Public Sector Equality Duty

EQUALITY PROGRESS REPORT 2019

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Everyone Different Everyone Matters: Meeting the Equality Duty

Progress Report 2019

1. Introduction

The Equality Act 2010 came into force in April 2011 and created a new public sector duty (‘Equality Duty’). The Equality Act requires public authorities, like Calderdale Council, to publish relevant information to demonstrate their compliance with the ‘Equality Duty’ and report progress on their locally agreed equality objectives.

This report shows how as a Council we are implementing our ‘Equality Duty’ and sets out our progress on delivering our seven corporate equality objectives; it also describes the wider equalities work undertaken in the period January - December 2018.

2. Background

2.1 Public Sector Equality Duty

The public sector equality duty (the equality duty) is made up of a general duty which is supported by specific duties. The general duty requires public organisations in carrying out their business to have due regard to the need to:

i. Eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under this Act;

ii. Advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it;

iii. Foster good relations between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not share it.

The general duty requires public authorities to understand the impact of their policies and practices on people with protected characteristics. Collecting and analysing equality information is an important way for public authorities to develop this understanding. It requires public authorities to consider the needs of these protected groups in, for example, employment and when designing and delivering services.

The protected characteristics covered by the Equality Duty are: age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. The duty to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination also covers marriage and civil partnerships (in relation to employment).

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2.2 Calderdale Demographic Profile

Data collected by the census is used to provide statistical outputs which central government uses to plan and allocate local authority services funding, and which local authorities, such as Calderdale Council, along with other surveys, use to identify and meet the needs of their local communities.

a. Population Size According to the 2011 Census, the population of Calderdale is 203,800, a 5.9% increase from the 2001 Census figure (an increase of about 11,400 people). This is less than the population rise of 7.1% for West Yorkshire and 7.1% for England and Wales.

b. Age The overall number of people 65+ in the district has risen by 8% to 32,400 compared with the number aged 65+ in 2001, and the working age population (15 to 64) has also increased by 8%, to 133,900. However, the number of children and young people (0 to 14) has fallen by 2.5%, to 37,500.

According to the last Census, Calderdale has a higher child population than England and Wales, a lower ‘young-adult’ population, a larger ‘middle- aged’ population aged 45-64 and an older population group below the national average.

In January 2018 the Schools Census indicated that there were 36,277 pupils on roll at 98 academies and Local Authority (LA) maintained schools in Calderdale. These break down to 84 primary, 12 secondary and two all through schools and academies.

c. Disability An increase of 9.5% has been seen in the number of households in the district, this has risen to 88,600. This is a larger rise than that for England and Wales (7.9%) and West Yorkshire (8.0%).

26.3% of households have one person in the household with a long term problem or disability, 4.5% of which have dependent children.

Calderdale Disabled Children’s Census figures reveal that around 1,500 (3%) of resident children have their day to day activities limited by a long-term health condition or disability. Around 2,900 children in Calderdale have a disability (Midyear sub national population estimates 2015).

Government figures suggest that around 2,700 (7.3%) of school pupils in Calderdale are identified as having specific, moderate, severe, profound or multiple learning difficulties. This is significantly higher than Yorkshire and the Humber (5.0%), and England (5.0%) averages.

6,225 children are identified as having some form of disability or additional need, including SEN support in school, Statements of SEN and Education health and care (EHC) plans.

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In Calderdale there are approximately 20,000 carers - about 10% of the population (Calderdale All Age Disability Strategy)

d. Sex The population breakdown between females and males shows there were 104,200 females and 99,600 males resident in Calderdale on Census day, 27 March 2011. The major difference in numbers comes in the older age-groups, and the key determinant is the higher life expectancy of women.

The male population of Calderdale has increased by 7.1%, compared with an increase of 4.8% for the female population.

e. Marriage and Civil Partnerships The 2011 Census found that there were 491 people in a registered same-sex civil partnerships across Calderdale (0.3% of the population).

Since 5th December 2005 we have held 272 civil partnership ceremonies in Calderdale of which six took place over the period Jan 2018 – December 2018. 140 same sex marriage ceremonies have also taken place since 13th March 2014, when legislation came into effect, with 24 same sex ceremonies (out of a total 691) taking place during Jan 2018 – December 2018.

f. Pregnancy and Maternity The fertility rate in Calderdale continues to be among the highest among all areas of Yorkshire and Humber.

g. Race The white population has fallen slightly from 93% in 2001 to 89.7% in 2011. Individuals of mixed heritage have increased from 0.8% to 1.3%, individuals of Asian/British Asian heritage increased from 5.8% to 8.3%, individuals of Black/Black British heritage from 0.1% to 0.4% and those of other ethnic backgrounds from 0.2% to 0.3%.

The growth in Calderdale’s population in recent years has, to a substantial degree, been the result of migration into Calderdale from other parts of the UK, in contrast to most of the 1990s, when Calderdale lost population to the rest of the country.

Whilst growth amongst the Pakistani and Indian communities is principally “natural growth”(that is, births minus deaths), that of the White Other grouping is likely to reflect increased international migration, in part from the EU accession states in Central and Eastern Europe.

From Census 2011 statistics obtained from Migration Yorkshire

 Around 15 200 people resident in Calderdale on census day were born outside the UK.  Just over 780 people resident in Calderdale arrived during 2010 and 2011; this equates to 5% of the non-UK born population and is much lower than the average for the Yorkshire and Humber region of 9%  Most non-UK born residents in Calderdale arrived as children or up to the age of 45. 20-24 years was the most common age range on arrival and was selected by a fifth [21%] of current non-UK born residents as their age on arrival 4

 9100 residents arrived over ten years ago, or 60% of non-UK born Calderdale residents – higher than the regional average of 47%  There are more residents in Calderdale who were born in a third country [outside the EU] than were born in the EU [10 800 compared to 4200 respectively], but this difference is not quite as great as the regional average.  Like most areas Asia is dominant among ten world regions of birth followed by the EU but the EU is the most common passport type; this may reflect the fact that many Asian-born residents have British citizenship. Ireland is also a significant passport type, accounting for 0.5% [just over 1000] of all passport-holders in Calderdale.  Pakistan is the most common country of birth for non-UK born residents, far higher than the next countries, Poland and Ireland.  ‘Asian’ is the predominant minority ethnic group – as it was in 2001  The biggest growth in minority ethnic groups since the 2001 census depends on whether you look at absolute numbers or the proportion of the population: o ‘Asian’ rose by the greatest number [4666 individuals: from 10942 in 2001 to 15608 in 2011, but grew by less than half from 5.7% of the population to 7.7%]. o ‘Chinese & Other’ saw the biggest proportional increase [a three-fold increase from 0.3% to 0.9%, but only 1254 more individuals, from 481 to 1735 people].  In 94% of households, all adults have English as a main language – just above the regional average of 93%. Only in 2% of households does nobody have English as a main language.

From statistics obtained from Migration Yorkshire as at June 2018  The non-British population comprises 5% of the Calderdale community, compared to an average of 7% for the Yorkshire and Humber region.  Those who were not born in the UK form 8% of Calderdale’s population - below the 10% average for Yorkshire and Humber as a whole (settling particularly in Park, Warley and Skircoat wards).  Just over 4,800 pupils at school in Calderdale have a first language that is not English. This is equivalent to 17% of primary pupils (slightly below the Yorkshire and Humber average of 18%), and 13% of secondary pupils, (which is on par with the Yorkshire and Humber average).  Only 4 in every 1000 new GP registrations in Calderdale are made by people who previously lived abroad, compared with an average of 10 in every 1000 across Yorkshire and Humber h. Religion or Belief The 2011 Census saw an increase in the following faiths: Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and Sikh, the largest increase was for Muslims which rose by 2% in 2001 to 7.3% in 2011. Similar to the national picture, Muslims continue to form the second largest practising faith in Calderdale. Although Christians remain the largest faith at 56.3%, this number has declined; in 2001 this figure was 69.6%. The percentage of people identifying as Jewish has remained the same for the period 2001 to 2011. Individuals declaring no religion have increased significantly from 16.4% to 28.1%.

i Sexual Orientation

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The LGBT charity Stonewall has suggested nationally the population of Lesbian, Gay or Bisexual (LGB) is between 5% and 7% while others have put it as high as one in 10. If the Stonewall proportion was applied to Calderdale using Census 2011 data this would equate to approximately 12,096 to 14,112 LGBT people in Calderdale.

j. Socio-economic data Calderdale's diverse communities contain contrasts of affluence and poverty. Areas with the highest levels of multiple deprivation are within the Halifax wards of Park, Ovenden, Illingworth & Mixenden and Town. Significant pockets of deprivation are also found in other wards. For those affected, particularly outside Halifax, difficulties with transport and access compound other aspects of social exclusion.

3. Compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty

3.1 Due Regard

Calderdale Council is firmly committed to the principle of equality of opportunity. We are committed to delivering services that meet the needs of all our diverse communities and ensuring fair and equal access for all. We ensure we pay due regard to the public sector equality duty when making decisions about overarching policies, budget and general decisions which affect staff and customers.

Examples of where we have given due regard and advanced equality of opportunity resulting in service improvements include:

 Supported living Through the development of a supported living approved provider list, commissioners have established a means of supporting people with a learning disability or mental health need to have a meaningful choice in who provides their care and support. This support has included developing accessible information on providers and designing an event that is sensitive to the family’s needs.

In developing this process the service has learnt that visits to existing provision are highly beneficial in supporting people and their families to make a decision about their support. The service adapted the process of meetings with providers from formal presentations to short individual family meetings with each short listed provider in response to feedback that families would like to ask individual questions relevant to their own needs and circumstances rather than attend a generic presentation from a provider.

