Agenda item

Katy Lewis, Carers Strategy Manager, RMBC, to present the Carers Strategy 2026-31.

Katy Lewis, Carers Strategy Manager, gave the following powerpoint presentation on The Borough That Cares All-Age Strategy 2026-2031:-

The Borough that Cares Strategic Framework 2022-2025 – Achievements

-        Improved access to information – created the Council Carers Information Hub, Carers Directory and Carers Newsletter

-        Information Navigators integrated to support carers who are digitally excluded

-        Expanded community support through a small grant programme

-        Strengthened carer voice and influence – establishing The Borough That Carers Strategic Network as a voice, influence and engagement group

-        Established a Multi-Agency Strategic Group to drive change within organisations

-        Increases Carers Assessment capacity through the employment of Carers Link Officers

-        Celebrated carers – Carers Week and Carers Rights Day were now recognised community events in the Borough

Looking Forward – Engagement to inform the Strategy

-        A programme of engagement took place between March and August 2025 to gather the views of carers and a range of other stakeholders

-        23 engagement events took place

-        399 participants engaged

-        Participants included carers and young carers, the people they cared for, Social Care and Health professionals, care providers and the voluntary and community sector

-        A facilitated engagement session was undertaken with young carers and their families in July 2025

-        Researched best practice and utilised national and local data

Our Five Commitments

-        5 themes emerged from the engagement which translated into commitments:

1.      Identification and Early Intervention

Identify carers, including young carers, earlier in their journey and ensure timely access to advice, support and preventative services, before needs escalate into crisis

Provide clear practical guidance on the Carers’ Service offer and how to navigate it, ensuring carers are aware of available support through clear, multi-channel communication

Explore flexible support options for carers in employment including better workplace awareness, access to low-level interventions and improved links with employers

Promote carer friendly Health services that recognise the barriers carers face in accessing care for themselves and ensure carers are supported to prioritise their own health

2.      Support carers and ensure their voice is heard

Ensure carers were routinely provided with clear, timely information during key Health and Social Care Service interactions

Develop clearer pathways for carers especially at the point of diagnosis so they were easily connected to the right services and support

Recognise the value of shared experiences and increase opportunities for carers to connect with and support each other

Work with schools, Youth Services and Family Support Teams to identify and support young carers earlier ensuring their emotional wellbeing and family stability were prioritised

Provide training and resources to frontline staff across Health and Social Care to improve recognition of carers and ensure they are treated as partners in care

Continue to involve carers in shaping services and monitoring progress ensuring their voices remain central to everything we do

3.      Support carers through times of change

Support carers through key transitions and ensure that Health and Social Care professionals provide carers with timely, updated information when the condition of the person they cared for changes, not just at the point of diagnosis

Empower carers to plan for the future, providing structured support to develop contingency plans and long term care arrangements, when they were no longer able to provide care

Support professionals to have sensitive, timely conversations with carers about deterioration and end-of-life care, helping carers feel more prepared and informed

Raise awareness of the support available during end-of-life care and bereavement and ensure this information was accessible, clear and shared proactively with carers

4.      Work in partnership

Improve joint working across education, Health and Social Care, particularly to identify carers at key contact points such as hospital discharge, ensuring carers were included in planning and decision making

Develop clearer, more joined-up pathways, digital tools and Carer Champions to help carers navigate complex systems

Develop a shared understanding of personalised care across all services so that when multiple agencies were involved, the carer and the person they cared for experienced joined-up person-centred support

5.      Co-design a responsive support offer for carers

Regularly analyse feedback and data to understand carers’ experiences and outcomes and identify gaps between assessed needs and actual support received

Provide a clear and easy-to-understand overview of available services and create flexible ways for people to access support without always needing a Carers Assessment

Increase practitioner confidence in supporting carers to access advice, information and support, utilising universal services, the VCSE sector and commissioned services to meet need and achieve identified outcomes

Evaluate the success of existing services and co-design new services or information with carers

Involve carers in shaping training to ensure it is relevant and include carers’ voices through stories, videos or lived experience contributions

Improve ways to track satisfaction, uptake and wellbeing outcomes to inform ongoing service development

Next Steps

-        January 2026 – communication plan developed

-        January to February 2026 – engagement with carers and other stakeholders to develop the first year delivery plan

-        March 2026 – communication plan implemented

-        April 2026 – Strategy launched and delivery plan commences with ongoing monitoring

Discussion ensued with the following issues raised/clarified:-

-        A focussed approach had been taken with regard to engagement with young carers, working with the provider who was contracted to provide young carer support in Rotherham.  The Service had accessed their group of carers but had recognised that part of the strategic work was to take on wider talks not reaching the lower levels.  It had been difficult but wanted to widen that out

-        The annual school survey showed a significant proportion of children who identified as having caring responsibilities that were not identified in the Service.  Although not engaging with those children and young people, it had enabled a target to be set for the Strategy

-        Schools had a responsibility, and a lot of work was being undertaken with them, to identify young carers and which services they needed.  Where there were obvious links for those with caring responsibilities i.e. adults that required Social Care or engagement with the Rotherham Parents Forum, the Service made sure they had carers assessments  and provide support

-        The action plan would have a partnership approach with the aim of how improvements could be achieved from the partner organisations.  Monitoring of achievements would be by way of evidence from partners/groups, conversations and communication with carers

Resolved:-  (1)  That the update on the development of the 2026-2031 Carers Strategy be noted.

(2)  That annual updates be submitted to the Board on the delivery of the Strategy and associated delivery plan.