Aiming High for Disabled Children

Welcome


Welcome to this site about Aiming High for Disabled Children – now known as Short Breaks. Please feel free to browse through the site and make the most of the opportunity to feedback your views and opinions about services for disabled children on the Island.

Vision

Although the ‘Aiming High for Disabled Children’ programme has come to an end, the Government have shown their commitment to continue providing short breaks for both parents/carers and their children by allocating a further £800 million of funding in the next four years for authorities. The money will be delivered in instalments of £198m, 202m, 206m and £210 m over the next four years. £40 million will be provided for capital projects in 2011-12 and £27 million for the Family Fund for low income families with disabled children to assist with cost of caring.


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The Green Paper on Special Educational Needs is also important. The Government has received nearly 2000 responses to the SEN Green Paper call for views – with nearly half the responses coming from parents of children with SEN and disabilities. This Green paper will focus more clearly on disability and on improving transparency and access for parents to information.

The new Short Breaks Duty also comes into force on April 1st 2011. This amendment to the Children and Young People Act 2008 will require all local authorities to provide a service to all people who care for a disabled child, to enable them to care more effectively and for the children to have a positive and life-promoting experience. This will oblige local authorities to publish a statement on October 1st which clearly states what the range of services are, how these can be accessed (eligibility) and how these services have been developed in consultation with the needs of disabled children and their families.

This regulation is intended to build on the progress made by the ‘Aiming High for Disabled Children’ short breaks initiative and to support the agenda for positive change.

If you would like to read about the Island’s progress towards meeting the Full Service Offer as set by Government, the following report is available:

FSO Final Report April 2011
The following areas remain of key importance:
  • To provide parents with a means to make their views heard via Parent Partnerships and Parent Voice
  • To ensure that the transition from childhood to adulthood is more straightforward and planned
  • To ensure that children and young people and their families can benefit from a range of short breaks.

Key to this is the voice of young people and parents. It is vital that these groups have an active say alongside professionals in ensuring that the public monies are spent in the most beneficial and productive way.
Parent Voice
http://[email protected]/
Parent Partnership
http://www.iwpp.co.uk/
Family Information Zone (FIZ)
http://www.wightchyps.org.uk/chyps/
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A short-break service should:
  • Be based upon an assessment of needs of the local disabled child population and informed by participation and feedback from parents and young people
  • Offer a significantly greater volume of short breaks than before
  • Use fair, understandable and transparent eligibility criteria
  • Offer a wide range of short breaks:
    • Support to access general social & leisure services
    • Overnight breaks
    • Significant breaks during day, including those based in the home
  • Be a positive experience for the child
  • Be culturally appropriate
  • Be regular and planned and fit for purpose/age appropriate.



Page last updated on: 14/04/2011