 Bespoke Healthy Eating and weight management sessions Following participation in a range of sport and leisure related sessions, a 12 week programme of Bespoke Healthy Eating and Weight Management sessions, delivered by Sports Services ‘Better Living Team’ targeting deaf and hearing impaired people across the authority, commenced in September 2018.

The aims of the sessions were to motivate participants to make healthy changes with regards to healthy choices of food and learning to read food

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labels. A number of guest speakers also presented information in a variety of ways. The course supported people to lose weight as well as improve knowledge about healthy eating and the importance of being active.

The sessions were very well received and following feedback from the group, a programme of adapted mainstream sports continued to take place during November and December at North Bridge Leisure Centre to encourage continued participation in their chosen sports.

. Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Pathway support The Council and partners have developed an ASD information pack which includes advice, signposting and information for families of children and young people who are on the pathway for diagnosis. This pack has been co- developed with families and partners and is sent to all families on the pathway and is being made available electronically on the Local Offer.

 Children & Young People’s Services Calderdale Council delivers a varied programme of disability sports for young people of all abilities aged 6 to 25. The funding for this service is normally agreed annually, but with support from the Council’s Children and Young People’s Service through its ‘Short Breaks’ scheme, the Sports Service is now able to develop the programme over the next three years. A wide reaching programme of disability sports is now being put in place with new and additional sessions at sites across the borough. One such session is an inclusive lunchtime swim at Sowerby Bridge Pool. The Pool Pals sessions are available for all, but priority booking is given to families with disabled children. During the session the pool is made ADHD friendly, with changes in the lighting and the pool area quietened. The funding has also allowed for extra fun swim sessions for children with additional needs at Brighouse Pool. The popular Sportzone sessions at North Bridge Leisure Centre in Halifax have been developed, and now offer a wide range of ‘new’ disability specific and adapted mainstream sport and leisure activities. The weekly programme is split into two 90 minute sessions accommodating children and young people with varying abilities. An additional trampolining session has also been added on Saturday lunchtimes. The XS holiday sessions at North Bridge are now fully inclusive and there are extra inclusive sessions at Todmorden Sports Centre.

Further examples of where we have given due regard and advanced equality of opportunity resulting in service improvements is evidenced in Appendix 1 to this report.

3.2 Equality monitoring

We recognise the importance of the equality monitoring of our services, functions and employment practices. We continue to develop our mechanisms for improving the way we carry out equality monitoring.

The data we collect (a few examples given below) is used to inform learning and understanding of the impact of our services, functions and policies on our communities and is also used to inform equality impact assessments and business planning and improvement.

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a. Schools Data

Analysis of the schools data collected in January 2018 (including special schools) shows that the Calderdale school population is becoming more diverse:

 76.9% of primary and secondary school pupils were from a white background and 23.0% from a minority ethnic background (77.7% and 21.9% in Jan 2017).

 English was an additional language for 15.0% of pupils in Calderdale; 13.0% secondary and 16.5% primary school level (13.6% and 16.8% in Jan 2017).

 11.6% (14.5% in Jan 2017) of pupils had special educational needs (SEN) support; 10.7% in secondary schools, and 12.3% in the primary phase (15.1% and 14.2% in Jan 2017).

 The total percentage of pupils eligible for school meals slightly increased to 14.2% (compared to 13.5% in 2017). The figure for pupils eligible for school meals was slightly higher in primary school 15.6% to 12.2% in secondary. (14.4% in primary to 12.3% in secondary 2017)

 In the key measure of average Attainment 8 score per pupil (a student’s attainment across 8 subjects); both boys and girls in Calderdale perform better than their national counterparts. Girls continue to perform better than boys locally, 52.1 to 46.3 (50.4 and 46.2 in 2017). The gap of 5.8 points between the genders (4.2 in 2017) is marginally more than the national gap of 5.5 points (5.3 in Jan 2017).

 Pakistani pupils significantly underperform White British counterparts in the Attainment 8 measure (47.4 points to 49.6 points in 2018 compared to the 2017 results of 47.0 points and 48.4 points). The gap of 2.2 points in 2018 is larger than the national gap of 0.2 points between the ethnic groups, though it should be noted that both groups in Calderdale perform better than counterpart groups nationally.

 Progress 8 scores (a student's progress between Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 4 across eight key subjects) for boys in Calderdale (-0.21) are higher than national as are girls (+0.33) (-0.17 and 0.23 in 2017). The gender gap of 0.54 points (0.4 in 2017) in Calderdale is marginally wider than the 0.47 points national gap (0.42 in 2017). A school's Progress 8 score is calculated as the average of its pupils' and gives an indication of whether, as a group, pupils in the school made above or below average progress compared to similar pupils in other schools.

 In terms of the Progress 8 measure, Pakistani pupils (0.37) in Calderdale made more progress than White British (-0.02) pupils from Key Stage 2. The gap of 0.39 points is slightly wider than the national gap of 0.36 points and both ethnic groups have performed better than national counterparts.

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b. Anti-social behaviour (ASB)

ASB is a broad term used to describe the day-to-day incidents of crime, nuisance and disorder that make many people’s lives a misery – from vandalism, to public drunkenness or aggressive dogs and noisy or abusive neighbours.

In the period 31st October 2017 to 1st November 2018 the Anti-Social Behaviour Team assessed 7850 ASB calls, a significant decrease of 275 compared to 2017.

98 cases, a decrease of 132 from 2017, were referred for extra checks re possible vulnerable victims. Four cases were identified as highly vulnerable around ASB.

c. Supporting Vulnerable Groups – Post 16

Calderdale careers advisers use risk of NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) indicators in each school to predict young people who are more likely to become NEET in the future. This enables support to be put in at an early stage for the young people in order to reduce the number who might otherwise become NEET or ‘not known’. Calderdale is in the top or second quintile for these figures nationally.

The DfE scorecard, which will again focus on young people aged 16 and 17 at the start of the academic year (so not including those aged 18), has not yet been published for the current year 2017 / 18. Its key measure will continue to be an amalgamation of the NEET and ‘not known’ figures. C&K Careers has calculated the most current position for each indicator (taken from differing reporting periods) in the following table:

Rank Quintile Calderdale Yorks & England Humber NEET and Not 19 Second 3.9% 5.7% 6.0% Known (3 month averages- Dec, Jan, Feb 2017/18) Participation (Mar 30 First 93.7% 92.6% 92.1% 2018) Participation in full 29 Not reported 92.6% 91.4% 91.2% time education & by DfE apprenticeships (informally (Mar 2017) identified as First)

Calderdale (based on the internal calculations) continues to perform better than both the Yorkshire and Humberside and England (involving 152 authorities) averages in each measure. A key success has been reengagement of NEET to EET, which is reflective of the continued positive tracking and support of NEET young people. Disappointingly, the DfE has decided not to calculate this measure any longer.

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3.3 Performance Management and Scrutiny

As part of the statutory requirements of the Equality Act 2010, the Council reviewed its equality objectives in 2016/17. Following public consultation, the Council agreed to focus on the following equality objectives over the next four years:

1. The Council’s work environment and services are accessible and capable of responding to the different and changing needs of our communities 2. Vulnerable communities and individuals are supported to achieve and develop safe, healthy and resilient communities 3. Economic inequalities are addressed with partners to tackle low pay and support inclusive growth 4. The Councils workforce is committed to equality and is reflective of the diverse communities it serves 5. Equality is promoted in partnerships, procurement and when commissioning our services 6. The heritage and diversity of Calderdale is celebrated and good relations are fostered between people of different backgrounds

Progress against the six equality objectives can be found at Appendix 1.

It is important to note that these are corporate objectives and they do not reflectall the equality work/ good practise being carried out by the Council. Progress on the equality objectives will be reviewed on an annual basis by members of the Council’s Corporate Equality Group and Council Cabinet and published on the Council’s web site in the form of an annual report.

The Corporate Equality Group meets quarterly to communicate with identified lead officers in Directorates and enable a consistent approach to equality across the Council.

One of the main ways in which we are mainstreaming equality into day-to-day activity is by using the Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) process to help determine where our business has a relevance to equality. With that information we are building equality into our business processes supported by an on-line internal Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) register which continues to be updated as Council policies and practises are developed and reviewed. The register enables Managers to better plan and monitor completion of actions identified in initial EIA’s.

3.4 Compliments and customer perceptions of equality and diversity

During April 2017 to 31st March 2018 the Council’s Complaints feedback system logged the following ethnicity of complainants.

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ETHNICITY Total

White 0

White British 11

Pakistani 8

Other ethnic groups 1

Not stated 6

Other 0

Note the number of complaints is generally higher than the return of monitoring information as many people choose not to provide this information. As is clearly evident the majority of complainants were white. In terms of gender breakdown males raised 31% of complaints and females 46% of overall complaints received, 23% did not state a category. From the data returned 19% of complainants had a disability, a slight decrease from last year which was 20%. The majority of complaints were in the 35-54 age group compared to last year where they were in the age bracket 65+.

4. Workforce

Part of the equality duty on Calderdale Council as a public authority is to publish information that demonstrates we are meeting our responsibilities as an employer. A workforce analysis will be published as a separate document alongside this document. 5. Conclusion

Equality and fairness underpin the work, vision and ethos of the Council at all levels. In Calderdale we believe ‘Everyone different, everyone matters’. This report provides specific examples of good practice. It also reflects activity undertaken by services and the many partnerships that the Council supports and/or leads.

Despite the continuing challenging financial circumstances that the public sector is operating in during these times of austerity, the Council has still been able to make real progress in supporting the Council’s six agreed corporate equality objectives.

As we continue to restructure and define new working arrangements, policies and practices we will continue to build on what we have already achieved and strive to achieve fairness in all of our services, in our activities and our employment practices.

