Short breaks for disabled children

After school clubs

• Bardwell School provides after school activity clubs, three days a week for disabled children and young people (5-18) from Bardwell School, Bicester.
• Barnardos run after school clubs at Springfield Special School, Witney and Kingfisher Special School, Abingdon.
• Bishopswood School provide an after school club, three days a week for disabled children and young people (5-18) from Bishopswood School, Sonning Common and the local area. 
• The Let’s Play Project provides after school activities for disabled children and young people (5-18 years) in Banbury. 

Youth groups

• Autism Family Support Oxfordshire (AFSO) provides youth groups for children and young people (8–18 years) Asperger's Syndrome / high functioning autism. The youth groups are based in Oxford and Abingdon.
• Bardwell School provides a youth group for disabled children and young people (11-18) in the Bicester and Kidlington area.
• Let’s Play provide a youth group in Banbury for disabled children and young people (11-18 years).
• Yellow Submarine runs activities across Oxfordshire for young people aged 11-18 years supporting  young people with mild to moderate learning disabilities and or/Autism. Regrettably they cannot support those with PMLD, complex needs or physical disabilities.  Yellow Submarine operate term time youth clubs in Abingdon/Didcot, Oxford and Witney. 

Holiday playschemes

• Autism Family Support Oxfordshire (AFSO) provides holiday activities for children and young people (8–18 years) with Asperger's Syndrome/high functioning autism. This is available across the county.
• Bardwell School provides holiday activities for disabled children and young people (5-18) in the Bicester and Kidlington area. 
• Barnardos provide holiday playschemes at Springfield Special School, Witney and Kingfisher Special School, Abingdon for disabled children and young people (5-18 years).  
• Bishopswood School provides holiday playscheme activities, three days a week for disabled children and young people (5-18) from Bishopswood School, Sonning Common. 
• Fitzwaryn School provides holiday activities for disabled children and young people (5-18) in the Wantage area. 
• Kids offer holiday playscheme activities at Thomley for disabled children and young people attending John Watson and those in the Wheatley area (5-18 years).
• The Let’s Play Project provides a variety of holiday activities.
• The Parasol Project provides an inclusive holiday playscheme for children aged five to 12 years. The playscheme runs during the school holidays at Tower Playscheme on the Northway estate in Oxford four days a week. Activities include arts and crafts, sports and games, play base cinema, gardening, discos, soft play and visits from special guests such as magicians and animal handlers. 

Teenage holiday activities

• The Parasol Project run age-appropriate teenage activities in all school holidays and during term time for young people aged 12 to 18 years. All our activities are for disabled and non-disabled young people to take part in together. Activities are selected by our teenage users and range from creative ‘in days’ to adventurous canoeing days and everything in between. 
• Yellow Submarine runs activities across Oxfordshire for young people aged 11-18 years supporting young people with mild to moderate learning disabilities and or/autism. Regrettably, they cannot support those with PMLD, complex needs or physical disabilities.  There are exciting activity days during the school holidays; including explore days, multi-sports and forest days based in Abingdon, Oxford and Witney.
• Yellow Submarine also delivers holiday activities for students from Abingdon and Witney College aged 16-18 years. 

Other services

• Autism Family Support Oxfordshire (AFSO) also provides family support for families who have a child (aged 0 -18 years) diagnosed with autism, or on the autism spectrum.  This is available across the county. For more information  http://www.afso.org.uk/contact-us/

Inclusion Support Scheme (Short Breaks) and Short Breaks Transport Scheme

If you need help paying for transport, fees or extra support to access activities, funding is available through the Inclusion Support Scheme (Short Breaks) and the Short Breaks Transport Scheme.

• Criteria for the Inclusion Support Scheme (Short Breaks) (pdf format, 133Kb)
• Criteria for the Short Breaks transport scheme (pdf format, 137Kb)

Who can apply

Funding can only be accessed by families on low income/benefits with disabled children aged 5-17 years. The priority for this scheme is to support access to out-of-school activities and/or holiday activities.

How to apply

Applications for this funding can only be made by Out of School Liaison Officers (OSLOs), Children's Disability Social Workers or the Disability Information Officer based at the Oxfordshire Family Information Service.

