At Ceredigion County Council we are transforming the way individuals, families, communities and carers can receive help and support when they need it. Our vision is to ensure positive access to both universal and targeted services so that children and adults can develop the skills and resilience they need to lead fulfilled lives and achieve their goals. We are seeking to empower individuals in what matters to them and work with partner agencies to strengthen people’s independence, ensure safety and promote well-being.

Our Through Age and Well-being Strategy sets out how we will develop a skilled and innovative workforce who will provide through age services that focus on preventative support and early intervention with easy access to information, advice and assistance, proportionate assessment of need and care and support plans for those who need longer term help.

Find out more about our Through-Age and Wellbeing Model and how are teams are structured within it here.

Direct Services Overview

Direct Services is made up of the Fostering Services Team, the Day Care Services Team and the Residential Care Teams.

Fostering Services Team

As a local authority, fostering service we provide a service to children who are looked after and placed with Ceredigion approved foster carers. We are part of the Mid and West Wales Regional Fostering initiative and contribute to the work of the National Fostering Framework.

The Fostering Service provides a service to the children of Ceredigion. We also provide support to carers and children particularly kinship/friends and family carers who reside outside the Ceredigion area but remain open to Ceredigion Local Authority.

We also provide:

• Individual and Sibling Group Placements
• Bridging Placements: Foster carers who can prepare children for adoption or long-term foster care / permanency
• Emergency Placements
• Short Term and Long-Term Placements
• Respite Placement
• Short Breaks for children with disabilities
• Parent and child placements
• Day Care
•  ‘When I’m Ready’ Placements

Other Services

• Advertising and recruitment of prospective foster carers
• Carrying out assessments of prospective carers
• Consultation with other professionals, foster carers and families around making appropriate placements for children and matching children with carers who can meet their needs
• Support and supervision of foster carers in their work with children, children’s families, departmental social workers and other professionals
• Liaison with other professionals and meetings to ensure that foster carers are actively supported in carrying out a child’s individual care plan
• Completion of annual reviews of foster carers
• Provision of ‘skills to foster’ training for prospective carers, with the assistance of experienced foster carers and care leavers

Team structure

• All staff are required to have at least 3 years’ experience as a Social Worker
• An Independent Foster Panel with a range of skills, knowledge and experience based on the requirement of the regulations.

Day Services

As a service we currently provide day opportunities for individuals living with a Learning Disability (LD) along with Older Adults (OA) with an assessed need.

Traditionally these would have been centred based provision within the following settings;

• Canolfan Steffan (LD)
• Canolfan Padarn (LD)
• Canolfan Meugan (LD & OA)
• Aberysywth Day Centre (OA)
• Hafan Deg (OA)
• Bryntirion (OA)

The provision has slightly changed over the pandemic period with currently only LD services being provided through virtual, wider facility based and community in-reach. The use of the centres is currently being re-introduced however this is now very different to the pre pandemic provision.

An additional element of the service is the transition programme and Camu ‘Mlan. This focuses on providing an outcome focused provision for 19+ year olds working in collaboration with Education, Extended Support, Coleg Ceredigion, Health Board and Carers Wales. Central to this provision is the focus on employability, life skills etc.

• All Wales Induction Framework
• QCF Level 2,3,4 & 5 (Diploma) in specific Health and Social Care (Adults / Children and Young People)
• Positive Behaviour Support (PBS)
• Positive Behavioural Management (PBM)
• Speech and Language training
• Total Communication
• BSL Sign Language
• All Wales Manual Handling Passport
• Administration of Medication
• Profound and Multiple Learning Disability (PMLD)
• A range of specific training relating to the needs of the service users.

Residential Care Teams

As a Local Authority we have a through age provision of residential care which comprises of the following;

Adult Residential Care

• Hafan Deg Residential Care Home, Lampeter
• Yr Hafod Residential Care Home, Cardigan
• Bryntirion Residential Care Home, Tregaron
• Tregerddan Residential Care Home, Bow Street
• Min y Môr Residential Care Home, Aberaeron.

This provision provides a residential registered care and support provision for adults over the age of 18 years old. We provide short term, temporary and permanent placements and can support individuals living with a range of care needs including dementia (non-walking with stance and based on assessment), learning disabilities and mental health. This provision is an open-door provision, however, Hafan Deg is currently in the process of progressing with a 4 bedded secure unit specifically for those living with dementia.

We offer annual apprenticeship opportunities.

Children’s Safe Accommodation

We are currently in the process of developing an accommodation for up to 3 children between the ages of 3-18 at Felinfach. This will be a registered with Care Inspectorate Wales. Our aim is to open this facility in November/December 2022.

Specific Requirements

• All Wales Induction Framework
• QCF Level 2,3,4 & 5 (Diploma) in specific Health and Social Care (Adults / Children and Young People)
• Registration with Social Care Wales Children’s current, Adult by October 2022.
• All Wales Manual Handling Passport
• Administration of medication
• A range of specific training relating to the needs of the service users and their setting.