For further Information contact: The Cohesion and Equality Team; 2nd Floor, Westgate House, HALIFAX, HX1 1PS. Tel: 01422 392467/392866. 11

Appendix 1

Progress against Calderdale Council’s Corporate Equality Objectives (period January 2018 to December 2018)

(Note: this is not an exhaustive list of actions) Objective Progress in 2018

1. The Council’s work Domestic Abuse Partnership Work environment and Halifax Central Initiative and the Women’s Centre have worked together to establish a drop in service for services are women who suffer from Domestic Violence. The purpose for developing the drop in was to increase the accessible and reach out to local women, including those from BME communities, who would not or were not able to capable of responding attend the Women’s Centre located in the Town Centre. Bi Lingual staff are available to support the to the different and session and confidentiality is assured at every meeting. These sessions are tailored to individuals and changing needs of our their needs. communities Adult Social Care – Business and Relationships Why we feel this is a Following the delivery of a pilot programme in 2017, the chair based exercise programme for care home priority residents, targeting older people with a physical disability and people with a learning disability, has now We know that some been formalised. Feedback, including a video involving the residents, reinforced the message that the groups and communities exercise programme was valued by both residents and care home staff. The benefits were very clear are under-represented resulting in a notable improvement in the resident’s wellbeing and mobility. Further sessions will rolled as users of our services. out to other care homes across the borough and training for staff within the homes will be delivered to Providing fair and easy encourage programme development. Currently, three homes have given commitment to release staff to access to Council attend the exercise programme training and also deliver the programme in their respective homes. services is an important Training was due to commence in November, with a start date of early January for programme delivery part of meeting our in the care home settings. duties under the Equality Act 2010. As an Healthy Early Years’ Support (HEYS) employer we also want Calderdale Council’s Public Health Team has a Service Level Agreement (SLA) in place with the Family to design out Intervention Team (FIT) to provide support to vulnerable families during pregnancy and with children inaccessibility in our aged 0 – 5 years. The Healthy Early Years Support (HEYS) as an early intervention and prevention 12

Objective Progress in 2018

built environment. service works with vulnerable families with children aged 0-5 years, (families with their first child, either during pregnancy or in the child’s first year), who have been identified as requiring support at Tier 3/level 3 or below on the Continuum of Need. The overall focus of the service is on improving public health outcomes and reducing inequalities. The service supports families through:

an emphasis on practical and emotional support focusing on an holistic approach to health improvement for the child and adults in the family advocacy work – helping families to access specialist services and referring families to services, working with other agencies directing and guiding families into accessing universal services

Dementia Friendly Communities Week 30 Sep- 7 Oct 2018 A whole host of informative and creative sessions and information sessions aimed at people living with dementia, their carers (both family and professional), community groups and professionals who support them took place during this week.

Addressing the lack of suitable and accessible accommodation for the ageing population Working with Home Group, the Council has continued to provide a cross-directorate approach to ensuring the right type of accessible and suitable accommodation is available for the growing ageing population in Calderdale. Housing and Adults & Children’s Service are working closely together to bring forward the 5th and 6th extra care schemes in the borough: The 5th scheme (located at Bramston Street, Rastrick) will provide 65 apartments for adults with care and support needs. The environment will be designed to support adults with dementia and their carers to remain independent for as long as possible. The plans will also include some shared ownership apartments which will allow people to part own an apartment, potentially freeing up equity in their existing family sized home. The scheme is due to complete Spring/ Summer 2020 now. The development is underway and a number of sub-groups have formed to support the scheme implementation. This includes a design sub-group which will involve engaging with people with dementia and their carers about how best the scheme environment can be fit out. The 6th extra care scheme is part of a wider regeneration objective for North Halifax. A tender exercise is currently underway to identify a partner to work with the Council to deliver an extra care scheme and Page 13

Objective Progress in 2018

general needs affordable housing at Furness Avenue, Illingworth. Unlike traditional schemes which have age restrictions this scheme will be ‘ageless’ with the aim of supporting adults of any age who will benefit from this type of accommodation and support. Officers are carrying out an exercise to identify a suitable location for a 7th extra care scheme. All of the planned schemes are located within existing communities, ensuring that people continue to feel part of and connected to the community

Healthy Early Years Financial Resilience Calderdale Council’s Public Health Team is working in partnership with the Public Health Early Years’ Service (PHEYS) and third sector organisations to look at financial resilience and pathways into services for parents/carers during pregnancy and with children aged 0 – 5 years. This will include a universal approach to discussing money worries with all parents/carers of children aged 0-5 years and an agreement on a clear pathway and referral process into debt and financial support services.

The Inclusive Economy Strategy The Inclusive Economy Strategy aims to develop a growing economy which is reducing inequality and building a financially and environmentally sustainable future for Calderdale. Key areas of focus include unlocking the power of business, improving access to good work, harnessing the power of anchor institutions’ spending and HR practices, focusing on young people and lifelong learning, developing economy within places, and using intelligences and resources wisely.

As part of this development Calderdale has been successful in securing approximately £1million to deliver work on social value, engagement and employability in Park and parts of Warley wards through working closely with anchor institutions. A wide range of activity will be undertaken including reviewing anchor recruitment methods, local mentoring and role modelling schemes, an enterprise fund, co- designing pathways into employment, paid placements, partnership work with employers and education organisations, mapping VCS provision, analysing the anchor spend within these places and improving local expenditure. This will provide a vehicle for culture change and testing out some of the core concepts of the Inclusive Economy Strategy. The project will work with around 20% of the approximately 2969 unemployed within the area and is expected to support 297 unemployed people into work or self- employment and 100 inactive people moving into job search, amongst other targets. Page 14

Objective Progress in 2018

Creating accessible premises that support inclusion and are easy to use by all. The highways service tries to ensure that access to the highway (and to places that they connect) is freely available to everyone but recognises that due to the topography of Calderdale that this can on occasions be limited, particularly for wheelchair users and those with mobility issues. Supported by designs that are in accordance with relevant technical advice, measures have been put in place to address this wherever possible; this includes dropped crossings, tactile paving, rotating cones etc.

Public Health Early Years – Men as parents The Public Health Stakeholders Network Meeting Group, consisting of representatives from a range of organisations and services that support families with children in the early years, children aged 0 – 5 years, began a project focusing on Men as Parents. The focus of the project was agreed from reviewing the six high impact areas within the Public Health Early Years’ Service specification. Transition to Parenthood was selected as the topic area. Each stakeholder completed an assets mapping exercise and from this the group identified ‘men’ as a gap in the parenthood provision. A consultation for the PHEYS specification was undertaken in March 2016 with parents/carers of children aged 0-5 years. The response rate was 45% of males to the questionnaire. The aim of the project is to run a 2 week campaign during June 2019 to promote the importance of men as parents across Calderdale and focusing on engagement work with men, in order to gain insight for developing services in the early years.

Calderdale Register Office Calderdale Registration Service continues to support the Community Registrars service, to enable funerals to go ahead in a timely fashion outside of office hours to meet the religious needs of the communities it serves. Four volunteers, recruited from the Calderdale Council of Mosques, are trained to issue the paperwork needed. The volunteers man the out of hour’s phone on a rota basis, between 10.00am and 6.00pm on Sundays and Bank Holidays, and have assisted in supporting several families to arrange burials in accordance with their religious beliefs. The service continues to be received positively by the community enhancing the reputation of Calderdale Council.

Public Health Early Years’ Service (PHEYS) –Getting Ready for Baby session The Public Health Early Years’ Service (PHEYS) in partnership with Calderdale and Huddersfield Page 15

Objective Progress in 2018

Foundation Trust Midwifery Services and Children’s Centres delivers a series of four ‘Getting Ready for Baby’ sessions to expectant parents/carers in the Calderdale area. Following feedback from parents/carers on the timings of the session, the service now provides evening sessions from 6pm – 8pm.

LGBTQ+ Adult Mental Health & Wellbeing Survey Recent reports suggest that poor mental health and both self-harm and suicidal attempts are pervasive in the UK LGBT community. The local needs assessment work will aim to better understand mental health needs of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community in Calderdale and therefore any unmet need. Part of this work is to capture information from LGBTQ+ people in Calderdale on their mental health and wellbeing. To capture views from those who are involved in existing LGBTQ+ groups and individuals who are not, a online survey was launched 11th August. The aim to collate as many responses as possible, promotion was undertaken through social media, electronic newsletters, through partners and displaying posters in public places. Overall the response rate was low but none the less, rich information has come from an equal spread from the adult age range and geographical location.

Short Breaks Provision A small Short Breaks Grant has helped Linden Brook provide a sensory deck in the garden. This allows children and young people to have a choice of being able to access sensory activities outside.

SEND (Special educational needs & disabilities) Partnership working with Children & Young Peoples Service has resulted in Sports Services introducing a fun swim which will be a family friendly pool session. Restrictions are in place on admission to ensure a calmer environment, for an inclusive swimming session, suitable for all regardless of ability or disability. In this session we advise:

Fast track entry (those pre booked can bypass the reception queue) Television in the Vending / spectator area will be turned off Hand Dryers in family changing area will be turned off There will be no background music played in the pool area or changing rooms Page 16

Objective Progress in 2018

The PA system will be used for announcements only if absolutely necessary We’ll close the blinds to the street and the shutters to the main pool for additional privacy.

Young Leaders Calderdale Council supported the delivery of a Young Leaders course during the summer of 2018. Young Leaders is a residential ‘introduction to leadership’ course for young people aged 15-17 years old with a learning disability, autism, or both. The course was delivered in partnership with Lead the Way and Inclusion North, both receive funding through local authority commissioning. The course supported young people to develop their skills and confidence. They also learnt about their rights and about leading and working with others. This was done through a range of group learning and leadership activities and took place at Bradley Wood Scout camp. The course included 4 overnight stays to encourage close working and partnership between the learners and course facilitators. The Young Leaders worked with co-learners who also learnt a great deal from the course. The course helped to improve the young leaders’ connections within their community and Calderdale, opening opportunities and new friendships and networks for them. A celebration event was held in September 2018 to showcase the achievements of the Young Leaders and it is hoped that the young people will go on to take leading roles in planning future developments in Calderdale and act as role models for other young people

Increasing the diversity of the Library Stock The Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) circulating library collection of feature film/ documentary DVDs for loan has been revised and based this year at the new Central Library & Archives, with 22 loans resulting.

