NatSIP, BATOD and NDCS were delighted to welcome over 100 participants at this online event on Microsoft Teams.
The opportunity to explore partnership working between NDCS and specialist services in the context and development of the 2023 NDCS strategy, Every Moment Counts was very welcome. We learned some detail about the roles of the new Community Connectors and the Early Intervention Advice and Guidance Officers (EIAGOs) and their interface with local education professionals and families.
The slides from NDCS Platform Leads Jemma South and Alison Worsley's presentation are now available in the NatSIP Document Library.
Available document:
Some follow up questions and answers following the webinar from NDCS
Thanks to everyone who joined us last week for our presentation on the role of Community Connectors and Early Intervention Advice and Guidance Officers (EIAGOs) and for your questions. Thanks to Teresa's excellent moderating, we got through most of the questions but there were a few questions that we didn't have time to cover. As promised, please find our answers to these further below.
The slides are now available on NatSIP and BATOD's website and we hope that these will be helpful in explaining again these roles. We would again emphasise that Community Connectors:
- are there to complement the work of TODs, not duplicate
- are there to help address unmet needs where these exist, and to help coproduce solutions with both families and TODs
- will work in different ways depending on the local community context and what families in the area tell us they need - there is no one size fits all approach.
We know that there remain significant inconsistencies in the support families receive, depending on where they live in the UK. Every community is different, but what is consistent is the need for more family-centred support. We all want to support deaf children and if we work together, in every community, doing whatever it takes, we can go so much further.
Unanswered question #1: How are the community connectors introduced to the families, who would refer them?
Community Connectors are introduced to families by NDCS through different channels. For example, families may approach us directly after reading about us on our website, through word of mouth or receiving a flyer. Sometimes, depending on the family needs and where they are in their journey, families will be referred to a Community Connector for further support after they have already contacted our Helpline or worked with an Advice and Guidance Officer.
Professionals can also refer families to Community Connectors through our professionals referral form or through contacting the Community Connector directly. Where we have Community Connectors in place, flyers are also available for all services to pass onto families.
Unanswered question #2: As QTODs, how do we know which children the CCs are working with so that efforts aren't duplicated in terms of signposting etc?
Community Connectors have an open door policy and are happy to talk with services and TODs at any time.
Community Connectors are there to complement the work of TODs, not to duplicate it. Connectors are happy to discuss how to make sure any support is joined up, but otherwise TODs should not stop doing anything that they are already doing.
There's an implicit concern in the question about duplication. At NDCS, we have the opposite concern - that there is still too much inconsistency in the information and support that families receive across the UK. Too many families still tell us that they didn't know about the full range of support available in their area. This is borne out by Gwen Carr's research in Scotland on informed choices. From our perspective, it's better that families are told twice about support available to them, than not at all.
Unanswered question #3: What measures are in place to ensure that community connectors and officers with lived experience are able to work objectively and do not allow personal biases to influence their practice?
Informed choices is integral to the recruitment and induction of community connectors. Connectors will also have received training on unconscious bias, coproduction and sharing the news.
As parents of deaf children themselves, we believe that their lived experiences of deafness is a real positive and strengthens their practice. It means that, for example:
- Connectors can share their own experiences with other families - if this is something that the family has asked for. We know from Gwen Carr's research that this supports informed choices because it helps families to contextualise the different choices and approaches available to them. Connectors will never share their experiences in a way which is 'directive' and will always encourage families to learn from the experiences of other families too.
- As people who have 'walked in the shoes' of parents of deaf children, connectors will have a real understanding and appreciation of the importance of balanced information and support. Many will recall how they felt when this worked well. Others, unfortunately, will have been at the receiving end of messages that were not balanced and so will understand what impact this on parents' experiences.
Community Connectors, like everyone involved in deafness, will have their own personal perspectives and biases. But through ongoing reflection, monitoring and supervision, we are committed to ensuring they follow our policies and values on informed choices. We welcome any feedback around how this work in practice and will act on any concerns.