Delivering for those who need it most
Our ambition is to help people to stay independent, safe and well so they can live the lives they want. This includes people who are older, have disabilities, neurodiversity or mental health issues, as well as the people who care for them. It also means protecting everyone’s right to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect.
We have a particular responsibility for our children in care and care leavers. As corporate parents, we need to make sure that our children are safe, happy, and provided with opportunities to achieve their full potential.
Progress in 2024
Innovative programmes
Our role in developing the pilot for New Beginnings has been praised by the chair of the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care as an ‘exemplar’. We're now trialling a reunification arm to the programme which uses the trauma-informed approach of New Beginnings and intensive support from Stockport Family to help parents overcome challenges and work towards safely reuniting with their children.
Home First
There has been good progress among system partners to improve out-of-hospital flow and discharge giving people the right care and support to get them back home quickly and safely. At the same time, community adult social work teams are proactively helping people to stay in their own homes for longer. This leads to better outcomes for people and communities, and makes sure that residential care is available for those who need it most.
Putting people at the heart
The Making it Real (MIR) Board has been working closely with Adult Social Care to develop Stockport’s Adult Social Care Charter which sets out how we will work with people and keep them at the heart of everything we do. We know that people want to work with us in a different way, so we have also started further training and development with the national programme of ‘Gloriously Ordinary Lives’.
New strategies
We've launched our Think Carers Strategy 2024-2029 developed with Signpost for Carers; and our Stockport Learning Disability Strategy, which was produced in partnership with the Valuing People Partnership Board and the Speaking Out Group.
New children’s homes
We're continuing to deliver our 2-year children’s homes programme, which includes approval for three new homes. The first new home, ‘The Crescent,’ opened in September 2024.
Our key areas of focus over the next 2 years will be:
Care and support
We'll protect, keep safe and support our residents with care and support needs.
Our Safeguarding Boards will continue to ensure residents are able to report concerns relating to abuse, neglect or exploitation, and feel confident that their concerns will be addressed appropriately.
Tackling poverty
We'll lead the borough’s response to tackling poverty by:
developing our understanding of the impact of the ongoing cost of living crisis
providing easy access to information and advice
supporting people to increase their income
providing help for those in crisis
Mental health and neurodiversity
We'll support residents with their mental health, mental wellbeing, learning disabilities and autism by:
working closely with local people, employers, and our partners in the NHS, housing, VCFSE and schools to deliver our:
One Stockport Learning Disability Strategy and Building the Right Support Action Plan
Children in care and care leavers
We'll support the children in our care and care leavers by:
continuing to explore innovative care models to make sure that all children are cared for within a family home where possible
focusing on increasing the number of foster carers in the borough and acquiring new properties to expand our current stock
continuing to embed our Care Leaver Covenant to improve education, employment and training opportunities for care leavers
Adult social care
We'll make sure our adult social care services are safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led by:
working with our partners to develop a range of housing options
using technology enabled care as our first choice to enable people to live independently in their own home for longer
developing a diverse offer for people who need long term support
maintaining seamless and integrated care pathways
delivering the Think Carers Strategy and action plan to ensure that carers of all ages feel recognised, valued and supported