North Yorkshire Councils experience of Autism Accreditation
Published on 05 September 2023
Author: Mel Trotter, Autism Strategic, Developmental and Implementation Worker at the Council
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was significant for the care services that North Yorkshire Council provides to support autistic people. In this article, Mel Trotter, Autism Strategic, Developmental and Implementation Worker at the Council, explains how the National Autistic Society’s Autism Accreditation standards were used to inform the support for people to transition back into services and to re-focus their goals and outcomes.
Overview of the services
The services engaged in Autism Accreditation are all Health and Adult Services Day Centres, Short Breaks and Scarborough Home Support Service, as well as the countywide Supported Employment Service and Living Well Services. Harrogate Home Support Service joined the Accreditation Programme in 2023.
These services provide support to autistic people, people with learning difficulties, and those with co-morbidity health conditions and neurodiversity aged 18-65.
Returning to services after the COVID-19 pandemic and achieving Autism Accreditation
As the COVID-19 restrictions eased, individuals were welcomed back into services. It quickly became clear that the pandemic, and the restrictions that people had been living under, had resulted in some complicated changes and impacts. Some individuals had lost skills, were struggling with emotional and mental health concerns, had low self-esteem and lacked consistency and clarity. This affected how we needed to support them, and goal setting and outcomes had to be re-evaluated.
The Autism Accreditation standards formed an effective and valuable framework to rebuild services and give clarity and security, as well as build upon emotional wellbeing and independence, communication and sensory requirements.
The challenge to recover from the pandemic, support individuals and complete the Accreditation was enormous and Care Teams had to juggle these tasks working to the new agreed timescales. Strategic planning meetings were held and attended initially over Teams meetings until larger groups could safely gather.
Extra support was provided to some services and the Accreditation standards formed the outline of the service improvement work. Significant focus was given to the care files to ensure individuals’ Personal Outcome Plans and accompanying macro and micro SMART goal setting was in place. Each Individual’s goals and / or aspirations were carefully reassessed with the person at the heart of the process to ensure this was person-centred but also that they reflected the impacts of the pandemic on the individual. We worked to ensure that goals were specific, measurable, achievable and relevant for the individual and time-bound.
Goals were then reviewed as required and either signed off as completed or amended. New goals were set and we often saw individuals wanting new life experiences, skills and increased independence.
After a tremendous effort by everyone involved, our service recovery plans and the Accreditation standards were completed. Actions were clearly highlighted and documented, and work then started to ensure that each individual’s support was person-centred and the service environments had made necessary reasonable adjustments. For example, this included communication aids for individuals including Now and Next boards or Start, Middle and End signs or through the use of clear and factual verbal communications.
The transitions documents, that had been so vital in supporting people to return to services, were used as case studies for the Accreditation assessment process as they provided a rich narrative about how Care Teams had worked in a person-centred way to support people throughout the pandemic.
Assessment outcome and celebrating success
North Yorkshire Council Care Provider Services retained, and improved, on its Accreditation status and the Supported Employment service gained advanced status. The commitment shown to regain the Accreditation award was testament to the values of care that are at the heart of Care Provider Services. It was a significant team effort and we were especially delighted that so many autistic people wanted to be part of the assessment timetable, in which they shone in interviews.
As we celebrate our success, we are already planning to start the new set of standards with the same commitment we have always shown.
North Yorkshire Council now has the largest number of local authority-owned care and support services that have Accreditation status in Europe. Rightly proud of this, the Council is committed to the value of inclusivity, both as an employer and as a provider of care and support services to the people of North Yorkshire.