Calderdale Adult Learning (CAL) Calderdale Adult Learning is committed to providing inspiring learning and progression opportunities to a diverse range of local groups with a particular focus on those who experience personal, economic and social barriers to learning. CAL creates warm and welcoming learning environments in which the lives of individuals and communities are transformed by outstanding learning opportunities and collaborative work with external partners. Courses are delivered onsite and at community venues throughout Calderdale such as libraries at Todmorden and Brighouse, the Orange Box in Halifax, numerous primary schools and community centres in areas of economic deprivation. Page 17

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For example, in 2017-18, accredited maths classes were delivered to a group of disadvantaged young adults in Mixenden. Content was delivered in the context of their interests and in consequence, retention and achievement rates were 100%. Learners progressed to higher level maths and English courses and for most, it was the first time they had achieved a qualification. They were full of praise for their teacher and her classes. Comments included

'I always hated maths at school but now I feel much happier about managing money and estimating how much things cost', 'the teacher made maths fun - I really look forward to classes' and 'I wish she'd been my teacher at school.'

CAL is continuing to deliver classes at Mixenden in 2018/19.

2. Vulnerable Young People’s Emotional Health and Wellbeing Celebration Event communities and On the 22nd March 2018, over 120 children, young people, parents and professionals came together at individuals are Halifax Town Hall to celebrate the excellent work that is happening in Calderdale to support children supported to achieve and young people’s emotional health and wellbeing. The young people’s Tough Times Reference Group and develop safe, and some Youth Council members successfully led, planned and facilitated an interesting and exciting healthy and resilient evening event. The Tough Times Reference Group has been working as a group for 2 years with 9 communities members aged between 14 and 16 years. The group meets up once a month working to a clear work plan on issues around emotional health and wellbeing. Recently the group worked on a project called Why we feel this is a ‘top tips for parents’ and worked alongside an illustrator creating sets of postcards which advise parents priority on how to deal with their child who is going through a tough time.. The group talks about young people’s Many older, vulnerable struggles or disadvantaged people can have lower Quote from a young person levels of health and wellbeing, some as a “It was a very good experience and I have learnt a lot. It has really helped me” consequence of loneliness and isolation. Quote from a parent/carer Vulnerable communities “What a well-informed, attended event I met some lovely professionals and volunteers and and individuals are more service users. The youngsters were polite and informative; the service stands had great Page 18

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likely to experience hate visuals and information. I saw confidence grow in a child who lives with us by helping at this crime and antisocial event and actually the best bit for me was the young people talking about the struggles, the behaviour – investment presentations and letting them have their voice... The last best thing for me was seeing in early intervention is services networking” key. Quote from a professional “Fantastic! The young people were truly amazing. I feel really privileged meeting such awesome young people”

End of Life Care and Launch of the Faith Card Three years ago in response to research showing a low uptake of specialist palliative care services amongst the South Asian community in acute hospital, hospice and community healthcare settings, a local working party (Horizon) was established to engage with the Muslim community in West Halifax supported by the Council’s Cohesion & Equality Team and Calderdale Council of Mosques. Overgate Hospice, CHFT, Calderdale Council and Calderdale Council of Mosques in partnership were shortlisted as one of the finalists for an Accolades award. The Accolades recognise contributions to adult social care work and recognise the commitment and investment made by organisations that support and develop people who lead, manage and work to deliver high quality, person-centred care and support. The award recognises effective approaches to integrated, collaborative, partnerships which bring together workers from different settings to coordinate and/or deliver services focused on the individual. The partnership nomination is due to initial work with the South Asian community which was to highlight what constitutes good end of life care, explain the concept of palliation and share reflection on ethical and religious considerations. The Accolades are the Oscars of the adult social care sector.

During October representatives from the various agencies were invited to attend seminars at Bradford, London and Bristol to share their learning with health professionals. A film has been produced recently to share with managers and leaders in social care settings. The accompanying learning resource will help to facilitate conversations and reflections of practice after watching the films.

Craft activities with Deaf people During the month of June The Sign Language service with Happy Days Cycle café organised a craft Page 19

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Painting Pebbles session for Deaf People during Ramadan. The aim of the event was to provide a creative and inclusive way for deaf Asian women to come together to access deaf arts. Further sessions for the wider community were also published on the Happy Days Facebook page. In August a Sensory Dough play for young children with special needs was also organised. As well as the above the Happy days Deaf and Hearing friends are meeting socially again. The first event took place on Thursday 28th June at Sowerby Bridge Happy Days Cycle Café and provided the deaf community an opportunity to socialise and meet with others over coffee and cake.

Busy Babies deaf sessions Busy Babies deaf sessions were organised and delivered by the Sign Language Team and run every fortnight in Halifax Central at various locations. The aims of the sessions were to reduce social isolation for deaf parents but also to welcome hearing parents and their deaf babies. The sessions were open to anyone who has basic sign skills and want to learn the language with their hearing children to improve communication.

Mental Health Conference As part of World Mental Health Day, the Cohesion and Equality Team worked in partnership with Healthy Minds to facilitate a Mental Health Conference targeting women in communities that are harder to reach by mainstream services. Supported by Calderdale Council of Mosques at the Madni Mosque in Halifax, practitioners presented on what services were available to individuals and families touched by mental health issues. To encourage uptake a number of service users shared their experience on how mental health impacted on their well-being and how this affected their life. With the audience in mind professionals were supported by an Islamic teacher who spoke on an Islamic perspective on what could be seen as a sensitive and often closed subject for some of the participants. The event opened up dialogue for individuals to talk on the subject of mental health in a safe and secure way. The conference attracted over 100 women from the local community with feedback being positive and a request for similar events in the future. Further partnership work will continue to be developed, including a focus on men and wider communities, to raise awareness and signpost people to relevant services.

5 Day Offer and Summer School In 2016 Calderdale established the 5 Day Offer for young people with SEND. This included establishing Page 20

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a Post 18 development worker to work with young people to look at local social, employment, volunteering and leisure opportunities. The project worker tailors support to meet the needs of individuals and connects them to appropriate opportunities. This support has been enhanced by the extended offer at Calderdale Adult Learning to enable people to meet their educational outcomes in an additional venue in Calderdale. The 5 day offer has connected people to a wide range of opportunities and has supported the reduction in demand for expensive out of authority college placements. The Post 18 Development Officer has worked with over 80 young people and families to date.

The 2018 summer school builds on the above approach and offers a wide range of opportunities to young people with SEND- a particular outcome is the reduction is social isolation. It is essential that young people maintain contacts and friendships during the summer period to maintain their confidence, social inclusion and friendship networks.

Calderdale British Sign Language Service Young people and adults with a hearing loss can become isolated if they do not have the opportunity to access or participate in appropriate leisure programmes within the community. To increase wider access to services, a programme of leisure and sport related sessions (appropriate for the varying ages and abilities of those participation) has taken place at various venues throughout the last year. Monthly sessions have included; gym inductions, short Led walks, running/jogging sessions, zumba/keep fit classes, health awareness and weight management classes. Approximately 200 people have been involved in activities identified.

QRNC weight management course Ladies only weight management sessions have continued to be held at Queens Road Neighbourhood Centre, Halifax on a twice weekly basis. The sessions have lasted for up to 12 weeks at a time and given participants the opportunity to discuss weight management topics such as portion sizes, food labelling and other weight related issues in a safe single sex environment. A bi-lingual instructor has delivered the sessions in both English and Punjabi to reflect the participant’s language needs.

Halifax Opportunities Trust (HOTS) The Better Living Team has been working in partnership with the Halifax Opportunities Trust (HOTS) to Page 21

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deliver male only weight management sessions at the HOTS premises within the Park ward area of Halifax. The sessions run for a fixed number of weeks and are led by a bi-lingual instructor who speaks English and Punjabi. The sessions aim to reflect the needs of the male participants attending. A range of weight management topics have been discussed including tips and advice to help participants to lose weight in a male friendly way.

Calderdale Adult Learning CAL delivers an extensive range of courses to adults with complex learning disabilities. Classes include literacy, numeracy, computers, art, craft, cookery and drama. Resilience, wellbeing and independent living skills are incorporated within all these courses, for example, cookery classes emphasise the importance of safe use of utensils, food hygiene and eating healthily. Learners on a Healthy Eating course set goals for themselves such as 'eating fruit instead of chocolate', 'swapping fizzy drinks for low sugar juice and soda' or 'eating low-sugar cereals instead of Frosties.' In computer classes, learners are taught the basics of cyber-safety and how to use social media responsibly and safely.

In July and August 2018, CAL delivered a six-week summer school for people with learning disabilities. The purpose of this was to provide continuity through a range of creative arts projects including a 3D cityscape which featured local, national and international landmark buildings - everything from Piece Hall, The Angel of the North and the Shard to the Eiffel Tower. Learners were delighted to participate in such an inspiring project which was exhibited at CAL's Open Day in September.

Carers and parents commented on how much they appreciated seeing the learners so inspired and engaged by summer school activities. As one said,

“he is often lonely and bored during the long summer break and it was wonderful to see his enthusiasm and energy as well as the excellent quality of the work he produced in collaboration with the learners and the dedicated staff at CAL”

Community Summer Football League The Summer Football League has been running as part of an initiative for the last few years to offer a Page 22

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safe place for young people aged nine years and over to come together and get involved in a local football league. During the summer holiday Halifax Central Initiative, in partnership with Calderdale College and support from Himmat and Metaldyne (a local business), ran a series of football sessions for the local community. The final tournament took place in August 2018 and was attended and supported by Metaldyne, local councillors, parents and Calderdale’s Mayor/Mayoress. Winners. Runners up were presented with trophies and medals. The event was a huge success with over 150 young people for various backgrounds and cultures participating.

