Innovations Partnership Fund

Medway Primary Care Trust established this fund in order to support the delivery of innovative preventative projects in the fields of health and social care, including projects relating to children and young people.

Please note that no further applications are being considered at this time.

The following are among the projects that are currently being funded to March 2011:

Chalklands
This project aims:

• To provide on site therapeutic support for Medway’s primary phase pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties placed within Chalklands with an aim to intervene early and address their emotional needs.
• To operate an outreach service so that children with challenging behaviour in the mainstream school, who would benefit from a therapeutic intervention, can have the underlying emotional needs met.
• To offer support to the families of children with challenging behaviour by working within them to put consistent boundaries in place and by addressing unresolved attachment needs of the parents.

For more information, contact duths001@medway.org.uk

Cookham Wood Intensive Intervention Pilot
The overall aim of this pilot is to test a proposed model of working identified in the Youth Crime Action Plan with a targeted group of high-risk young people and their families/carers.
Intervention packages will encourage innovation in learning and accreditation, develop improved Information, Advice and Guidance provision, Entry To Employment opportunities and facilitate capacity building among a wider range of delivery partners.
For more information, contact mark.walsh@medway.gov.uk

Development of evidence based parenting programmes
Aims to offer Medway parents and carers an appropriate and co-ordinated range of evidence-based parenting skills programmes which meets their needs.
For more information, contact marilyn.roe@medway.gov.uk

Family Common Assessment Framework
The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) is an assessment tool used to identify the needs of children where there is a concern.  A meeting is held with partner agencies to put together a package of support for the child or young person and a lead professional identified to ensure that the support is delivered.
Recognising that the CAF only addresses the needs of the child involved, this project pilots a wider use of the CAF.  A budget-holding key worker supports the family address a range of issues.
For more information, contact nikki.lloyd@medway.gov.uk

Health Wise
Health Wise is a multi-stranded pilot which aims to raise awareness of healthy living and improve the ’patient pathway’ of members  among disadvantaged adults in priority neighbourhoods.
For more information, contact mhyde@wea.org.uk

Avante Partnership Stepahead Support, Crisis Intervention
Additional keyworker hours to provide advice, support and practical help to young people aged 16 – 21 (with a focus on 16/17 year olds) who are homeless, care leavers, young offenders or those having difficulties with accessing housing, benefits and specialist advice.
For more information, contact Carolyn.McVittie@kcht.org.uk

Music in Mind
The pilot project will work with 60 vulnerable young people aged 13-18 with Asperger’s Syndrome, or diagnosed with emerging mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, psychosis or suffering from low confidence, self-esteem or eliciting risky behaviour such as self harm.
Through creative writing (poetry/lyric writing) and music workshops, facilitated by experienced development tutors and with the support of a British Association of Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP) senior accredited counsellor, young people will have the opportunity to deal with complex issues in a safe and supported environment.  Individual counselling sessions with a BACP senior accredited counsellor will be available to young people following their participation in this course
For more information, contact janeen.allwright@Fairbridge.org.uk

Relateen in Medway
Relateen in Medway will build on the existing Relateen service, providing young person counselling for 10 to 18 year olds impacted by the relationship difficulties within their family environment. The pilot project will seek to provide the service in partnership with other agencies to encourage support being sought by harder to reach groups, such as young offenders.
For more information, contact manager@relatenorthkent.org.uk

SOS Bus
The aim of the overall project is to implement a service for the Medway community based on a converted bus that would be used

• as a ‘safe haven’ on Friday and Saturday nights, dealing in a positive and non-judgemental way with people who are in distress, under the influence, vulnerable, in difficulty (e.g. having no money to get home) or simply in need of advice or assistance;
• as a mobile promotional or educational resource during the day, particularly for health improvement initiatives.

For more information, contact robin@cvsmedway.org

Supoort for Learning Disabled Parents     

A small-dedicated team, staffed by a qualified social worker and three family support workers assess and work with the parents of highly vulnerable young children. The workers, who are skilled in supporting learning-disabled parents, allow those parents with particular difficulties earlier access to intensive support and training to help them meet the complex demands of their children. 
Workers work directly with parents, teaching and supporting them to acquire the fundamental skills of parenting in a way that follows their own distinct learning style.
For more information, contact alan.lambird@medway.gov.uk

Outreach & Daycare 
A crisis intervention day-care and outreach service, based at 319 Darnley Road. The target groups are children and young people on the verge of becoming looked after and/or who are not in education, employment or training. It is aimed at improving their health and social care; diverting them from the youth justice system and providing assessments which deliver focussed interventions to meet their identified needs.

For more information, contact patrick.burns@medway.gov.uk