A GWENT children's charity got the chance to shine at a recent national conference, where three pieces of research work were presented, all highlighting its vital role in supporting young people with disabilities and developmental difficulties.
Sparkle, the charity partner of the pioneering Serennu Children's Centre in High Cross, Newport, had the research accepted for presentation at the Royal College of Paediatric and Child Health Annual Conference in Liverpool.
Its research and development officer Bethan Collins attended the conference to present the findings of a recent evaluation of a care co-ordination service which is delivered by Aneurin Bevan University Health Board.
Sparkle worked in partnership with the health board to develop Care Co-ordination, a service offered to children with disabilities requiring multiple services via the Integrated Service for Children with Additional Needs, based at Serennu and the charity’s other two partner children’s centres, Nevill Hall and Caerphilly.
Sparkle also had two other pieces of research accepted for virtual ‘poster’ presentations - on an evaluation of the charity’s Family Liaison Service, and on its efforts to include the voices of children and young people with disabilities in developments at the children’s centres.
“There was a lot of interest in health inequalities, child participation, and integrated and coordinated care for children at the conference, so our work seemed to fit perfectly," said Ms Collins.
"It was fantastic to present our findings and discuss the services offered by the children’s centres in Gwent with professionals from other parts of Wales and across the UK.
"However it was clear from conversations that more needs to be done to provide all children in the UK with access to coordinated care, and with opportunities to have their voices heard in relation to health services and research.”
The conference brings together more than 1,500 professionals from paediatrics and related fields, so this was an excellent opportunity for Sparkle to share its learning and inform others from across the UK of the groundbreaking work it does in south Wales.
The guiding principle for Sparkle is to ensure that children and young people with disabilities and developmental difficulties - and their families - are fully supported and able to participate in valued childhood experiences, with access to the same range of opportunities, life experiences, activities and community services, as any other child and their family.
Events such as this conference enable Sparkle to accomplish this by not only supporting children and families locally, but influencing others across the UK.
For more about Sparkle and its services, visit sparkleappeal.org
Sparkle is on Facebook and Instagram (@sparkleappealofficial), and Twitter (@sparkleappeal).
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here