Let's Talk Disability Support Service

Within Children’s Services, our primary aim is to ensure that Monmouthshire’s children, young people and their families reach their full potential, remain in control of their lives, and achieve the outcomes which matter to them.

We do this by working with children, young people, their families, colleagues and partners to ensure that the services the council develops, delivers and contracts are delivering the right outcomes.

The Children with Disabilities Team supports children, young people and their families to live meaningful and involved lives, where they can realise their potential as active and engaged members of their community. We aim to support them in maintaining control over their lives, living a life that matters to them, and receiving support to achieve the outcomes they seek. We aim to offer the highest quality services which place the children, young people and their families we support at the centre of all we do; ensuring they are treated with dignity and respect.

Action for Children has been providing a Disability Support Service to children, young people and their families within Monmouthshire County Council since 2011.

The Disability Support Service has changed a number of times since 2011, with the current service model commencing in 2020 to support children, young people and their families through the provision of a:

• A Flexible Family Aid Service to families with children and young people with disabilities aged 0 to 17 in the Monmouthshire area. This service will support, prevent, reduce or delay the escalation of needs and help these children and their families achieve their outcomes (e.g. learning, developing, enjoying their childhood and fulfilling their potential);
• A Fun Club Service to children with disabilities aged 5 to 13 in the Monmouthshire area that emphasises the development of social skills and making new friends through play, prevents, reduces or delays escalation of support needs. The service helps children with disabilities achieve the outcomes they need, which will support them to learn, develop, enjoy their childhood and fulfil their potential;
• A Play Scheme Service to children with disabilities aged 5 to 17 in the Monmouthshire area that emphasises the development of social skills and making new friends through play, prevents, reduces or delays escalation of support needs. The service helps children with disabilities achieve the outcomes they need, which will support them to learn, develop, enjoy their childhood and fulfil their potential.

Purpose of the Consultation

We want to gauge your opinion on the current Disability Support Service model we have within Monmouthshire (e.g. what works well, what doesn’t work well, and how can we improve this (suggestions for change)).

How are we going to do this

You can complete the survey below to share your thoughts. Two surveys are available: one for parents/guardians and one for children or young people.

You can also download a paper copy of the survey on this page and return it by either contacting your supervising social worker, who will be able to pick it up from you, or by dropping it off at your nearest Community Hub or Library.

Alternatively, you can attend one of our consultation events.

We have arranged a number of consultation events during November and December 2025 across the County at Calidcot, Monmouth, Abergavenny, and Chepstow to gauge your opinion on the current service offer.

We will also distribute questionnaires to ensure those who are unable to attend a workshop event have an opportunity to contribute.

The workshops will be split into two one-hour sessions.

The first session will involve a one-to-one discussion with a Monmouthshire County Council Children’s Services worker, where you will discuss and record on ‘post-it notes’ the ‘pros’ and ‘cons’ of the current Disability Support Service, and how we could improve the service in the future (suggestions for change).

In the second session, all participants will come together as a large group, where we will attempt to assemble the responses to the first session into themes.

We will then summarise the group’s discussions and discuss the next steps.

I really hope you can attend one of our consultation events. A list of these events is shown below; we would really like to see you at one of them.

In-person events:

• Tuesday 11^th November – Abergavenny (St Michaels Centre Abergavenny, 10A Pen-y-Pound, Abergavenny, Wales, NP7 5UD) 10:30am -12:30pm
• Wednesday 19^th November – Monmouth (Bridges Centre, Drybridge Park, Monmouth. NP25 5AS) 12:00 noon – 2:00pm
• Tuesday 2^nd December – Chepstow (Bulwark Community Centre (Laburnum Way, Chepstow, Wales, NP16 5RF) 6:00pm – 8:00pm
• Tuesday 9^th December – Caldicot (Caldicot Town Team, Core Hall, 41 Newport Road, Caldicot. NP26 4BG) 10:30am - 12:30pm

Online Consultation Event:

*There are limited spaces at each event. If we have a good response to these events, we will explore additional dates to ensure everyone has the opportunity to express their opinions on shaping the services for the children we serve.

How to Register

To register for an event, please get in touch with Krys Wilson either via email at KrysWilson@Monmouthshire.gov.uk or via telephone on 01633 745181, detailing which event you would like to attend.