Short breaks for children and young people with SEND
What is a short break?
Short breaks offer children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) the chance to enjoy fun activities and socialise with others. These breaks also allow families to have time to rest, knowing their child is being cared for by trained workers.
Short breaks are provided by different organisations in Bromley and are tailored to meet individual needs. They can happen during the day, evening, overnight, on weekends, or during the week. Most take place in community settings, though some may happen in a residential setting or the home of an approved carer.
A list of available short breaks is usually published a few weeks before a school holiday.
What are the 3 types of short breaks?
Universal services
Universal services offer short break opportunities that are open to all families whether or not they have a special education need and/or disability (SEND). These include children and family centres, libraries, leisure centres, youth clubs, after school clubs and sport’s group.
Universal services are expected to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that children and young people with SEND have no barriers to accessing them.
You can access universal services by contacting organisations directly to discuss the activities they offer. The Early Years and Childcare directory lists many universal before and afterschool clubs and holiday schemes. For information about groups, playschemes, sports and other leisure activities, visit the SEND Leisure and Activities page.
Targeted services
Targeted short break services are specifically for children and young people with SEND who need additional support or may need groups or services that are specifically designed to meet their needs.
Some targeted services are funded by the London Borough of Bromley while others are provided by voluntary groups and charities. Services that are not commissioned by Bromley Council may carry a charge.
Some examples of services who provide targeted short break activities are Bromley Children and Family Forum (BCFF), Bromley Mencap, CASPA, The Maypole Project and SportWorks. To access these activities, please contact the providers directly for more information or visit the short breaks activities programme.
Specialist services
Specialist short break services are for children and young people with severe, profound and/or complex needs. Specialist short breaks support children, young people and their families where the child/young person’s disability has a substantial and long term effect on their ability to carry out day-to-day activities.
Specialist short break services can include access to specialist weekend and holiday clubs and may also include support through direct payments (PDF - 348.19 KB) or personal budgets (PDF - 299.07 KB) and overnight short breaks. Some examples of specialist short break services are Riverside School, Astley Day Centre, Family Link, and Hollybank and Widmore Road for specialist overnight short breaks.
This level of service will require an assessment of need from the Children’s Disability Team (CDT). If you are not already known to the CDT, please complete our short breaks assessment form which will be reviewed by one of our team or you can request a social work assessment, which is a more in-depth assessment completed by a social worker.
Short breaks eligibility and how to apply
The needs and family situation of each child is different and short breaks are offered to meet specific needs in each case.
Our short breaks disability criteria guide provides a simple reference tool to indicate whether you should consider completing the short breaks online assessment.
Parents and carers need to complete our short break assessment form and return it to the children's disability team
Families that do not meet the threshold for services from the children’s disability team will be provided with general information and contact details for universal and targeted services. As well as this, families can have a look on the Bromley SEND Local Offer for further information.
Short breaks statement
Our short breaks statement sets out how we will provide short breaks for disabled children and young people in Bromley. It is reviewed periodically in collaboration with parents, carers, disabled children and young people.