Norfolk Autism Partnership Board

Meeting summary

Norfolk Autism Partnership Board Meeting Summary
Date of Meeting: Wednesday 13 October 2021
Venue: Microsoft Teams

Purpose of the Meeting
The meeting was held to discuss updates from various working groups within the Norfolk Autism Partnership Board (NAPB), review and approve important partnership documents, receive a presentation about safeguarding adults related to autism, and plan future activities and meetings. The notes provide an overview of discussions and decisions aimed at improving autism services and supports across Norfolk.

Attendance
The meeting was attended by a broad range of representatives including autistic adults, local authority staff, healthcare professionals, voluntary sector representatives, parent carers, and members from Norfolk County Council and Healthwatch. The meeting was co-chaired by Amanda Dunn and, in the absence of Trevor Key, Adrian Grant acted as co-chair.

Main Updates and Discussions

Welcome and Introductions
The meeting began with a welcome, introductions, and an explanation of communication prompts used during the session. No requests for reasonable adjustments or declarations of interest were made.

Minutes of the Previous Meeting
The minutes from the last meeting, held on 14 July 2021, were accepted as a true record and will be published on the Norfolk Autism Partnership webpages. Outstanding actions from earlier meetings were reviewed, with most marked as complete or in progress.

Working Group Highlights

Workforce Development
Progress was reported in training Norfolk County Council staff about autism. As of October 2021, 36% of all NCC staff completed autism eLearning, including 64% of Adult Social Services Staff and 47% of Children’s Services Staff. Face-to-face training was completed by 22% of Adult Social Services Staff and 32% of Children’s Services Staff. Plans are in place to train an additional 420 staff by March 2022, which will further improve these numbers. Schools manage their own training systems and their data is not included. The board noted the upcoming Oliver McGowan training expected in 2022/23 and discussed efforts to offer training to primary care, but noted that interest from primary care professionals remains low. An action was agreed for representatives Rebecca Crossley, Tracey McLean, and Hannah Riches to explore how to better engage primary care with autism training.

Diagnosis Working Group
This group continues to monitor diagnostic services and is looking into how to better include autistic people directly in their work, potentially shifting away from a professional-only focus.

Engagement Working Group
This group successfully restarted the Autism Norfolk Forums as hybrid (both in-person and online) meetings. Their first session since restarting took place on 21 September 2021 with positive feedback. Future forums will focus on different themes, with the next forum planned to concentrate on mental health services. The independent partnership website has also been developed and ranks well on search engines.

Document Working Group
The group is continuing to update and improve partnership documents. Key documents such as the Terms of Reference and application form were discussed and set for approval.

Employment Working Group
A new Employment Working Group was established following the last board meeting. Although it has only met once by October, it has been viewed as a positive start.

Education Working Group
There was a discussion about the potential creation of a new Education Working Group to address education-related autism issues. It was agreed that Maxine Blocksidge would lead efforts to set this up with administrative support.

Partnership Document Approval
The Terms of Reference and Application Form for the partnership, circulated before the meeting, were formally approved by the board.

Presentation on Safeguarding Adults with Autism
Heather Roach, Chair of the Norfolk Safeguarding Adults Board (NSAB), gave a presentation on recent Safeguarding Adults Reviews related to former residents of Cawston Park Hospital. Easy Read versions of these reviews were shared with board members. Heather explained the reasons for the reviews, the role of NSAB, and the next steps to be taken. There was discussion about how the Norfolk Autism Partnership Board could support safeguarding efforts. An action was agreed for Lee Gibbons and Heather Roach to collaborate on bringing this topic to the next Autism Norfolk Forum for wider community discussion.

Other Business and Wellbeing
The board expressed sincere thanks to former members Sue Bridges and Rosemary Boutet for their contributions. It was agreed that the next board meeting would include a presentation on the National Autism Strategy and focus on refreshing the board’s membership and structure. A wellbeing check for members was conducted via an email survey.

Next Meeting Dates
The following dates for future Norfolk Autism Partnership Board meetings were agreed:
Wednesday 12 January 2022, 10am – 12pm
Tuesday 14 April 2022, 10am – 12pm
Wednesday 13 July 2022, 10am – 12pm
Tuesday 11 October 2022, 11am – 1pm

Summary of Actions and Next Steps
Rebecca Crossley, Tracey McLean, and Hannah Riches to explore ways to improve autism training uptake in primary care settings.
Maxine Blocksidge to work with administrative staff and the partnership manager to establish a new Education Working Group.
Lee Gibbons and Heather Roach to work together to bring safeguarding adults issues to the next Autism Norfolk Forum.
Administrator and Tom Bassett to organise the next board meeting with a focus on the National Autism Strategy and board membership renewal.

Glossary
The minutes include common abbreviations used by the Board such as ANF (Autism Norfolk Forum), ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), CCG (Clinical Commissioning Groups), NCC (Norfolk County Council), NAPB (Norfolk Autism Partnership Board), and SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities).

This meeting helped the Norfolk Autism Partnership Board maintain momentum on important projects, refine governance, share safeguarding information, and plan for future initiatives to support autistic individuals and their families across Norfolk.