Supporting disabled children and young people and their families

Project aim

Working in partnership with Nottingham City Council, the aim of the project was to bring new providers into the short breaks market, so that children and young people with long-term complex health needs, a learning disability and/or autism had greater choice and access to meaningful activities in their local community.

How we did it

We began by listening to young people and families to understand what they wanted.

Below is an illustration of the things that the children and young people told us they wanted. There were nearly 100 suggestions, ranging from music, sports, comedy and cooking to cinema, nature, arts and books. The most popular activities are shown in bigger words.

Parents also wanted their children to have a variety of different activities to choose from. They stressed the importance of knowing that their child was safe and looked after by consistent, compassionate and caring staff.

Taster sessions for children and families

We then explored what was already available in the local community and identified local community groups and providers who were interested in expanding or adapting their provision to meet the needs of children and young people seeking short breaks.

We worked with these organisations and staff from Nottingham City Council to organise and run taster sessions so children and their families could try out the new activities. And used this experience and the feedback from the providers and families to work with commissioners to design a new Short Breaks Accredited Provider Framework

Outcomes

The taster sessions demonstrated that:

• Providers were able to respond to high levels of need and provide activities that were engaging, appropriate and safe.
• Young people were able to build friendships, improve communication skills, engage in new activities, improve balance and co-ordination, produce music, make stop-animated films, exercise and create artwork, to name just a few things.
• The sessions gave parents confidence in different types of support.

• 11 new providers signed up to the accredited framework to provide short breaks, resulting in more diverse, community based activities for young people in Nottingham.

Want to increase choice of support for people in your local area?

This model offers a compelling example for other areas looking to grow vibrant, diverse and community-led short breaks provision.

We have an evidence-based and tried-and-tested model of working that can help you achieve your needs and outcomes.