A wide range of community-based play and leisure activities are commissioned by the Trust and delivered by the providers shown below.
While you do not require a social work assessment to access these services, some indication of need may be requested (such as an EHCP or being a recipient of DLA)
Brokerage service
A key element of the Trust’s Short Breaks offer is a brokerage service to help families access holiday schemes and weekend clubs.
This service is currently delivered by Midland Mencap, and further details are available by calling them on 0121 442 2944. Please ask to speak to the Short Breaks Project Worker or email: shortbreaks@midlandmencap.org.uk
For more details of these services, plus those more intensive services that may be available following an assessment, please see our Interim Short Breaks Statement that can be found here Short Breaks Statement.
Children with Disabilities Policy and Interim Short Breaks Statement
During 2023 we received feedback and challenge from some of our parents relating to the way we were assessing and delivering support to our disabled children, young people and their families.
We did not want to be in position where we are unknowingly not meeting the needs of our most vulnerable children and young people, so we sought independent legal advice relating to our Short Breaks Statement and our Children with Disabilities Policy, and also asked the Council for Disabled Children to review our short breaks review process. (You can find a link to their report at the bottom of this page).
We accepted the concerns raised by our parents and the recommendations made by our independent legal advisors and by the Council for Disabled Children, and have produced an Interim Short Breaks Service Statement and new Children with Disabilities Policy, which we believe sets out in clearer detail the services that are available for disabled children and their families across Birmingham and how to access them. Both of these documents were open for consultation in June and July of 2024, and the feedback received was incorporated into their current forms.
Links to all our policies are now on this single page on the Trust’s website with a link also coming to them from the Birmingham City Council Local Offer page. This has been done as previously parents had complained that accessing polices was confusing and incoherent.
Children with Disabilities Policy
The new Children with Disabilities Policy ‘How we assess the needs of, and deliver support to, disabled children and their families living in Birmingham (including eligibility criteria), sets out in clearer detail the legal basis by which we are able to assess and deliver support to disabled children and their families.
It details the assessment process that is in place and the tools we use to work out the needs that disabled children and their family might have, and the amount of support they will need to ensure these needs are met. This is worked out through our new resource allocation system, which we believe offers greater transparency in evidencing how we have assessed need.
We have also changed the review process so that no package of support can be changed without a re-assessment of need having been completed.
In developing the policy proposals in relation to short breaks:
- We considered previous policies which were under challenge as unlawful and have withdrawn them.
- We have moved completely away from relying on Right Help Right Time to set eligibility criteria for services. Although this guidance is mentioned in the policy it is specifically stated that this does not provide eligibility criteria for disabled children.
- The new policy sets out to explain in clear language the statutory basis for entitlement to principal social care services for disabled children and sets out the tests for these.
- It provides for a needs assessment before eligibility criteria are applied.
- The new eligibility criteria are designed to ensure that both the children and parents needs for short breaks are considered in line with the statute and regulations.
- This is achieved through the application of a resource allocation matrix and a published scoring table, both are appendices within the policy document.
- We have also published our community resource panel process as an appendix so that this is transparent and ensures that full reasons are provided for decisions.
The final version of the Children with Disabilities Policy was approved by the Trust's Senior Leadership Team in October 2024 and can be downloaded from here.
Interim Short Breaks Statement
The Interim Short Breaks Statement will remain in place whilst we co-produce with parents and commission a new short breaks local offer. This work is already underway, and new services will start delivery in April 2025.
The Interim Short Breaks Service Statement is important as the 2023 statement did not set out with clarity the eligibility for short breaks and referenced eligibility within our Local Safeguarding Partnership ‘Right Help, Right Time’ guidance, leading to a misunderstanding that disabled children and their families would only be able to access support if there was a child protection concern, which of course is not the case.
What did we change in the Interim Short Breaks Statement?
- We amended the “Background” section so that more accurately reflect the language of the Short Breaks Regulations.
- We deleted the section in the Short Breaks Statement entitled Right Help Right Time.
- We updated the information about families needs as this section was out of date and was based on 2011 census figures.
- The 'eligibility criteria' section has been amended so that there is now a short statement that eligibility criteria will be applied and a link provided to the new proposed assessment policy and appendices.
- The Direct Payments section has been updated to reflect that there is now a pre-paid card option when previously this was expressed as a service which was being under review and considered.
- There is also a new link to a full Direct Payments Policy which has now been published on the Trust Website.
- Reference in the previous Short Breaks Statement to a 'one minute guide' to social care has been deleted as this guidance was not seen as helpful and has been superseded by the proposed new policy and appendices.
The interim version of the Short Breaks Statement 2024-25 was approved by the Trust's Senior Leadership Team in October 2024 and can be downloaded from here Short Breaks Statement.
Council for Disabled Children Review
We asked the Council for Disabled Children to undertake an independent review of our Short Breaks Review process, which they reported on early in 2024. If you are interested in what they had to say and how we have incorporated their recommendations into our service, please click the link below.
Council for Disabled Children Review
