Extra Funding to Support Short Breaks

Bid for Extra Funding to Support Short Breaks Activities and Experiences WPCC SUMMARY REPORT NOVEMBER 2022

Background Information The Department for Education (DfE) sent information about its Short Breaks Innovation Fund to all Local Authorities. This is additional money designed to support local authorities to establish new Short Breaks provision via innovative projects.

Local authorities were able to bid for up to £1million.

The WPCC asked parent carers for their thoughts and suggestions to help inform Wiltshire Council’s bid proposal.

The WPCC produced a very short slide presentation that briefly explained the Innovation Fund, the suggestions the WPCC had presented to the Local Authority and an opportunity for parent carers to suggest other ideas we may have missed.

What is the Short Breaks Innovation Fund?

The DfE Short Breaks Innovation Fund has been designed to support local authorities to establish new Short Breaks provision via innovative projects created to:

address gaps in current Short Breaks services,



and to test novel approaches to delivery of Short Breaks and support services for children and young people with SEND.

The aim of the Short Breaks Innovation Fund The aim of the Short Breaks Innovation Fund is to: -



improve health, education and well-being outcomes for children and young people with SEND and their families



reduce pressures on some SEN budgets (e.g. High Needs budget)



inform future structural reform and service re-design

Suggestions for the Funding Bid Based on the feedback we receive from parent carers, the WPCC has proposed some suggestions for the LA to consider for the bid. 

Stay and Play Groups for under fives



Activities and Clubs for children under six years old



SEND breakfast and afterschool clubs



Therapy and counselling opportunities for children and young people through Short Break activity sessions



More leisure and social opportunities for post 18 year olds, including greater equity across the county

Suggestions for the Funding Bid cont’d… 

Opportunities for young people with SEND to practice and develop independent skills that will support them in their adult lives



Peer mentoring



Support mainstream community services to develop inclusive opportunities that meet the needs of children and young people with SEND



Support the current Wiltshire Short Breaks Scheme to address increasing demands



provide respite and outreach support



Create opportunities for families children and young people with profound and multiple learning disabilities to access and enjoy activities together



Invest in technology that would enable children and young people to access fun activities and support networks, in a safe space, in real time

Most popular and least popular suggestions 

Supporting the current Wiltshire Short Breaks Scheme was the most popular suggestion



Developing online/virtual opportunities was the least popular suggestion

The next slide shows the ranking of all the suggestions…

All suggestions ranked by popularity

Other ideas suggested Summer holiday scheme

More local activities in Salisbury and South Wiltshire

Yoga and meditation to support mental health

Holiday clubs Gaming Youth clubs

Expand the current Short Breaks Scheme for over 18 year olds

More arts and therapy opportunities, rather than sports Stay and play sessions for all ages

Mental health support for autistic teens and their families

Groups and loan of equipment to support children and young people with dyslexia

Conclusion The feedback from our parent carers strongly suggests that opportunities to support their children and young people in enjoyable, meaningful and accessible activities and experiences are really important. They want their children and young people to be included, happy and healthy, and have needs such as their mental health supported through short breaks opportunities, wherever they live in the county. There is a need to recognise gaps or equity in provision across a large rural county, and parent carers saw this fund as an opportunity to try to address this.

We strongly advocate for provision to be aspirational, person centred, meaningful and lead to positive and lasting outcomes for children, young people and their families.

What happened next 

We presented the results of our survey to Wiltshire Council commissioners on 21st October 2022.



Wiltshire Council commissioners incorporated the feedback and recommendations from our survey findings into the Short Breaks Innovation Fund bid, which was submitted on 4th November 2022.

Wiltshire Parent Carer Council (WPCC) www.wiltshireparentcarercouncil.co.uk admin@wiltspcc.co.uk Company Number: 10459616

November 2022