BROMLEY SEND LOCAL OFFER
Short breaks services statement
Caring for a child or young person with complex needs or disabilities can be challenging, and having the right support is essential. Short breaks provide families with valuable time to recharge, while offering children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) the chance to enjoy fun, fulfilling activities, make friends, and experience positive outcomes.
This Statement has been produced by the Children’s Disability Service in co-production with Bromley Parent Carer Forum and Your Voice in Health and Social Care.
For more information or questions please contact disabledchildrensteam@bromley.gov.uk or call (020) 8313 4511.
Short breaks
What are short breaks?
Short breaks can provide opportunities for children and young people with disabilities to have enjoyable experiences away from their primary carers, contributing to their social inclusion and personal and social development. They also provide the parents and carers of children and young people with a disability a necessary and valuable break from their caring responsibilities.
Short breaks can include day, evening, overnight, weekend or holiday activities. They can take place in the child or young person’s own home, in the home of an approved carer, and a residential or community setting. Short breaks range from supporting children and young people with disabilities to access a break ranging from those within a universal setting to specialist services at a local level.
Short breaks:
- are intended to give children and young people the chance to do something they enjoy
- should always meet the individual support needs of the child
- should be available for families before they reach a crisis
- can be anything from an hour-long activity at a youth club up to a few nights away from home
- can be used to allow parents and carers to attend training, to spend time with other family members or to enjoy leisure or social activities themselves
- should focus on achieving positive outcomes for the child or young person and their family
Different levels of short breaks
Child or Young Person has been shortened to CYP for the purposes of this information
Universal services
Description: Activities available to all CYP in Bromley whether they are disabled or not
Current examples: After school and holiday clubs. Guiding and scouting organisations. Leisure centres, children and family centres
How to access: All CYP with disabilities services should have access to these services but may need reasonable adjustments to be made to facilitate their inclusion in some activities
Assessment needed? No, unless the CYP needs additional support to access services
Targeted universal services
Description: Activities specifically suitable for disabled CYP
Current examples: CASPA, Family Link. Maypole Project, Bromley Mencap, BCFF and SEND HAF Schemes
How to access: Typically, parents/carers can contact the service directly and arrange for their CYP to attend Provider’s information and application forms indicate appropriateness of the resource
Assessment needed? No, unless the CYP needs additional support to access services
Specialist services
Description: Activities for disabled CYP with the most complex needs who are unable to access Universal or Targeted Provision
Current examples: Refer to Different types of specialist short breaks in Bromley
How to access: Due to their specialist nature, there is an assessment process managed by the Children’s Disability Team to access these services
Assessment needed? Yes
Different types of specialist short breaks in Bromley
The specialist short break services that are currently available in Bromley include:
Direct payments
A direct payment is an amount of money which is provided to families instead of the council co-ordinating a short break service on their behalf.
Families can use this money to purchase activities or to employ a support worker, also known as a Personal Assistant (PA) to enable their children and young people to access activities. The specific use of this money must be agreed with the Children’s Disabilities Team in advance and recipients will be required to evidence how it has been spent.
Payments are made monthly as agreed with the family. Support is available to assist families to set up/arrange their service and to manage these payments.
Find out further information about direct payments in Bromley.
Saturday and holiday schemes
Saturday and holiday schemes are based in venues where groups of children and young people can access a range of activities and facilities on one site. Current providers include: Lighthouse club at Riverside School, Bromley Children and Families Forum, Family Link and Sport Works.
Overnight short breaks
Family-based overnight short breaks
Family-based overnight short breaks are provided by an approved foster carer in the foster carer’s home.
Overnight support in the home
We are able to provide overnight support from care agencies in children and young people’s family home.
All of the above short breaks may be provided on a time-limited basis and are also therefore subject to regular reviews.
It is possible that families may receive support from more than one service, dependent upon their assessed needs.
How Bromley will develop and support participation and active involvement
Short breaks are planned, commissioned and evaluated in joint partnership with parents and carers. The Integrated Strategic Commissioner also works closely with providers and potential providers to ensure that the council commissions services of the highest possible quality that meet identified needs but remain within a cost-effective framework.
