Welcome to the 12^th edition of our Joint Working Journal. Today we’re focusing on Steering and Advisory Board 3 (SAB3) covering two regional programmes- ‘Children and Young People‘ and ‘Neurodiverse’, which came together on 24^th September.  

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Children and Young People Programme: 

SAB 3 members received a detailed overview of the current work on ‘Transition from Child to adult Services for children and young people with Complex needs.’ This work aims to improve the support and services Children and Young People receive as they transition from child services into adulthood, where they may receive a different type of service as an adult. We have been working on developing regional Principles and Standards: 

• For professionals this aims to help plan and support a seamless transition from Child to Adult Services. 

• For Children, Young People and Families/Carers this aims to improve both knowledge and awareness of and the support and services they will receive from Health, Social Care and Education throughout their transition from child to adult services.   

Neurodiverse Programme:  

The Neurodiverse programme is continuing with developing an all-age Regional Neurodiverse Strategy which will take a needs-led, person-centred approach to supporting neurodiverse people and their families (whether they have undergone formal assessments, or not).  

We want to ensure that people who are neurodiverse and those who support them are able to tell us what matters to them so that we can develop and transform support and services that meets their needs. The Board supported our proposed plan that outlines how we will involve members of the neurodiverse community across Neath Port Talbot and Swansea to co produce the engagement methods with key partners, including those with lived experiences. Keep an eye out in the coming weeks for opportunities to get involved.  

Further parent drop in sessions will be available across Swansea and Neath Port Talbot in the coming weeks – these drop in sessions focus on sharing and signposting to resources and approaches which exist within services / communities.  

Welsh Government National Event: 

It was great to be involved in the national event in Cardiff on 16^th September 2024 where we got to showcase everything our region has achieved.  

Welsh Government invited all Regional Partnership Boards to come together for the ‘Towards an integrated community care system for Wales’ event, this was a great opportunity to learn more about the approaches of our counterparts across Wales and share good practice, as well as a very valuable networking opportunity.’ 

In the morning, Hannah Davies delivered an excellent presentation on the Swansea Dementia Hwb, a project initiated by Dementia Friendly Swansea, a voluntary group committed to enhancing the lives of those living with dementia. The Hwb, which opened in January 2022 in the city centre, functions as a vital resource hub, raising awareness, providing information, and fostering inclusion for individuals with dementia and their carers. This successful initiative has now been expanded to Neath Port Talbot and includes mobile hubs that reach out to communities. 

In the afternoon, Kelly Gillings, West Glamorgan Programme Director, and Rebecca Goodhand from Cwm Taf, facilitated a co-production workshop that was very well received. 

Unpaid Carers Event in Swansea.Com Stadium: 

We had an amazing day at the Swansea.com stadium on 17^th September 2024 where we attended the annual event focussed on hearing from unpaid carers in our region and Turning Vision into Action. 

It was great hearing from so many unpaid carers across the region about the support and services they need to be able to care for their loved ones. 
 
You can learn more about our work with Unpaid Carers on our website here: https://www.westglamorgan.org.uk/carers/ 

Swansea Council Chief Executive Officer, Martin Nicholls attended the event and commented the following in his blog:  

“It was great to be at the West Glamorgan Regional Partnership’s annual event for unpaid carers on Tuesday. We invest millions of pounds a year in social care services that make a difference every day. But it’s also important to acknowledge and support the vital contribution of an estimated 41,000 unpaid carers in the West Glamorgan area who play their part as well, which is what the event was all about. […], my thanks to all those who organised the event and all the unpaid carers who give so much.”

Swansea Parent Carers Forum 5^th Anniversary Celebration: 

We had a delightful time attending the Swansea Parent Carer Forum’s 5th Anniversary Celebration event at Swansea Arena on 24^th September 2024! It was wonderful to meet so many Unpaid Parent Carers who contribute so much to our society! 
 
You can learn more about their work by following this link Swansea Parent Carer Forum #SwanseaPCF 

Following a very busy year of engagement activities, events and co-production across the region we thought we would share a video slideshow of the previous 12 months of working together with partners and residents to ensure the voices, experiences and needs of people in our region are at the heart of everything we do as a Regional Partnership. 

Finally, we have a digital story from one of the projects funded via the Regional Integration fund via the West Glamorgan Regional Partnership. 

Y-Hub is a universal youth group welcoming all 11–25-year-olds, based in Swansea. Offering Young People a safe and friendly environment with professional support, as well as hot food, music and workshops/activities. 

The project serves Young People in Swansea who are at risk of being involved in county line, anti-social behaviour and exploitation as well as those not in education, employment or training.