the voices of our young people who have spoken about the subject.

Over the last year we have all experienced loneliness in ways that we could never have imagined. Research has shown that it’s been especially hard on young people. Students isolated from their families and friends at university, young people unable to see their peers during critical development phases. 

This isn’t a new crisis, but it’s one that has become more apparent during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In 2016, the Co-op Foundation commissioned a research project into youth loneliness – this was a collaboration between MMU and 42nd Street. 200+ young people across the UK were involved and the results sparked a vital conversation. 

Fast forward to 2021 and this research has never been more important. Young people are returning to face to face education after prolonged periods away from their friends – the worries and anxieties about missing out, about changes, and about isolation will have been amplified for so many people.

               “I feel like a stranger
living someone else’s story,
I want you to notice,
yet I want you to ignore me. “             

-          Excerpt from the poem ‘Alone/Together’

Keep up with everything that is happening online at our:

Lost and Found

We are very excited to launch Lost & Found – an interactive experience which aims to open up a conversation around and increase understanding of youth loneliness. 

Lost and Found

Written by: Tricia Coleman, John Sear, Vee Uye & Jana Wendler

Based on the 2016 research, this is an interactive story which casts the players as trainee police officers searching for a fictional missing young person. The player examines clues, watches interviews with friends and family, and solves puzzles in order to piece together the story.

Lost & Found is aimed at an audience of young people aged 11-25 and professionals working with young people in settings ranging from health to education to social care. The interactive story offers a space to explore how feelings of loneliness and isolation might manifest for young people today in response to a variety of pressures. It builds on universal themes of transition and the search for connection when becoming an adult, but also raises questions about the impact of wider societal conditions on young people’s lives.

 

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Last updated: 01/04/2021

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