Parent/carers
The children, young people and parent SEND lead facilitates the tendering and evaluation of short break services by identifying representatives from Your Voice in Health and Social Care and the Bromley Parent Carer Forum or other parent/carers to participate in short breaks commissioning activities.
Parent representatives also attend various strategic and operational groups within the council.
Eligibility, the assessment process and how to apply
Who is eligible to apply for a short break assessment?
Parents of children and young people with disabilities who can answer yes to each of the following statements are usually eligible for a short breaks assessment:
a) Your child or young person has an Education, Health & Care (EHC) Plan
b) Your child or young person has at least one severe, profound or complex disability which has a substantial and long-term effect on the child or young person’s ability to carry out normal day to day activities from the following categories:
- Learning disability
- Physical disability
- Autism Spectrum Conditions (including behaviours that challenge)
- Health issues
- Hearing and visual difficulties
- Communication and interaction differences
c) Your child or young person has tried to access universal (local/community) services without success as a result of barriers related to their disability.
d) Your child’s or young person’s disability has a big impact on your family’s daily life.
e) Your child or young person’s residential address is within the London Borough of Bromley, and they are aged between 0 to 25
Support can also be provided to families where the need may be greater due to individual family circumstances and not necessarily due to the severity of the child or young person’s disability. Examples of this include where there is more than one disabled child or young person in the family impacting on the parent’s ability to cope, or where additional support is required to safeguard a child.
Families that do not meet the threshold for services from the Children with Disabilities Service may be provided with general information and contact details for universal and targeted services.
Additionally some of these families may be able to benefit from the holiday activities and food programme which is expected to run until 2025.
Assessment process
Families can access low-level short breaks (valued at up to approximately £2000 per annum) through an online assessment process managed by the Children’s Disability Team. This replaces the initial social worker visit for those families requiring a low level of short break.
This process is as a result of the Social Care Innovation Project (SCIF) which gained the views and experiences of over 120 families, young people, social workers, schools and voluntary sector experts in Bromley and co-produced solutions to improve access for families of children and young people with disabilities into social services.
The short breaks online assessment considers the needs of the child or young person and their carers, as well as aspects of family life that may be impacting on the needs of other children or the carer’s ability to care.
This includes consideration of:
- the severity of a child or young person’s individual needs in the areas of: learning disability, physical disability, autism spectrum conditions (including behaviours that challenge), health and medical needs, hearing and visual difficulty, and communication and interaction differences. There will be consideration how the child or young person’s needs impacts on family life.
- whether there is more than one disabled child or young person in the family
- other caring responsibilities within the family, above and beyond that expected of any parent
- parental health/disability issues impacting on parenting capacity
- isolation and lack of extended social networks
- what the family have done to achieve a change in the difficulties they are experiencing such as accessing universal and targeted services.
- social care outcomes identified through the Education, Health and Care (EHC) Needs assessment.
Families will be asked to nominate a verifier – this would typically be the child or young person’s current early years setting, school or a voluntary organisation that the family have been supported by within the last 12 months. This is a way of making sure that the information contained in the on-line application is correct and accurate. The purpose of the online assessment is to give parents an indication of whether they would be eligible.
Assessment pathway
All parents with disabled children still do however have the right to request at any point a more detailed social work assessment of their child’s needs at any point. There is also the possibility that the social work team might recommend a Social Work Assessment, which could be due to the complexity of the child’s needs, and/or complex parenting/social issues or due to safeguarding issues. Please contact the Children with Disabilities Service for more information on (020) 8313 4511.
How to apply for a short break assessment
Families that would like to complete a short break assessment should visit:
Schools and voluntary sector organisations can also make the online referral on a family’s behalf but the family should be present during the application.
The assessment will take about 30 minutes to complete and there is the option to create an account on the site before completing the form so that it can be saved and returned to at a later date.
Safeguarding and contacts
Safeguarding
Safeguarding children and young people with disabilities in Bromley is everybody’s responsibility. It is recognised that children and young people with disabilities are more vulnerable to abuse than non- disabled children and young people.
The children with disabilities team works to raise awareness amongst professionals and others working with our children and young people about safeguarding and what constitutes best practice for families.
If there are concerns of safeguarding for a child or young person with a disability, please do not complete the online referral. Referrals should instead be made through the Bromley Children and Families Hub (C&F Hub) via mash@bromley.gov.uk.
