On this page you will find information about our national thematic review. We will keep this page updated as we move through the different stages.
Our approach
In April 2023 we notified all local authorities of our intention to undertake a national thematic review with a focus on disabled children and young people up to the age of 18 years. Within the scope of our review, we will focus on the experiences of children who are considered disabled under article 1 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities:
“Persons with disabilities include those who have long term physical, mental intellectual or sensory impairments which any interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others”
We will provide a national overview of social work’s contribution to how well disabled children and young people’s needs are assessed, planned for, and met. This will include hearing from children about the things that are important to them, their experiences of participation and of receiving care and support. To do this we will structure our review under the following two statements:
- Children and young people are actively heard, informed, and meaningfully involved in decisions about their lives.
- Children’s and young people’s wellbeing has been promoted through high quality child centred planning and bespoke support.
We will carry out the review between May 2023 and May 2024. We will publish a national report in Spring 2024.
More information about the thematic review can be found in the following links:
Working with four local authority areas – a deeper dive