Calderdale Brain in Hand Calderdale Council’s Commissioning Team has been working in partnership with the NHS Child and Mental Health Services (CAMHS) Team, Calderdale College, Crossley Heath Grammar School and Ravenscliffe School in piloting the Brain in Hand App. Following a delay in the roll out of the first year pilot due to some partners staffing issue the 1 year pilot has been extended by s further 12 months with Crossley Health Grammar School being included as part of the extended trial. The Brain in Hand support system assists people with anxiety/confidence.

Some of the feedback from the students who partook in the first year of the Calderdale pilot includes:

“Before Brain in Hand, I struggled with my worries, now with Brain in Hand I feel that I can talk to staff more”. “I have learned to be the bigger man and walk away when other kids start on me” “Brain in Hand has helped be to not be worried all the time” “Brain in Hand has helped remind me about stuff like with my anxiety like health problems and changes I wasn’t expecting” “Controlling my anger and emotions when something does not go to plan, such as if the bus is late or doesn’t turn up, or if things have changed at the last minute.” “Brain in Hand helps me when I lose my temper and I need to use it for my anger” “I feel more ready to talk about my problems” “ I have now got the confidence to talk about what is worrying me”

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Modern Day Slavery (MDS) staff training Section 52 of the Modern Day Slavery Act 2015 imposes a duty on public authorities to notify the Home Office about suspected victims of MDS. In 2016/2017 Calderdale Council commissioned training from the charity Hope for Justice to deliver frontline briefings on Modern Day Slavery. The aim of the training was to teach frontline staff- What human trafficking is and the different types that exist; how to recognise the signs/indicators of trafficking; and how to respond appropriately to a victim and a case of human trafficking should they come across one. In 2018 dedicated training sessions for frontline teams including West Yorkshire fire crews, SureStart Children centres and St Augustine’s Refugee and Asylum seeker centre were funded. Nearly 200 staff will be trained through this.

Todmorden Library Todmorden Library has continued to support the Todmorden ‘Over the Rainbow’ Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) group, by providing a room for their monthly meetings in a safe and welcoming environment. In addition to this, Todmorden Library has also put together displays to mark LGBT Month and Idaho Day

Disability Sports Development Programme The programmes below continue to run as part of the overall disability sports development programme. Initially the 3 programmes were delivered over a set period to monitor take up and feedback. All 3 sessions proved very popular and have now been sustained through the commissioned partnership agreement with Children young People Service and the ‘Calderdale Short Breaks referenced in objective 6 later in the report.

i. Greetland Goldstars – Disability Football programme Weekly football coaching sessions have been held at Shaw Lodge Mill 3gi pitch, delivered by qualified football coaches from Greetland Goldstars FC. Following initial support through the Short Breaks programme which resulted in an increase in numbers, the club now have two established junior sections. Qualified coaches from the club provide coaching and participation opportunities for young people aged 7 – 12 years and 12 – 19 years. Additional to the provision in place, hearing impaired sessions have taken place and ‘K walker’ sessions commenced in April 2017.The 16+ section of the club, as a result of the weekly coaching sessions compete in up to 8 regional football events which are part of the ‘Ability Page 24

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Counts’ development programme. In total 648 young people have participated in activities.

ii. Inclusive Sport & Dance – Todmorden \Sports Centre Working alongside Calderdale Youth Services, the delivery of a weekly after school and school holiday leisure and dance programme commenced in April 2017 at Todmorden Sports Centre supporting 192 young people. Meeting the required needs of families in the upper valley, the weekly sessions accommodate both mainstream and SEND children and young people in an inclusive and varied programme of activities.

iii. Inclusive Dance – North Bridge Leisure Centre Alternating the delivery of dance sessions with the new programme at Todmorden Sports Centre, dance instructors from ‘Flamingo Chicks’, supported by sports coaches from Sports Services deliver fortnightly dance sessions for SEND children and young people. The programme has enabled 183 children and young people with additional needs to enjoy dance while developing key skills, and providing parents and carers with a network of support.

Health related improvements have been achieved as a result of the above interventions.Participation in both targeted programmes for children & young people and those for adults has highlighted an effective increase in physical and psychological benefits. Programme evaluation concluded that participation in sport & leisure have had a positive impact in the wellbeing and happiness of those participating. A response following participation in a single session was that the persons anxiety had reduced and as a result, confidence and belief in their skills and abilities had ensured continued involvement.

A positive impact from the Disability Football programme has been the achievements of six young adults, who previously participated in the junior section of the coaching sessions. With the support of the club they successfully attended, and completed the Football Association Level 1 & 2 coaching qualifications and are now regularly involved in the coaching and development of younger participants.

Library Service Job Club Since the summer of 2012, the Information Services Department of the Central Library has been running a Job Club unaffiliated to JobCentrePlus. This service benefits anyone out of work and needing support Page 25

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and direction. It is particularly valuable to those without access to a computer and without the full set of skills required for online job-seeking and applications. Individuals are assisted in searching for jobs on well-known job sites, completing online application forms and ensuring job applications are as high quality as possible. We also recognise the requirement for claimants to use the Find a Job site, apply for an acceptable number of jobs and to provide evidence of these applications to ensure that they carry on receiving their benefits.

Although support is given to attach CVs to e-mails and to make small alterations, jobseekers are signposted to the Careers Service for help with substantial alterations to the CVs themselves. There were 370 individual visits to the Central Library Job Club from January to November 2018.

Safeguarding Training for local Women As part of the Council’s commitment to safeguarding and to encourage wider awareness and reporting of Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE), the Cohesion and Equality Team organised and supported internet safety training for members of the community. The training, held on Wednesday 24th October and delivered by Together Against Grooming (TAG) provided local women with the opportunity of gaining an understanding of how CSE takes place and what they can do to protect vulnerable individuals from being exploited. The training covered on-line grooming, keeping children safe while using the internet and how and where to report concerns. The event opened up dialogue for individuals to talk on the subject of safeguarding in a safe and secure way. Over 70 women attended the event and gave positive feedback which included a request for similar events in the future. Further partnership work will continue to be developed, including a focus on men and wider communities, to raise awareness and signpost people to relevant services.

Calderdale Safe Place Scheme The Safe Place Scheme helps people with learning disabilities and vulnerabilities to be in a position to seek support from a number of public places and agencies that will act as ‘safe havens’. In the event of an issue arising, individuals are able to visit any of the local centres displaying a recognised poster and be supported by a member of staff who will offer them a quiet place to stay whilst they make contact with the primary contact listed on their Safe Place card. The Calderdale Safe Place initiative has supported the universal Safe Place logo and promotes the mobile phone APP to enable service users to download Page 26

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where centres are established in the borough. The Cohesion and Equality Team continues to raise awareness of the scheme and provide briefings with the support of individuals that have learning disabilities across different settings. There are plans to increase the number of Safe Place centres in the borough as they have been positively received by both members of the public and service users.

Calderdale Hate Crime Partnership and Third Party Hate Incident Reporting Centres Calderdale Hate Crime Partnership co-ordinated by the Council’s Cohesion & Equality Team works with partners from the public, private and voluntary sector to provide support to victims and take appropriate action against those that perpetrate the crime. Calderdale has over 25 Third Party Hate Incident Reporting Centres supporting the initiative, enhancing the development and coordination of services in partnership to deal with racist, homophobic, disability and faith incidents. During the Hate Crime Awareness Week 2018, the Cohesion and Equality Team attended Calderdale College to talk to students on hate crime reporting and stalls were hosted around the borough raising awareness of hate crime reporting.

3. Economic inequalities Project Search are addressed in Project Search aims to secure full time paid employment with local employers for young people with partnership with other learning disabilities. The young people take part in three internships within the organisation, each organisations continuing to build on the skills learnt. Project Search adopts the supported employment model which argues that how to do the job well within the workplace (as opposed to in a classroom) is the most Why we feel this is a effective way for people with a learning disability to achieve paid work. priority By working in The host business in Calderdale is Calderdale Royal Hospital, the education provider is Calderdale partnership and co- College and HfT is the specialist employment support provider. We entered our second year of Project ordinating and Search from September 2018 and our current cohort of 9 young people are all settled in their first maximising local rotations , the majority of them having their first job development meetings in October. initiatives the Council can make a huge One of our interns recently received a card from a patient thanking her for her care. Feedback received contribution to from the ward also states that it is good to see people with a disability being given an opportunity to be narrowing economic treated like everyone else. A number of last year’s students have already found work following the inequalities which have scheme and we are continuing to support the remaining young people with their applications for jobs Page 27

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a huge impact on life Calderdale Adult learning chances and In 2018, CAL collaborated with the Job Centre in Halifax to design a course to help people develop the opportunities skills and mindset necessary for employment. As well as focusing on interview skills, employer expectations and CV writing, the course also placed emphasis on wellbeing, resilience, confidence- building, teamwork and assertiveness. Retention and success on the course was 100%. Feedback from participants on the course was very positive, comments include:

'My confidence has soared', 'I now know how to make my applications stand out and what sort of questions we'll get at interviews', 'It's been great to get to know and learn from other people' and I feel more motivated and positive about the future.'

All participants had positive progression routes: three have enrolled on a Door Supervision course, six are enrolling on English and maths, and four are taking beginner ICT courses. One is applying to volunteer as a support assistant in computer classes and three have enrolled on a food safety course. All have expressed interest in engaging with the Employ Me workshops to be delivered at CAL throughout 2018/19.

