Newcastle Children's Trust Board ensures that local services ensures the needs of disabled children are delivered within:
- Every Child Matters
- Aiming High for Disabled Children
- Integrated Youth Strategy
- D'Catch
- Continuing Care
- Valuing People Now
However, in addition, they highlight:
- Getting the right educational support. The 2001 'Special Educational Needs and disability Act strengthened parents' rights to have their child educated in a mainstream school if they wish. It gave schools and local authorities a duty to plan to increase schools' accessibily, both in terms of premises and the curriculum.
- In 2004, the government's special educational needs (SEN) policy Removing Barriers to Achievement set out a programme of action on early intervention, removing barriers to learning, raising expectations and achievement, and bringing improvements through partnerships between agencies.
- Other government policies such as Every Child Matters and the National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services have set objectives for children's health and social care, including a standard for disabled children and young people. A key aim of these policies is better inter-agency working. The Early Support programme focuses on this and recommends that families are assigned 'key workers' to help them negotiate to services.
Aiming High for Disabled Children: Better Support for Families (launched in May 2007), is the transformation programme for disabled children's services. Supported by substantial new funding and measures designed to make the system work better, the AHDC Programme aims to deliver:
- Access and empowerment for disabled children and families.
- responsive services and timely support.
- Improved service quality and capacity.
The North Of Tyne Strategic Plan contains the overarching goal to:
- Have more specialist learning disability care closer to home.
- This work is identified as a priority in the Workforce Development Strategy and funding and resources have been made available.