Nursery World - Getting it together

The Government's 13 million Early Support Programme aims to provide improved, joined-up services for disabled children and their families. Sue Sillitoe looks at its progress Parents of disabled children often complain that they face a constant battle when it comes to accessing the help their child needs. Simply finding out what services are available in their own area can be a struggle, never mind the difficulty of getting professionals to understand their child's needs in a holistic way, or how these requirements relate to the rest of the family.

Parents of disabled children often complain that they face a constant battle when it comes to accessing the help their child needs. Simply finding out what services are available in their own area can be a struggle, never mind the difficulty of getting professionals to understand their child's needs in a holistic way, or how these requirements relate to the rest of the family.

Add to this the problem of lack of co-ordination between the different agencies involved and the delays caused by bureaucracy, and it becomes clear that these families are subject to a lot of additional stress.

It is now recognised that finding a way to integrate health, education and social care is crucial - not only for the child's future success but also for the well-being of the rest of the family. This thinking lies at the heart of the Government's ten-year strategy for childcare, which encompasses a drive for integrated services.

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