Coventry City Council Short Breaks Service

What are Short Breaks? Short Breaks benefit the whole family. They provide opportunities for disabled children and young people to spend time away from their families, relax, develop new friendships, take part in new experiences and have fun doing positive activities. They also give families a break from their caring responsibilities, a chance to unwind, rest and spend time with their other children. Short breaks can last a few hours to a few days and may include day, evening, overnight or weekend activities. They can take place in the child's own home, the home of an approved carer or a residential or community setting. The provision of Short Breaks is based on the assessment of the whole family addressing the child's developmental needs, parenting capacity, and family & environmental factors. Short Breaks are provided to children with disabilities based on the impact of the child's disability on the family, rather than on a particular medical diagnosis. We take "children with disabilities" to mean those children with a disability as defined in the Equality Act 2010: a person has a disability if: (a) the person has a physical or mental impairment, and (b) the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on the person's ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities Who can access Short Breaks? We use fair, understanding and transparent eligibility criteria so that the service is preventative and not just for those families at points of crisis or under threat of family breakdown. Children and young people can access the service if they: - Have a disability. - Are aged 0-18 years. - Are in receipt of low, middle or high rate Disability Living Allowance/School Action Plus. - Live in Coventry. How to access Short Breaks All children and young people accessing the Short Breaks service must have a completed 'Short Breaks Passport'. This will need to be completed and returned to Broad Park Centre with a copy of your DLA/school action plus letter. What is a Short Breaks Passport? Feedback from Coventry families and national research has told us that parents are tired of filling in forms and having 'bureaucratic' assessments. It is important that we listen to you, so from this we developed a Short Breaks passport. The passport acts as a care plan and will hold key information about your child and their disability. The passport will also be used to help inform the planning of services we offer based on the child’s needs. Type of short breaks: Universal services: For children and young people receiving low, middle and high rate DLA or receive extra support at school such as school action plus. These may include short break activities during school holidays and term time. All activities are outcome focused. Targeted services: For children and young people receiving middle and high rate DLA. If there has been an assessed need via the Common Assessment Framework/social care children may be entitled to 1:1 support in the child’s own home or within the community. This service requires a referral from your lead professional or social worker. Specialist services: For children and young people receiving high rate DLA, with a severe learning disability, a severe physical disability or complicated health need. Specialist services may include direct payments, individual short breaks, and 1:1 support within the community or overnight respite. You must have a social worker to access these Short Breaks How are Short Breaks funded? Short Breaks are funded through the Early Intervention Grant. The focus on Early Intervention is to ensure that every local authority is free to focus on and invest in essential frontline services which will have the greatest impact and flexibility to respond to the local needs and to produce long term successful results. Thus providing services for disabled children so they can have the best possible start in life, as well as providing the support they and their families need to make equality or opportunity a reality, allowing each and every child to fulfil their potential.

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