Contacts for more information
Local authority contacts:
- Lead Officer for short breaks: Mark Smith – mark.smith@bromley.gov.uk
- Group Manager, Children’s Disability Team: Jacqueline Kazemian – jaqueline.kazemian@bromley.gov.uk
- Specialist Information Officer: Pelin Ahmet – pelin.ahmet@bromley.gov.uk
- Children, Young People and Parent SEND Engagement Lead: Julie Hewett-Emmett – julie.hewett-emmett@bromley.gov.uk
Local websites
For more on the Bromley SEND Local Offer:
A national concession card for families with a child or young person with a disability (aged 0 to 25) is available through the disability register.
Bromley Parent Engagement SEND Service (BPESS)
Commissioned by the local authority and delivered by Your Voice in Health and Social Care (YVHSC), BPESS engages parents and carers of children and young people with SEND in Bromley. They run events and surveys to ensure voices are heard and promote participation and co-production in service planning, delivery, and review.
Bromley Parent Carer Forum (BPCF)
BPCF is a parent-led group representing families of children and young people with SEND in Bromley. They work in partnership with the local authority, health services, and other stakeholders to influence decision making, share experiences, and improve services through co-production.
Bromley Information, Advice and Support Service (IASS)
Bromley IASS provides free, impartial, and confidential advice to parents, carers, and young people with SEND. They support understanding of rights, processes, and options regarding education, health, and social care, helping families make informed decisions.
National websites
The council for Disabled Children are the Government’s Strategic Delivery Partner
Appendix 1: Summary of Regulations
In order to meet the requirements of the Breaks for Carers of Disabled Children Regulations 2011, councils must have regard to the needs of carers in respect of their capacity to care for, or continue to care for, their disabled child and must provide a range of services designed to meet this need. A short break services statement must be prepared and published, outlining how this is to be achieved.
Duty to make provision
Councils must take into account the needs of carers who would:
- be unable to continue caring for their disabled child unless breaks from caring were given or
- be able to give more effective care if breaks were given to allow them to, for example, attend educational classes, undertake a regular leisure activity, meet the needs of other children in the family, or carry out necessary day to day tasks in the household.
Types of services which must be provided:
Councils must, so far as is reasonably practicable, provide a range of services sufficient to meet the needs of carers to care or care more effectively, including:
- Day care in the child’s own home and elsewhere
- Overnight care
- Educational or leisure activities for children outside of their own homes
- Services in the evenings, at weekends and during school holidays
Short break services statement:
Councils must prepare a statement for carers in their area setting out:
- The range of services available
- Any eligibility criteria for these services
- How the range of services is designed to meet the needs of carers in the London Borough of Bromley
This statement must be kept under review and, where appropriate, revised. It should be prepared and reviewed with regard to the views of carers in the area.
There is no individual right to short breaks for any particular disabled child or young person. Local Authorities must do what is reasonably practical in terms of providing short breaks and have wider duties to safeguard and promote a child’s wellbeing. Therefore, it is paramount that the short break should offer a positive and safe experience for the child.
Appendix 2: The Local Offer
What is the Local Offer?
As part of the SEND reforms under the Children & Families Act 2014, the council has to publish a Local Offer for children and young people with special educational needs or a disability, and their families/carers.
The purpose of the Local Offer is to provide information, in a single place, which will help you to understand what support and services are available in your area and how to access them.
The Local Offer:
- provides clear, comprehensive, accessible and up to date information about education, health and care services available and how to access them
- makes services more responsive to local needs and aspirations by directly involving disabled children and young people, those with SEN and their parents and carers, and service providers in its development and review
Who is it for?
The Local Offer is for:
- children and young people who have SEN and/or disabilities from birth to 25 years
- their parents and carers
- practitioners and professionals
How will it help me or my child?
The Local Offer and short breaks aims to:
- Provide high quality information on available short break provision and how it can be accessed
- Helps to ensure that short break provision is responsive to the needs and aspirations of disabled children, young people and their families in London Borough of Bromley
To find out more information about the Local Offer go to: London Borough of Bromley, Bromley Civic Centre, Churchill Court, 2 Westmoreland Road, Bromley, BR1 1AS.