Early Years Inclusion Support Scheme

The Early Years Inclusion Support Scheme aims to promote inclusion and remove the barriers to play, childcare and leisure for disabled children and young people with funding to help with the costs of childcare for disabled children and young people. It is available for children and young people under five years of age with impairments or emotional, behavioural or learning difficulties who would otherwise be prevented from taking part.

Applications must support children aged under five years with the highest need from families on a low income.

For children aged under five years, a maximum of £250 can be paid in any one year. However, there is no entitlement to this maximum amount. 

The funding is for short-term support, e.g. for a term, or during a holiday playscheme

• Criteria for the Early Years Inclusion Support Scheme (pdf format, 101Kb)

Enabler Support Scheme

The Enabler Support Scheme is to promote inclusion and remove the barriers to play, childcare and leisure for disabled children and young people.

• Criteria for the Enabler Support Scheme (pdf format, 104Kb)

Funding can pay for:

• additional staff/enabler hours
• support from specialist organisations to enable children to access a setting by training existing staff to gain skills/ knowledge and child-specific training necessary to meet individual needs.
• training
• equipment; if there are no other funding mechanisms to do this and this will enable a child or young person to attend an inclusive setting.

Funding will be prioritised for:

• support for children and young people to attend more local mainstream settings
• support teenagers in preparing to move into adulthood
• support for Early Years children
• support for working families to access childcare for children and young people
• any other enabler situation that meets the criteria

How to apply

Applications for this funding can be made by

• Out of School Liaison Officers (OSLOs)
• Children's Disability Social Workers
• Disability Information Officer (Oxon FIS)
• Individual groups as agreed by Danny Hearn

For more information email cdsredesign@oxfordshire.gov.uk

The Max Card - discount scheme

The Max Card is a discount card for families of disabled children and children with additional needs.

Families show their Max Card, upon entry to a venue, to obtain free or discounted admission. It is designed to help families save money on great days out at castles, zoos, bowling alleys and lots more.

The card is free to families in Oxfordshire. It has been funded by Oxfordshire County Council working in partnership with Action for Carers (Oxfordshire).

Please visit www.mymaxcard.co.uk, where you can see a full breakdown of available attractions in Oxfordshire and across the country. Download a registration form (pdf format, 253Kb)

More information is available at https://mymaxcard.co.uk/

What we recommissioned

• Community Short Breaks and childcare, to include:
  • out of school services (holiday play schemes and after school clubs)
  • teenage activities (holiday activities and youth groups)
  • specialist service for children and young people with high functioning autism and Asperger’s Syndrome (holiday activities, youth groups and family support)
• Specialist residential respite and short breaks service (overnight breaks)
• The Children’s Home for children with disabilities

How we decided what short break services we needed in Oxfordshire

The council involved a wide range of people through workshops and focus groups. This included parents/ carers, short breaks providers and other professionals. The council looked at where services were used if there were any gaps in services and what has worked well or not worked well and why.  This information helped us to decide where to locate new services to better support families with a disabled child(ren) in Oxfordshire.

We also asked which services were most valuable through a survey. There were 587 responses in total, with 386 from parents/ carers and 192 from providers and professionals.  These responses were very helpful to us in shaping the types of services commissioned. 

What parents/carers have told us

Families told us how important it is that services that they are using continue and this was reflected in the service specifications for organisations who were expected to ensure a smooth transition and continuity of service. Any changes being planned were in partnership with the people using the services over time to better reflect their needs

Families using the Residential Short breaks were complimentary and supportive. The service being tendered was based on the current service with a future development being support and recruitment of Short Breaks Foster Carers.

Families were not asked to comment on the Children’s Home.

What short breaks providers and other professionals have told us

Professionals' views mirrored the families about the Community Short Breaks and Childcare and the Residential Respite and Short Breaks Service.

Supporting documents

• OCC Survey – Parents’ responses (pdf format, 302Kb)
• OCC Survey – Professionals’ responses (pdf format, 328Kb)
• Consultation comments - collated (pdf format, 251Kb)