Somerset Supporters is a scheme run by Somerset County Council Children and Young Peoples Directorate and is part of the Children with Disabilities Service. Its purpose is to provide support to children and young people with severe disabilities to enable them to access local facilities enabling them to integrate more fully into the community. Supporters may also spend time with young people in their own homes. The scheme also benefits parents /carers and siblings by giving them time to do activities which might otherwise have been difficult. Somerset Supporters Service provides care to children based in their homes and although it focuses on social support the supporter may be called upon to provide varying amounts of personal care.

The service is therefore classed as a domiciliary agency and is now registered with CSCI. The Service was originally developed as a result of County wide-consultation with families with a disabled child. The capacity of the service has been expanded in the light of very positive feed-back and increased demand. The scale of the service is determined by the allocated budget and this is balanced against peoples needs.

The service covers the whole county and is organized into four geographical areas : Mendip, Somerset Coast, South Somerset and Taunton. Each area is the responsibility of the team leader of the Children with Disabilities services. The daily operation of the scheme is undertaken by an Area Link Worker. It is the area link worker who offers direct supervision and support to up to 25 supporters.

 Local Authority Area :Somerset

Care Agency Type: Domiciliary Care

Manager

Ian Baker

Inspection Reports
Inspection Report for Somerset Supporters Service 12/19/2007