Welfare Support Using Bi-lingual staff, Halifax Central Initiative (HCI) has continued to offer welfare support to residents three times a week from Queens Road Neighbourhood Centre. The team sees a diverse range of people and works across a multitude of agencies both internally and outside the Council signposting residents to other services for example following the roll out of Universal Credit signposting residents to Customer First and PIP claimants to disability partnership specialists.

Citizen Advice Bureau Citizen Advice Bureau (CAB) and Halifax Central Initiative (HCI) continue to run an established drop in for residents in the local and surrounding area. This successful partnership work has continued over the last three years. Residents can be sign posted to this service through various organisations, and in turn the service can sign post residents. Providing this service can reduce waiting times for central CAB offices, offers local residents choice, and builds up trust between residents and services. The service plays a role in bridging the gap to accessing services for residents. Page 28

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Work Club A work club takes place three times a week (Monday and Tuesday mornings and Thursday afternoon) at Queens Road Neighbourhood Centre. The drop in session helps support vulnerable people to carry out various job search activities. Most of the clients who attend have language barriers and no IT skills. Halifax Central Initiative along with Halifax Opportunities Trust provides one to one support, advice and guidance. Up to 20 clients are supported at every Council session which includes registering them on universal job match, building a CV, and registering them with other employment agencies. By providing this support it has enabled vulnerable clients to access different services thereby narrowing the gap and enhancing personal development skills. Clients are referred to Halifax Opportunities Trust and St Augustine’s Centre to gain help towards jobs. The work club carries out job search and offers basic English classes if they are not already attending college.

Starting Line Customer First and the charity SCOPE started some joint working this year. Scope are based in Halifax Customer First every Wednesday and have a scheme running called Starting Line, Calderdale, which offers pre-employment support for disabled people in Calderdale and helps them find employment. The provision has been running for two mornings a week for seven weeks. The group training session has helped and supported disabled people grow in confidence, become assertive and independent, develop their interview skills, find volunteering, training or employment opportunities and has included discussion about disability in the workplace with individuals benefiting from one-to-one support from a specialist employment adviser. An individual who was referred 8 weeks on to the first course, had no confidence, didn’t like being in a group situation and didn’t know if he would ever be capable of working, has with SCOPE’s support just secured their first ever job.

Change Programme Change Is a new 3 year initiative which started on 1st October 2018 in Calderdale and supports individuals furthest from the job market into employability training, 6 months paid internships to progress into permanent employment and eventually into sustainable employment. The Council will be delivering in-depth support and will be connecting with Council departments and external employers who wish to offer work experience, placements and work options. The programme targets are 50 people into internships over the next 3 years. Page 29

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ISCAL The ISCAL service has run since 1968 as part of a local authority consortium and from 1997 as an independent CMBC supported factory manufacturing coasters, drip mats, napkins and other associated paper products for the hospitality industry. ISCAL forms an integral part of the Council’s Business and Skills service and is run as a commercial operation. Moving to new premises in 2017 allows for business expansion. In 2017 the service produced 75 million coaters and in 2018 it was on target to produce in excess of that, 50% of its products are exported. The factory currently has 25 employees with over 70% having a disability or long-term health condition. Since January 2016 ISCAL has partnered with statutory agencies, training providers and the voluntary sector (Calderdale College, Job Centre, Halifax Opportunities Trust and Calderdale Adult Learning) providing work placements and volunteering opportunities to those furthest away from the labour market, delivering vocational and employability skills training. ISCAL receives a grant of £4,800 per annum per employee for maximum of 8 employees via the Government’s Workchoice Grant. The opportunities provided within ISCAL help a broader range of people who have multiple barriers in accessing the world of work, which includes young people, older workers and people with health, learning and or physical disabilities.

Works Better Works Better aims to help local businesses understand the value and opportunities of employing people who have multiple barriers to allow the business to develop a workforce which reflects its local communities. The three year scheme is being delivered across Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield with the programme in each area being managed by the relevant Local Authority. Calderdale is supporting individuals furthest from the job market into employability training, volunteering and eventually into sustainable employment. New Ground is delivering in-depth support and the Council is connecting local employers who wish to offer work experience, placements and work options. The programme started in June 2017 and so far has 164 customers in a programme in Calderdale of which 57 have started work, three of which have sustained 6 months employment so far.

Calderdale Together Housing Investment Partnership (CTHIP) The Calderdale Together Housing Investment Partnership (CTHIP) is a formalised partnership and development programme between Calderdale Council and Together Housing Group (THG). The partnership was formed to collaboratively bring forward between 500-650 new mixed tenure homes Page 30

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across the Borough over the next 5 years through the investment of both the Councils and THGs land holdings. As part of the programme key regeneration activities will take place, including the transformation of Beech Hill, an area on the fringes of Halifax town centre. The new homes will be a mix of affordable rent, shared ownership and outright sale- contributing to the overall unmet housing need in the borough. A number of the homes will be specifically tailored to meet the needs of households on the adaptations waiting list, providing adapted homes for individuals and families who having some form of disability. The first two schemes are on site at Shelf and Bailiff Bridge which will provide a total of 20 new homes for affordable rent and support two families on the adaptations waiting list.

4. The heritage and Communities come together for Iftar dinner at Todmorden Town Hall diversity of Calderdale On the 1st June 2018 over a hundred residents gathered together in Todmorden Town Hall to share an is celebrated and good Iftar dinner together. Iftar is a sunset meal enjoyed by Muslims when breaking their fasts, which they relations are fostered observe daily for thirty days during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The event was organised by between people of Integrate Todmorden, a local community group dedicated to breaking down racial and religious barriers different backgrounds in the North West and Yorkshire and supported by the Councils Cohesion and Equality Team.

Why we feel this is a The event aimed to foster mutual community understanding through discussion, debate and dialogue; priority by inviting people of all faiths and backgrounds to share the Iftar feast and learn more about Islam. It The Calderdale was based on Islamic teachings that encourage mosques to be more than just places of worship; they population profile is should be schools, community centres, homeless shelters and more.Nadeem Mir QPM, Chair of changing and becoming Integrate Todmorden, said: more diverse but many people still have little “There’s so much misunderstanding about the Muslim community these days,that people often miss a knowledge or simple but crucial fact: we’re British too. experience of people from different “Todmorden is a wonderfully diverse community, and it’s all the better for it. Events like this provide a backgrounds. The safe space for people to discuss and learn about different cultures, breaking down stereotypes. Council plays an important role in helping A big focus of the event was on the importance of Community Cohesion and young people, with a local people from different 15-year-old speaking movingly about what it means for him to fast and be a young British Muslim in the backgrounds (age, UK. Page 31

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disability, race, religion, Dance needs no words sexual orientation etc.) Recognising that dance is inclusive and connects the hearing and deaf community, the Indian Dance to get on well together Company was commissioned to work with deaf and hearing women. As part of the project women from different communities came together in unity to share and perform dance routines.

1940/50’s event On Saturday 22nd October 2018 a 1940/50’s event was held at Mytholomroyd Community Centre to raise funds for the Calderdale Deaf Society. The event was open to both hearing and deaf people and included a live band ‘Jump Jive ‘n’ Wail, refreshments and a fancy dress prize.

Calderdale Adult learning CAL classes are often highly diverse. For example, one Level 1 English class is comprised of learners from Indian, Asian, Chinese, Polish, Italian and Romanian as well as British backgrounds. In consequence, classes are contextualised within cultural customs and celebrations to enable people from different backgrounds to share similarities and differences. Another group of learners are researching the social history of Halifax by accessing local archives and museums. As well as looking at the impact of the 19th century industrial revolution on the area, they are also researching the contributions to the cloth and food industries made by Asian immigrants from the 1950s onwards.

Park and Warley Awards The Park and Warley Annual event provides an opportunity for people living or working in the Park and Warley Wards to be recognized and praised for the effort and contribution they make to the local communities they live in or support. The event is an opportunity for people from both communities to come together, share and celebrate the achievement of individuals nominated by local residents/organisations. The event i led by North Halifax Partnership and supported by Halifax Central Initiative positively showcases the diversity and unity that exists within these communities

Breaking down barriers through cooking During 2018 staff from Halifax Central Initiative have continued to work with residents from the Illingworth and Mixenden wards bringing different communities together through food. Cooking sessions held in Park, Illingworth and the Mixenden Ward have proved extremely popular and have helped people Page 32

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come together in a shared activity. Relationships have developed and cultures and personal experiences have been shared and explored.

Jo Cox Celebration Event Halifax Central Initiative and residents from Park Ward played an integral part in supporting a number of Jo Cox events taking place across Calderdale in 2018. This included a well-attended event at the Piece Hall where women from the Park Ward cooked and shared their food with people who attended from across the borough and another event in in Illingworth where women from Park Ward shared traditional food and henna painted hands.

Stepping back in time - Park Heritage Walk The Park Heritage Festival now in its third year promoted the fascinating and abundant history that can be found within the square mile of Park ward. Three walks were held over the summer period with approximately 80 residents from across Calderdale attending. The walks included the history of the Gibbet, the old railway road and the original Mackintosh factory. New to this year was the Halifax Suffragette Walk which included visits to various locations where women who were part of the historic movement 100 years ago lived.

Visit My Mosque Day In February 2018 Calderdale Council in collaboration with Calderdale Council of Mosques supported the ‘Visit My Mosque Day’ at Hopwood Lane Mosque. The open day provided an opportunity for members of the public, local neighbours and the local community to visit the Mosque and learn about the charitable social action work that is carried out by Mosques in Calderdale. The event was a great opportunity for people of other faiths or non to learn about the Muslim faith, the Quran as well as observing the call to prayer, the performance of the prayer and to browse information stalls.

Holocaust Memorial Day 2018 Calderdale Council in partnership with Calderdale Interfaith Council commemorated Holocaust Memorial Day on 29 January 2018 at Crossley Heath Grammar School, Halifax. The theme for 2018 was ‘THE POWER OF WORDS’. Pupils contributed by reading poems and showcased artefacts depicting the Holocaust. The Brahms Lullaby was sung by Rudi Leavor and the prayer for peace was read to close the Page 33

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event.

