Short Breaks

About Short Breaks

Short Breaks provide children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) an opportunity to spend time away from their families, relaxing and having fun. A Short Break could be for just a couple of hours, a whole day, or a few days. Short Break activities take place outside of school hours (evenings, weekends and school holidays). Short Breaks also provide families with a break from their caring responsibilities, giving parents and carers a chance to unwind. View our Short Breaks Statement for more information.

Short Breaks provide families with the opportunity to:

• feel better able to manage their caring responsibilities and help to reduce family stress and breakdown
• improve their well being
• have time to do other things (for example, leisure, spending time with other children, undertake household tasks)
• feel that the home life is more sustainable
• feel an improved quality of life.

Short Breaks provide children with the opportunity to:

• have fun and make new friends
• explore new opportunities
• become more confident
• learn new skills
• improve emotional health and well-being by being active and engaged in positive activities
• improve physical health through participating in physical activities.

Allocating Short Breaks

We think it is important to allocate Short Breaks in a fair way. Not all children and families will need the same level of short breaks; some will need more than others because of the impact of their child’s disability. Some families may need more support because of their individual family circumstances. As every child and their family is different, we provide different levels of short break support.

Some Short Breaks provision can be accessed directly, and others will require an Early Help Referral or a Social Worker assessment.

Range of Short Breaks

Derby City Council’s aim is to commission and offer a range of local short break provision to enable children and their families to lead as fulfilling a life as possible and to enjoy, achieve and have access to the same opportunities as others in life. There are three categories of Short Breaks in Derby known as Universal, Community Short Breaks and Specialist Short Breaks.

Many families with children with SEND will not require any extra help because they will be sufficiently supported using ‘Universal’ services.

Universal Short Breaks

Universal settings (or ‘mainstream services’) can provide short breaks which benefit all children and families – for example, leisure activities provided at the child’s school or through local community groups and organisations.

Universal settings are available to use without an assessment and offer a wide range of activities and a chance for children with SEND to mix with non-disabled peers. These settings include:

• after school activities
• childminder and early years settings
• holiday play schemes
• drama clubs
• sports activities such as swimming, football, martial arts
• youth clubs
• uniformed organisations like Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, and Girl Guiding.

Universal services aim to be inclusive and open to children with SEND and have a legal responsibility to make reasonable adjustments to support all children to access their service.

There are no eligibility criteria for accessing universal short breaks. You should contact service providers yourself, to establish what is on offer, availability of spaces and any financial contribution or charges.

Where you wish to use universal services, you should talk with the service provider to:

• provide information about your child’s additional needs and how to best support them
• discuss and explore what the provider may need to change (these are called reasonable adjustments)
• jointly assess the risks and work together to create a plan to reduce any risks.

You can usually find out what universal services are available in your local area from your child's school, your local library, friends and family or the internet.

Community Short Breaks

Community Short Breaks are specific Short Breaks for children with SEND who cannot access universal services without additional support or because of individual, family, or environmental factors, or because their disabilities or needs are more complex that they cannot be met by universal services or family support alone. Community Short Breaks may be provided in the evenings, weekends and school holidays.

There are two types of Community Short Break – a Grant and a Specialist Provider Service.

Community Short Breaks Grant

The Community Short Breaks Grant is a cash payment made directly to the parent or carer of a child with disabilities. This cash payment allows families flexibility, choice and control to choose their own short break activity in the community.

The Grant may be used on a wide range of leisure activities dependent on your child’s interests.

Children in Derby are currently using their grant to enjoy activities such as:

• 1-1 swimming lessons
• 1-1 yoga sessions
• piano lessons
• martial arts classes
• sailing club
• theme parks
• wrestling club
• football coaching
• sensory soft play sessions
• ice skating
• horse riding
• holiday clubs
• group activities and play sessions with other children.

If a child needs specialist equipment to take part in leisure activities (for example, prescription goggles for swimming) this may be acceptable in some circumstances but must be agreed by us in advance.

The Grant is paid directly to a parent or carer’s nominated bank account. Parents and carers will be required to sign a Grant Agreement and submit evidence of expenditure, including completing a simple spending form and submitting receipts.

Specialist provider services

We commission specialist providers to deliver some Community Short Breaks services. These providers arrange specialist activity groups which are designed to be stimulating, enjoyable and fun and help promote friendships and peer support. They offer an exciting choice of varied activities at several venues across the city. Special events are arranged throughout the year too, celebrating religious and cultural holidays, local carnivals and national events. Day trips are also available during the school holidays, some of which are suitable for the whole family to enjoy. Provider services are available after school, at weekends or during the school holidays

How much does it cost?

Support workers are provided free of charge. However, some activities will have additional costs which families will need to pay for.

Our current specialist short break providers

Community Links
50 hours per annum
For ages 5-17 years
Website: www.cl-support.com

Community Links offer sessions on selected Saturdays throughout the year. Each session lasts 4 hours. Community Links do not offer support on weekdays or during the school holidays.

Fun-Abil8y
50 hours per annum
For ages 3-17 years
Website: www.stjamescentrederby.co.uk/fun-abili8y

Fun-Abil8y offer group sessions during the week and school holidays. Sessions last for 2 hours.

Umbrella
50 hours per annum
For ages 5-17 years
Website: umbrella.uk.net

Umbrella offer sessions at their two venues in Derby. Additional day trips in the community are offered during school holidays.