Aiming high for disabled children

Following a joint review of disabled children's services by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and HM Treasury, the government launched the document 'Aiming High for Disabled Children: Better Support for Families'.

The government wants disabled children to be a priority both nationally and locally and the Aiming High for Disabled Children: Better Support for Families is the transformation programme set out to achieve this.

The programme is being supported by substantial new funding and measures designed to make systems work better. In response to this all PCTs are required to make a declaration stating how they are going to work towards this programme.

Our statement:

PCTs have an important role to play in commissioning services for children and young people with disabilities, complex and palliative care needs, ensuring an integrated approach which improves outcomes. PCTs, as members of Children's Trusts, will be working with partners to identify the needs of this client group and commission appropriate services.

This framework seeks to facilitate this process and to identify the NHS contribution to specific elements of these services for which additional national baseline funding was received by PCTs for 2008/09 to 2010/11.

Some additional information on these services (community equipment, wheelchairs, short breaks and palliative care) is/will be available in the national children's services mapping dataset. To view relevant information available already through this route go to www.childrensmapping.org.uk .

Data pertaining to the national indicator about parental experience of services for children with disabilities will be available for 21 PCTs by September 2009 and for the remaining PCTs by December 2009. This framework may be completed in the context of that indicator and as a tool to help identify actions and developments which may improve performance against it.