On the Barge With assistance from Halifax Central Neighbourhood Team a local community group from Sowerby Bridge secured funding from Calderdale Foundation For Calderdale to arrange a cohesion event to show off the valleys in Calderdale with an emphasis on Sowerby Bridge. The funding supported a day trip on two canal barges from Hebden Bridge down through to Sowerby bridge followed by lunch at the newly vamped Sowerby Bridge Cricket Club. Volunteers showed participants how to steer the barges and assist with the locks. Yorkshire Roses and Pakistan flags were worn with pride by all the women on the day and pictures turned into postcards for mementos for everyone to keep.Comment from participants included:

“Wonderful experience never been on a Barge in my life, good company made new friends, relaxing a brand new experience I steered the Barge, helped with the locks”

“Reach out ladies made my day we had drinks while we floated down the canal chatting and laughing”.

“Never seen the Valleys didn’t know it existed but will definitely do another trip with our special group that we renamed the Yorkshire Mixtures”.

The School Linking Programme The Calderdale Schools Linking Programme is a partnership between pairs of Primary Schools in Calderdale exploring the theme of identity and difference through social and creative activities. The programme is offered to Calderdale schools and is managed by Discover Learning with Calderdale Museums with support from Schools Linking Network based in Bradford.

The programme is designed to link a school from a rural background with a school from a more urban background, targeting Key Stage 2 children from different faiths. In 2018-19, 20 classes from 15 different schools are participating in the programme with over 530 children taking part. Page 34

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The programme builds positive relationships through empathy, understanding and shared experience with participating teachers being offered CPD training, resources and support. Children from participating schools are invited to Bankfield Museum for an interactive and creative full day activity followed by visits to the partner schools. Resources and skills are shared and various communication methods explored including email, letters and skype.

Calderdale Council Community Festivals and Events Fund The Council’s Festivals and Events Fund awards up to £5,000 to local voluntary and community groups who want to organise innovative community events in Calderdale. Since January 2018, 28 organisations/projects have benefitted from this support (a total of £62,000). Projects supported include:  Pushing Up the Daisies Festival- surrounding bereavement issues in Todmorden received £2,500  IOU Theatre Ltd received £4,000 for their “Rear View Revealed” traveling open top bus tour around Halifax which featured artists, musicians and theatre  Handmade Parade received £4,200 for their summer parade through Hebden Bridge. The event attracts thousands of spectators and performers and increases the “spend” with local businesses.

Calderdale Council Small Grants Scheme The Council also operates a Small Grants Scheme with awards up to £3,000 for local voluntary and community groups. Since January 2018, 30 organisations have benefitted from this support (a total of £58,000), and have included some of the following projects:  A contribution towards a children’s play area in Stainland  Funding for activities, day trips and cohesion work with refugees and asylum seekers in the upper valley  A grant to cover staff costs of Mothershare who provide basic equipment and clothing for young families in north Halifax  Norland Scarecrow Festival was awarded for this year’s event, which attracted thousands of visitors to this now regular gala  The launch of Dementia Friendly Sowerby Bridge was awarded to cover publicity and entertainment

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Calderdale Interfaith Council (CIC) The Council’s Cohesion & Equality Team continues to support interfaith activity in partnership with Calderdale Interfaith Council. The faith sector play’s an important role in bringing faith establishments together to promote a shared sense of belonging and fostering good community relations. Events supported by the CIC include:  Holocaust Memorial Day 2018 hosted at Crossley Heath Grammar School.  Food Festival at St Paul’s Church, Halifax.  Imams and Clergy meeting hosted at the Madni Mosque, Halifax.  Facilitation of a visit between the Holy Nativity Church, Mixenden and the Ehl-e-Hadith Mosque, Hopwood Lane. A return visit by the Mosque will take place in December.  Annual celebration event hosted at The Halifax Academy open to members of the public.  Annual faith trail visiting Churches and a Mosque in Todmorden.

Members of faith communities supported National Interfaith Week and the Remembrance Service at the Halifax Minster. In relation to the latter a wreath was laid by a representative of the Interfaith Council and a statement was read followed by prayers delivered by Bahai, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh representatives.

Flying the flag for IDAHO Day In May 2018 for the fifth time running Calderdale Council flew the Rainbow Flag in a show of support and to mark International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) in Calderdale. This visible and colourful support of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities emphasised the Council’s commitment to promoting sexual orientation equality.

Imams & Clergy Event The Cohesion & Equality team facilitated the Imams and Clergy meeting on 14th November at Madni Mosque, Halifax. The event provided an opportunity for faith representatives to discuss how faith establishments can work together to promote social cohesion.Imams and clergy shared initiatives that were being supported locally by their faith establishments and agreed to support work to establish closer links between mosques and churches.

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British Citizenship Ceremony Citizenship ceremonies were introduced in January 2004 as a way of welcoming people to a local community and the country as a whole. A ceremony is held every month, presided over by the Superintendent Registrar with speeches from the Council’s Assistant Director of Customer Services and the Deputy Lieutenant for West Yorkshire. After the ceremony there is a photo opportunity and the new citizens enjoy light refreshments. Since January 2018 92 new citizens have been welcomed into to our community.

5. The Councils The Big Inclusion Programme 2018 - Training and learning events workforce is The Workforce Development Team developed a rolling programme of events, training opportunities, committed to equality interventions and national campaigns throughout 2018. The programme was shared with colleagues and and is reflective of the partners through the training network enabling collaboration on events and sharing of good practice. diverse communities it serves The team continues to review and complement its training offer:  The training offer includes two new sessions ‘Unconscious Bias’ and ‘The Diversity of Language’. Why we feel this is a  The mandatory Equality and Diversity training has now moved from e-learning format to ‘face to priority face’ training with take up increasing - it can now be delivered for whole groups/teams. A number of groups are  Migration Yorkshire continues to support an awareness workshop on migration, asylum seeker under-represented and refugee status. The session explores challenges faced by minority groups and enables within the Council's colleagues to consider ways in which they could promote community cohesion and increase workforce when inclusivity in our communities. compared to the  St Augustine’s Centre provides additional Asylum and Migration staff training four times a year. working age population  Learning Disability awareness training explores what Learning Disability is and what it means for of Calderdale, including the individual. It explores how staff can make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to help them offer good disabled people and support to people with Learning Disabilities and looks at barriers and inequalities that prevent minority ethnic social inclusion. The awareness session is co-designed and co-delivered with colleagues from communities. Lead the Way (Cloverleaf Advocacy) with a ‘lived experience’ who share their own personal stories. This training features regularly throughout the year.

Get Ready To Apply During apprentice recruitment drives drop in sessions were offered to support applications from across Page 37

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the borough. Sessions continue to be held in key localities to encourage and support applications from a wide range of communities, including those in Park and Mixenden. During the sessions we talk through role profiles and the application process. We also support applicants to get online, and discuss what to expect should they be successful and get through to the next stage – the assessment centre.

Dignity and Respect at Work In November 2018 during Anti-Bullying Week Calderdale Council’s Contact Officers were are out and about holding drop in sessions across the organisation to promote the support they offer.The aim of the role of Contact Officer is to facilitate informal resolution in cases of staff harassment and bullying in line with the Council’s Dignity at Work Policy and Procedure. The role is voluntary with Contact Officers being provided with training which covers the law in relation to harassment, the Council’s policy and the skills required for their role. A Contact Officer network has been established and meets once a quarter to facilitate mutual support and the sharing of experience. The network and meetings are co-ordinated by the group with an elected Chair and a named contact from HR Advisory.

Retaining Two Ticks – now the Disability Confident Employer Status The Council continues to support staff with disabilities and staff who require support with managing the impact of a long-term condition. Support is delivered through partnership working between HR, occupational health, line managers and the member(s) of staff themselves. In 2016, the Council was awarded the Two Tick symbol for the following 24 months. Achieving this status showed that the Council had adopted a proactive approach to employing disabled people and developing their abilities. The biannual review and renewal of ‘Two Ticks’ is underway.

Mindful Employer Charter Status The Mindful Employer scheme was originally launched in October 2004 by Workways, a vocational rehabilitation service offered by the Devon Partnership NHS Trust. The aim of the initiative is to provide employers with easier access to information and support for employees with mental health conditions. Following a review in 2016, Calderdale Council retained its Mindful Employer Charter status for a further three years.

Throughout 2018, the Council has been working hard to raise awareness of mental health conditions Page 38

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and promote resources and support available to staff. Work has included marking Mental Health Awareness week with a bespoke training programme for colleagues including mental health awareness, mindfulness and stress awareness. In October 2018 the first Wellbeing event was held which included a range of workshops including mental health awareness.

Stonewall Diversity Champions Calderdale Council continues to be a member of the Stonewall Diversity Champions initiative a programme run by Stonewall (a leading lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights charity in the United Kingdom) to provide a good practice forum for employers committed to sexual orientation diversity and inclusion. Through this membership the Council has been able to access resources to support staff and raise awareness of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender issues.

Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) History Month As part of Big Inclusion and to celebrate LGBT History Month in February 2018 ‘An Introduction to Trans Awareness session’ was held at the Shay stadium. The aims of the session was to give an appreciation of how sex, gender and sexual orientation interact and provide participants an improved understanding of trans identities, terms and language. The service also worked with Barnardo’s Positive Identities service and ‘walked the floors’ in Council buildings chatting to colleagues and raising awareness of LGBT issues. Barnardo’s Positive Identities service provided a further three awareness raising sessions for colleagues.

Inclusive Employers Standardisation Established in May 2011, Inclusive Employers is the UK's first membership organisation for employers looking to build inclusive workplaces. An inclusive working environment allows people to be themselves at work. Calderdale Council is a member of Inclusive Employers and along with a small group of Inclusive Employers member organisations agreed to participate in a pilot of the National Inclusion Standard early in 2018 and through this was awarded a pioneer organisation status.

