Short Breaks Policy and Procedures

Introduction
The Range of Short Break Services on Offer in Islington
Eligibility for Short Break Services
Entitlement to Short Breaks
How to Access Short Break Services
Contact Details

1. Introduction

Short break services are one element of the support offered to disabled children and young people aged 0-19 and their families in Islington. They aim to:

Support families by giving parents and carers a much-needed break from caring for a disabled child or young person;
Ensure disabled children and young people can take part in play, youth and leisure opportunities.

For more detailed information on short breaks, contact the Short Breaks team directly as follows:

Short Breaks Team
Cambridge Education Islington
222 Upper Street
London N1 1XR

T: 020 7527 8611
E: short.breaks@islington.gov.uk

Short Break services in Islington have been developed in consultation with the children and young people who use services, parents and carers, providers and other professionals.

2. The Range of Short Break Services on Offer in Islington

The current range of short breaks services include:

Holiday time nursery places for children who attend a nursery during term time;
One to one support to access activities of the child and family's choice including mainstream services;
After-school, weekend or holiday time play and youth activities;
A sitting service in their own home;
Overnight stays at the home of an approved carer, called Family Based Short Breaks;
Activities or overnight stays at Lough Road Centre for children with complex needs;
Other activities of the child and their family's choice funded by a short breaks direct payment.

The dates for clubs, activities and schemes are currently being published one term in advance. To help us ensure families get as much access as possible to a short break, we are asking them to choose the activities they would like for the following term. This also helps us to monitor the level of demand for short break activities, and to plan and commission services that best suit family's needs.

The information on the website will be regularly updated.

3. Eligibility for Short Break Services

Short breaks are for families living in Islington with children aged up to 19 who are severely disabled. Parents and young people we have spoken to have asked us to reduce the amount of assessment required to access short breaks, as this has previously a barrier to access.

The Short Breaks team works alongside professionals who are involved in assessing disabled children and young people for other services and uses this information to determine eligibility to short breaks.

Those automatically eligible for short breaks are:

Children under 5 who are a part of the Child Development Team current caseload or are awaiting assessment;
Children and Young people between 5- 19 years who have a band 6 or 7 statement of special needs;
Other disabled children and young people who have been assessed in the past 12 months as needing a short break.

You can find out if you are already on the list of eligible families by contacting the Short Breaks team.

If you would like to be considered for eligibility for short breaks, you should speak to a professional already working with your family, for example, a teacher or health worker, and ask them to contact the Short Breaks Team to discuss the assessment procedure. This is usually via a Common Assessment Framework (CAF) or Social Care Assessment.

4. Entitlement to Short Breaks

Eligibility for short breaks entitles a child or young person to receive short breaks services throughout the year.

The revised basic offer for 2011/12 is now as follows

Option 1 directly provided services;
1 after school club a week OR 1 weekend club every 2 weeks;

and 3 weeks of holiday schemes;

OR 3 hours per week Scope link in or sitting service;
Option 2 an alternative cash equivalent;
3 hours per week at the direct payments rate of £12.74 per hour - for 52 weeks this will be £1987.44.

The alternative cash payment is generally for situations where a child or young person or family cannot easily use directly provided services or there are specific alternative activities which they wish to pursue.

Within limits it may be possible to do some mix and matching of options.

The amount offered may change over time depending upon level of funding available, levels of demand and the capacity of certain short break services.

When it is agreed that a child is eligible for short breaks, the basic offer is an automatic entitlement. Where a child already has a package of support, s/he can also access short breaks. The allocation of short breaks will then be reviewed as part of the family's support at the next scheduled review of the package

The entitlement to a higher level of short breaks or specialist short breaks services is based on further assessment. Depending on need, this could be either via a CAF completed by an Early Support Coordinator / other professional or a social care assessment. All referrals into Islington Disabled Children's Services will be considered at a weekly referrals meeting where the assessment process will be agreed (details and process to be confirmed). Where there are safeguarding concerns, referral will be direct and immediate to the Disabled Children's Team tel 020 7527 3366.

5. How to Access Short Break Services

Families can self refer for the short breaks basic offer without the need for further assessment.

5.1 Mainstream services

Mainstream services are open to all children and young people in Islington and many disabled children and young people will be able to access universal services such without additional support. These include:

Children's Centres and childcare;
Play services;
Extended services in schools;
Sport, youth and leisure services.

Information on accessing these services is available directly from the service providers themselves or via the Family Information Service.

Severely disabled children who need additional support to access mainstream services can access a 1:1 Link In worker or other appropriate support to enable them to be included. Requests can be made using the Short Break Request Form available to download from the Islington website or contact the Short Breaks team directly.

5.2 Targeted clubs and schemes

We have worked with our partners to provide a range of services designed to meet the needs of severely disabled children and young people.

These term time clubs, weekend activities and holiday schemes are targeted at different age groups and disabilities and are often located at venues that have specialist equipment designed for severely disabled children and young people. The dates for clubs, activities and schemes are currently being published one term in advance.

Families wanting to ask for a short break at these clubs, activities and holiday schemes can do so using the Short Break Request Form. This is available to download from the Islington website or contact the Short Breaks team directly.

5.3 Specialist services

These services are designed for the small group of children and young people whose needs are especially complex and who require a specialist level of support. These services include:

Overnight stays at the home of an approved carer, called Family Based Short Breaks;
Activities or overnight stays at Lough Road Centre for children with complex needs;
Other support and activities funded by an individual budget.

Access to each of these specialist services requires a social care assessment. Requests for specialist services can contact the Short Breaks Team to discuss their needs and find out the assessment process and services. Alternatively contact the Disabled Children's Team directly on 020 7527 3366 to discuss a child's needs and request an assessment

6. Contact Details