About us Section Sunderland Children’s Trust -Children’s Services - Children's Disability Service - Sunderland Safeguarding Children Board

The Chidlren's Disability Service works with children and young people from birth up to the age of 18 where the child or young person has one or more of the following:

• a substantial physical disability
• a severe communication disability
• autistic spectrum disorder
• a severe learning disability

Children's Disability Service currently provide a range of opportunities and provisions for disabled children, young people and their families. The Service comprises of the following teams:

The Children's Disability Team - This Team provide support for disabled children living at home with their families, and they also work with children or young people who are living with a foster family or in a residential placement. Following an assessment of need, we try to offer choice as to what services will be provided. This can include:

• direct service provision by Children's Disability Service
• other social care provision
• independent sector provision, including Out of School Clubs, Youth clubs, or domiciliary care providers
• an increasing number of families are accessing Direct Payments in order to purchase their own services to meet assessed need. Download the Direct Payment booklet here

Family Care and Support - The Family Care and Support Team undertake a wide range of tasks with children and their families, including care tasks and support into leisure activities, either at home or in the community to enable the young people to engage in appropriate activities and for their families to have a break from caring.

Quest - Quest is a specialist service jointly provided by Sunderland Children's Services and Northumberland, Tyne & Wear NHS Foundation Trust. Quest works with children who have a severe learning disability and whose behaviour presents a severe challenge to families and services.
What is Quest? Quest works with a very small number of children with severe learning disabilities whose behaviour presents a severe challenge to their families and services. It was set up in 1998 and is jointly financed by the NHS and Sunderland City Council
Quest aims to: Provide a local, community-based service Support children at home with their families and avoid the need for hospital or social care admission Find ways to reduce the level and frequency of the behaviours that present a severe challenge to families and services Recommend appropriate long-term packages of support to prevent the re-emergence of such behaviour Support parents to enhance skills specific to meeting the needs of their child
How do children get this service? Any professional working with a child can refer to Quest, for example: GP, social worker, head teacher.	More information can be downloaded here Or contact Quest, c/o the Children's Disability Service, Gilpin House, Blind Lane, Houghton-le-Spring, DH4 5HX Tel: 0191 566 2190 Fax: 0191 553 5690 E-mail: quest@sunderland.gov.uk

Overnight Short Breaks - Sea View Road West is a purpose built short break facility which provides overnight short breaks for young disabled people aged 8 to 18. Up to 7 young people can stay at any one time and this gives them the opportunity to develop their independence from their parents, and have fun with their friends while also giving their parents the opportunity to have a break from caring. Stays are usually for three or four nights every few weeks, with occasional longer stays for up to two weeks, but this will not exceed 120 nights in a year.

Network for Disabled Children - Sunderland Children's Services together with Health keeps details of disabled children in the City of Sunderland. Parent/carers of children who are on the network are able to get involved in the planning of services. There is a leaflet called the Sunderland Network for Disabled Children that gives more information about the benefits of joining the Network and includes an application form.

For more information or to request a hard copy of the application form contact the Children's Disability Service, Sandhill Cdentre, Grindon Lane, Sunderland SR3 4EN Tel: 0191 566 2190 Fax: 0191 553 5690 E-mail: child.disability@sunderland.gov.uk

Direct Payments