Participating organisations demonstrate their work in six areas of inclusion and diversity to achieve one of three tiered status levels - bronze, silver or gold status:

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Engage - Organisations should engage staff at all levels to ensure they have a good understanding of the organisation’s vision for diversity and inclusion and an awareness of the diverse needs of their colleagues, clients/service users. Equip - Organisations should equip all staff, managers and leaders through policies and training to build equality, diversity and inclusion into the work they do and the way they work and use this to help the organisation design and deliver more effective and inclusive policies, processes, services. Empower - Organisations should empower by involving staff through networks, team discussions, Trade Unions and/or other channels. They should be able to demonstrate how they value the contributions of everyone, including people from under-represented groups and by ensuring inclusion and diversity makes a positive difference. They should empower by providing support and encouragement to staff to develop their careers and increase their contributions to the organisation through the enhancement of their skills and abilities. Embed - Organisations should build shared responsibility and accountability for achieving improvements by explicitly embedding inclusion and diversity into everything they do. This includes embedding inclusion and diversity into the organisation’s corporate strategy and any processes and policies to improve their ability to attract and retain the best talent. Organisations should seek to embed inclusion and diversity to build a positive reputation internally and externally and to provide the best services for success. Evaluate - Organisations should evaluate inclusion and diversity progress to set relevant and achievable interventions/targets. Evolve - Organisations should evolve by continuously learning and drawing on best practice to devise innovative and creative interventions.

The standardisation reviewed equality, diversity and inclusive practice right across the organisation and gives the Council a firm foundation to focus and extend the work around diversity and inclusion.

National Inclusion Week During September 2018 the Workforce Development Team organised and hosted an inclusion event (following four of the six principles of the Inclusive Employer Standard – ‘Engage, Equip, Empower, Embed’) with the aim of raising awareness and accelerating inclusion in the workplace. Colleagues listened to a variety of inspirational keynote speakers and had the opportunity to network and meet Page 40

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partners and agencies who were sharing their good practice. These included West Yorkshire Police and Fire, Calderdale Interfaith Council, Calderdale College, Barnardo’s - Positive Identities, Lead the Way – Clover Leaf Advocacy, St Augustine’ Centre and Asquith Hall Residential home celebrating PRIDE. The event was also supported by local businesses including Lloyds and Touchstone Organisation. Some great examples were shared of internal practice including Public Health’s LGBTQ Wellbeing survey, Commissioning and Partnerships Project Search and Corporate Parenting.

House of Commons Black and Minority Ethnic Challenge Toolkit In 2018, through Inclusive Employers, Calderdale Council contributed to the development of the House of Commons BAME Challenge Toolkit. The toolkit includes guides on sponsorship, role models, talent development and mentoring in addition to many resources including ‘dealing with resistance’ and ‘unconscious bias’. Workshops are being developed to disseminate the toolkit to colleagues.

Advertising Council vacancies The Council has made some positive changes to the way vacancies are advertised in order to attract a wider range of applicants from diverse backgrounds. The Council is listed as a ‘Disability Confident’ employer with the Job centre and provides information to recruiting managers on the disability jobs site to actively encourage applicants with a disability. This website posts job adverts on their partner’s websites like LGBT Media and Diversity Jobsite, targeting underrepresented groups. The Council has also used Proud Employers to advertise positions. Taking this course of action demonstrates the Councils commitment to equality of opportunity and in achieving a more representative workforce that is reflective of the diverse communities it serves.

6. Equality is promoted Supported Living Development Hall Lane Northowram in partnerships, Commissioners have worked with a Registered Social Landlord to develop a new supported living procurement and scheme scheduled to open in November 2018. The building has been designed to meet the diverse when commissioning physical and social needs of young people who are either returning from residential college or wishing to our services. enhance their independence and move out of their family home. The site offers small group living alongside six self-contained apartments. Why we feel this is a priority Young people and their families have been involved in the design and fit out of the building to ensure Page 41

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The Council can that this can meet their individual needs. Supported by the All Age Disability team, they have selected promote and enforce its and purchased furnishings for the property.A personalised approach was developed to ensure that the equality objectives by young people and families could select a support provider that can meet their needs. ensuring that its suppliers, contractors A Choice event was held in June 2018 where families selected a provider for the development following and their agents provide meetings with and visits to providers who have met the councils quality and cost requirements and were goods, supplies and on an Approved Provider List. The young people and families have been involved in meeting team services in a manner members at the final stage of the recruitment process and matching team member skills and interests to that does not the tenants needs. The new provider will work with the young people to ensure they continue to develop discriminate. It can also their independent living skills and are active members of their local community. help to influence and improve digital, housing Calderdale Adult Learning (CAL) and transport access CAL commissions services from organisations whose clients include homeless people, survivors of and choices. domestic violence, ex-offenders, long-term unemployed and older people in order to ensure that learning is accessible to the hardest-to-reach residents of Calderdale. Learning is delivered off-site in venues such as Ebenezer's, Halifax Opportunities Trust and SmartMove in order to enable ease of access to learning for priority groups.

Mental Health Carers Support commissioning The recommissioning of this service was informed by an analysis of current need and benefits being undertaken. Contract analysis showed the need for the support service to include a support worker who has the language skills and cultural knowledge to support carers from the BME community as an essential element of the ongoing service provision. The support worker will work with hard to reach carers from the BME community ensuring they access the correct clinical and social support for the person the care for and that they access a appropriate carers support services to maintain their own well- being.

Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) - additional support for boys and young men and parent/carers Government Education Department Guidance published in 2009, supported by research in the field acknowledges that boys and young men, as well as girls and young women can be sexually exploited. CSE assessments conducted by professionals who have zero or little experience in the field of male Page 42

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CSE increases the chances of assessments of boys being conducted in a way that promotes gender inequality, gives an unequal response and fails to recognise potential risk and boys as victims. Recognising this CSE Support Services for young people spot purchased specific training and support for boys and young men. A Parent Liaison Officer has also been commissioned to work with parents/carers of children and young people who are at high risk/victims of CSE.

Short Breaks Grants A short break can give disabled children and young people the opportunity to have an enjoyable experience with or without their parents or carer. It can also give parents and carers a break by providing an extra pair of hands to make everyday things possible. The break can take the form of:  daytime support in the home or elsewhere;  overnight support in the home or elsewhere;  leisure activities outside the home;  assistance for carers in the evenings, at weekends and during school holidays.

Through the allocation of short break grants Commissioners have worked with a variety of small groups and organisations to increase the number of targeted short breaks available in Calderdale, working in partnership with the successful groups and organisations to develop their projects to become sustainable after 3 years. They have also supported successful applicants to develop their offer to address the gaps identified with families through consultation such as mainstream inclusion, accessibility and more holiday provision as well as supporting more young people aged 14 and over.

SEND (Special educational needs & disabilities) Sports Service Membership Partnership working with CYPS has also resulted in Sports Services introducing a membership to assist SEND (Special educational needs & disabilities) children and young people aged 5 to 25 years to access Sport Services facilities. Activities included are Gym and Swim. All other activities and classes must be paid for. Clients are provided with membership card which costs £10 per month on a direct debit basis standard rate or £120 for 12 month cash advance.

Inclusive PE & Sport Programme – CYPS The ‘Inclusive PE & Sport Programme’ supports disabled children and young people to access Page 43

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curriculum and ‘out of school’ PE & sports sessions.

Evidence of impact includes;  An increasing number of SEND pupils integrated in mainstream PE & Sport sessions  Support staff within schools having gained required knowledge on the modification and adaptation of practices now coordinating school PE programmes  An increase in the number of primary and secondary school pupils accessing disability sport programmes and sessions after school and at weekends  In some cases with additional support, children and young people participating in mainstream generic and sports specific coaching sessions taking place at various Sports Centre’s and pool throughout Calderdale  Integration in ‘mainstream’ sport clubs and groups. Established sports specific disport sections are now part of junior football clubs, swimming and athletic clubs throughout Calderdale  As a result of involvement in voluntary sport clubs, participation and further developmental opportunities for children & young people in regional events and competitions  Representatives from National Governing Bodies of Sport Organisations delivering coaching and skills sessions within our ongoing disability sports sessions running after school and weekends.

Identity Youth Group Calderdale Positive Identities Services provide support to young people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and questioning (LGBTQ) via group work or one-to-one support. The service also provides training/guidance and support to families, schools and community members with the aim of making Calderdale the best Borough in the North in supporting those who identify as LGBT. During the period January 2018 to November 2018 the service:  Supported 47 young people aged 12 – 18 at the weekly Identity youth group  Ran 42 youth group sessions  Attended Leeds Pride and Manchester Rainbow Playground with young people to promote positive community action.  Held a celebration event in February to showcase the work that has been done, to evidence why it is needed and to acknowledge and celebrate LGBT communities.

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 Worked in partnership with other Calderdale voluntary services and health services to facilitate the ‘No Worries’ Drop-in; promoting positive emotional health.  Recruited and trained Diversity Champions who will support Diversity Hubs across Calderdale in the coming year.  Helped to co-facilitate a Pride event at Asquith Hall Nursing Hall in Todmorden.  Delivered family support sessions to 19 family members  Increased LGBTQ community awareness & respect in local communities in Calderdale by training foster carers, early years practitioners , voluntary groups, CAB and health workers.  Together with the wider Positive Identities service in Leeds, have trained or begun developing bespoke training packages to 32 schools across Calderdale.  Improved accessibility to health services for LGBTQ people, by training GPs and health professionals and developing a young person led audit of health services.  Beginning in September facilitated a Calderdale LGBT Partnership Network – bringing together organisations and services across Calderdale to share good practice.

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