Leavers Ceremony - so special

Well here we are in July, typically the month we think about the end of the school year.Well I think about the "Leavers Ceremony " where Cheshire Council holds a very special ceremony for school leavers in special education within Cheshire.
It takes me back to 2004 when our daughter left school aged 19 years.The ceremony is held at Chester Cathederal which is a fantastic place set in the heart of Chester city centre.
It is a grand affair and posh frocks and hats are the order of the day,excitement from pupils ,staff and family fill the air.
The pupils are presented with a "National Record Of Achievement " which is a beautiful bound book with all sorts of photos and information of school years which will follow the young person into adult life.It is a lovely diary of school years to keep and look back on.
It is a very proud day for all involved, in many ways it replaces the Graduation Day that most pupils going through main stream school will experience,there are so many "special " occasions that families of children with disabilities miss out on and something like this is so "special " just as they are.
I do hope that councils where you live do something "special" as well :)

News Spotlight

It is a hard decission to make .. to give up your career to care for a family member who is elderly,sick,or disabled.

For me it was the only decission and one I never regretted.

Today I came across this article and thought I would like to share it. 

Unpaid carers cost economy £5.3bn

Carers who give up work to look after others cost England's economy about £5.3bn a year, the charity Age UK says.

With the present care system  people often have to give up work to help the elderly or adult disabled.

The figure was calculated on the lost earnings and forgone taxes of more than 300,000 unpaid carers.

The government says its white paper on social care is "imminent" and will include changes to "transform care".

For many people, caring for a loved one is second nature and they wouldn't have it any other way.

"But carers should never be forced to sacrifice their own financial security and wellbeing due to the lack of service provision and support from public services.

A Department of Health spokesman said: "We agree that helping people to stay in work alongside caring not only helps carers' careers and family finances but is crucial for our workforce and economy.

"The government has committed to working together with the business community to help carers manage work and care.

The Age UK analysis in April, adding in loss of wages to previously calculated loss from tax revenues and claimed carers' allowance.

Loss of earnings was estimated using three surveys: the carers survey - to examine the proportion of male to female, part-time to full-time carers, the labour-force survey - to calculate average earnings, and the population estimate.

On Tuesday the Local Government Association warned the rising cost of adult social care could "soak up" almost all of council spending by 2020.

Currently, £14.6bn is spent on adult social care services in England.

Last year the economist Andrew Dilnot was asked by ministers to look at how funding could be changed. The Dilnot Commission recommended the means-testing threshold for those needing residential care be increased to £100,000. It also called for a partnership whereby individuals pay the first chunk of their care. It recommended a cap of between £25,000 and £50,000.

Wales and Northern Ireland both have means-tested systems similar to that in England.

Scotland provides free personal care, but in recent years has started tightening the eligibility criteria for the same reasons councils in England have.

Related Internet links

• Age UK
• London School of Economics blog
• Department of Health
• Dilnot Commission

*taken from todays BBC news web pages*

 

 

Carers Conference 2012

As part of National Carers Week our local authority held the annual Carers Conference which I attended yesterday.
It was very informative and well attended.
Some of the top directors from our services from the borough council were there and open for question time within the conference and also whilst having a coffee break, it was a great opportunity for bringing up issues that maybe affect just you or things which you feel could help everyone in the community.
The thing that was disscussed that I felt was of particular interest was the Clinical Commissioning Group.I pressume all local authoritys will have set one up ready for when the GP`s run thier own budgets, that is a question that I didn`t think to ask yesterday !! please correct me if this is wrong ...It must be a good thing that all the NHS ,Council and voluntary groups meet and all work together for the good of the people of thier borough.
Another very interesting talk was given by the Care Quality Commission about the work that they do to make sure that authorities and companies who provide services in the clients own home meet standards made by the government.

http://www.warringtonccg.nhs.uk/

http://www.cqc.org.uk/

There were work shops on offer and the one I decided to attend was "mind over matter ".The emphasis was on taking five minutes out of caring and feelgood factors to do in those five minutes .On the list which took my eye :

1. putting makeup on
2. having a shower
3. being with animals
4. doing your hair
5. sitting in the sun
6. listening to music
7. watching people
8. smiling

there were over 150 things on the list but these were easy to do in five minutes and will lift your mood.

Link to story

I`m pleased to see at the beginning of National Carers Week a great insight from the BBC about the careing role by one family which is typical of all families who care for a loved one at home , hope there will be more to come throughout the week ...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18456546

this is so typical of families careing for a loved one at home ...

Carers week 2012

Just a reminder that this week - 18th till 24th June - is National Warers week.
Check out the carers uk website for more information or the social services website in your area to find out what is happening in your local area.
I have put a couple of links to websites to get you started :

www.carersweek.org

www.carers.org


hope you find things happening in your area of help to you and the people you care for :)

Ladies Who Lunch

A friend of mine organised a "Ladies Lunch " today .. she usually does this to raise money for charity and this time chose Hope House Children`s Hospice and as it is a place dear to my heart asked if I would say a few words, as talking is my second nature how could I refuse.We all had a fab time , great food ,great company and made £300 for our chosen charity so a good afternoon all round.

To Crown a Rose Queen

Every year the village where I live holds a May Day festival with a procession of floats and a May Queen who is usually around the age of 11 years and a Rose Queen who is usually younger around 9 years of age.
I was very honoured to be asked to crown this years Rose Queen at our village May Day celebrations .. I know it is now June ,we used to have it at the end of may but it is now held 2nd week in June.
My name had been put forward to the May Queen committee because of the fundraising I have done over the years for Hope House Children`s Hospice in Oswestry in Shropshire ,it was a privilage to be asked.
Sometimes I wonder who looks at my blog site ,and if it helps them in any way , but like the work I do for the hospice and what happened this weekend ,you really never know but you hope someone is taking the time to notice in some small way :):)