ARU Final Report

6 Young people with disabilities’ experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic 1. Executive summary 1.1 Background Research on the experiences of children and young people with disabilities during the global Covid-19 pandemic is lacking in the literature. This current research was underpinned by recognising the importance of hearing these invaluable viewpoints. It was led by Essex County Council and researchers from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) and includes the experiences of young people with disabilities from six local authorities (LAs): Cornwall, Essex, Hertfordshire, Medway, South Tyneside, and Stockport. 1.2 Methods Guided conversations with professionals familiar to the individual young person with disabilities were used to collect data. The guided conversation included six questions based on those developed from a parallel project working with 25 care leavers from across the six local authorities exploring care leavers’ experiences of support during the pandemic. 1.3 Findings This summary highlights the key findings from the guided conversations. 1.3.1 Practical supports Accommodation Young people with disabilities described an array of accommodation provision during Covid-19 including living with family and supported living arrangements: I have lived at home and it has not changed. I live at XXX in my own flat, it’s supported living. However some described chaotic living arrangements which impacted their sense of vulnerability, security and belonging: At the start of 2020 I was living quite chaotically which affected my placements, I moved twice just as the pandemic started from and to a couple of semi-independent placements. I moved from a placement in XXX to a placement…. for over 18s. Finance For the most part, young people with disabilities had support tomanage their finances either through their local authority or family members: I am lucky to live with my grandparents and they look after my day-to-day needs. I pay £80 a month under the staying put agreement and I had some savings in my bank as well. However, some young people needed support to manage their finances and learning how to budget. Some described how they were: Pretty much always worrying about money. Education Most young people with disabilities were in education or training before the pandemic.