Care and support

What are the children's needs?

Children who benefit from shared care could have a have a range of needs due to either a learning or physical disability, or both.

Children with learning disabilities may be slower to learn than others. They may have little sense of danger and so have to be watched constantly. They may take longer to become toilet trained or to learn to wash themselves. Some children may not ever be able to look after themselves and will always need personal care and/ or supervision. Some may find it difficult to keep themselves amused for very long.

Children who have a physical disability might know what they want to do or say, but have the additional frustration of not being able to communicate this to others.

The needs of the children are carefully matched to the skills, interests and background of the shared carer so that the best possible relationship can develop. This is why we need a range of carers of all ages and from different communities.

Every shared care placement will be different, often the carers will take children out to activities such as swimming or to the park or they could do things at home like art, cooking or playing games. Often it will depend on what the child’s favourite activities or pastimes are.

Many carers are also happy to be involved in helping with programmes such as self care, communication or independence skills and will carry out tasks with the child to help with continuity between home, school and the placement.