Getting a break

Getting a break from caring is hard to achieve when you are raising a child or young person with extra needs or disabilities. But it’s important to try and get some time to yourself – for your own well-being and to help you keep on caring.

A break could be something as simple as an hour or two to yourself while your young person attends a youth club, a supported leisure activity for the whole family or respite for your child or young person.

Our Support Group section is a good place to start – there are lots of parent groups across Cambridgeshire who would welcome you and can offer you a cuppa, company and information. Lots offer daytime sessions, so if your child is at school, you may be able to visit.

Cambridgeshire County Council have now published their All Age Carers Strategy 2022-2026 which lays out how they will prioritise their support for Cambridgeshire unpaid carers over the next 3 years. You can view the full document, easy read version and one page summary using these links.

Short breaks for disabled children, young people and their families

Short breaks are services which give disabled children fun and enjoyable opportunities and activities away from their main carers, giving their parents and/or carers a break – sometimes called respite.

As part of the short break duty every local authority must produce a short breaks services statement to help families understand:

Who can apply for short break services
What short break services are available

Read the Cambridgeshire County Council Short Breaks Offer

In Cambridgeshire, the short breaks team is now called the Disabled Children’s Early Help Team.

Although the name of the service has changed and its Short Break Facilitators are now known as Disabled Children’s Early Help Co-ordinators, service eligibility stays the same. The Local Social Care Short Break Offer, which is a personal budget of up to £2000, continues.

The Short Break plan completed with the parent/young person at referral or at the annual review, will be renamed the Early Help Self Directed Support Plan.

Early Help Team contact:

Tel: 01480 379800

Email: dceh@cambridgeshire.gov.uk

Short-breaks for disabled children are in big demand. In Cambridgeshire, over 1,000 disabled children and young people (aged up to 19) receive short breaks through the local offer (self-assessment) and through a social care assessment.

Here’s the essential information on who’s eligible and how to apply for assessment for your child or young person.

Who can get a short break?

If your child gets higher rate DLA (Care)/enhanced PIP and you are not getting any support from social care, you are automatically entitled to Early Help funding. So call 0345 045 5203 to arrange self-assessment.
Otherwise, your child or young person must have a social care assessment via your family’s social worker.

How Self Assessment works

You will need to complete a self assessment form and the amount of money you receive will depend upon your child’s needs and agreeing a short breaks plan with the county council’s Disabled Children’s Early Help Team.

Request a self assessment form from the county council’s Contact Centre on 0345 045 5203.
The referral will be passed to the Disabled Children’s Early Help Team, who will then send out the self assessment form.
Once completed, the form should sent back with a copy of your child or young person’s DLA or PIP letter. When the referral has been received a member of the Early Help team will contact you within 7 working days to arrange a visit.
During the visit, you will be get more information about useful services and confirmation of your entitlement for the year. A support plan will then be arranged and a referral will be made to the relevant club or provider.

Social Care Assessment

If your child does not receive high level DLA/enhanced PIP, you can request a social care assessment. This assessment will assess the needs of the child/young person and provide social work support and care management. Cambridgeshire County Council aims to arrange a visit to complete a single assessment within 45 working days. A social worker will come and meet you and your family. They will ask your permission to talk to other people who know you and your family’s circumstances. They will then use the information to work out which eligibility level your child is at, and then provide the right support. If your child’s needs do not meet this criteria, CCC will offer advice and information about other organisations that may be able to help.

Eligibility criteria

Cambridgeshire County Council’s website sets out which families in the area can access short breaks.

If you are not eligible

If you do not qualify for early help or need help understanding the eligibility criteria, phone the county council Contact Centre on 0345 045 5203 and they will offer you information and advice and put you in touch with any groups or organisations who may be able to help.

You could also read more about the Family Carers’ Prescription, available through Caring Together.

Different types of short breaks for disabled children are on offer in Cambridgeshire. So once Cambridgeshire County Council (CCC) has agreed that your child is eligible for short breaks support, they must provide (as far as is reasonably practicable) a choice of short break services that help to meet the care needs of the family.

This could include: day-care at home or elsewhere; overnight care at home and elsewhere; leisure activities for children outside their own homes; services in the evenings, at weekends and during school holidays.

In Cambridgeshire, the following types of short breaks are available:

1. Group short breaks

These are mainstream (non-specialist) or specialist leisure opportunities such as sports groups, after-school clubs, and holiday schemes.

2. Individual short breaks

Individual short breaks could include daytime support, care at home, complex health and palliative care support, befriending schemes, and community childminders.

3. Overnight short breaks

For families who need a significant break from their caring responsibilities, overnight short breaks may be available. These breaks are usually for young people aged 10 and over, and can be provided either at home, with a short break foster carer or in a specialist residential setting.

Find out more about short break activities and providers on the Cambridgeshire Local Offer.

4. Organising your own short breaks – Direct Payments

If you would like more control and flexibility over arranging a short break you can ask to have a Direct Payment. A Direct Payment is a sum of money paid to you by the county council on behalf of your disabled child.

Did you know that you can rent equipment to help make short breaks easier?

Some families need extra support getting out and about and making the most of their short breaks allocation. So, if you fancy going to the beach, going away for the weekend or having a bike ride together as a family – you may be able to borrow the equipment that will make a short break possible and enjoyable for everyone concerned.

Want to find something for your child or young person to do?

Take a look at the information on the Cambridgeshire County Council website, listing information on activities, events and support groups for Fenland, Huntingdon and Cambridge areas.

Sign up for the county’s SCIP database and you can also get email updates on local events and activities and request information specific to your child.

Have you had a look at our Sport & Leisure section for ideas on things to do. We’ve got pages of accessible cinema, sports and holiday activities.

Heard about the Family Carers’ Prescription?

Feeling overwhelmed by caring? Cambridgeshire’s Family Carers’ Prescription gives carers of any age, including young carers and parent carers, access to a specialist worker at Caring Together who will help you make a plan to support your needs.

Getting a break

Short breaks for disabled children, young people and their families

Short breaks - sometimes called "respite"

Disabled Children’s Early Help Team

How to get a short break

The types of short breaks available

Want to find something for your child or young person to do?

Heard about the Family Carers’ Prescription?