Rotherham Council was successful in securing an additional £1m of funding to expand the Short Breaks Innovation Fund programme for 2024 to 2025.
This funding will support children with some of the most complex needs.
Last year, the Council secured almost £560,000 to deliver the first year of the project. The project has created a Short Breaks Hub linked to Liberty House.
This additional funding will supplement existing Short Breaks provision and will mean that more children aged ten and above with complex Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) needs can access additional care and support.
Specialist Residential Practitioners and a network of education and health professionals provide support at the Short Breaks Hub.
The aim of the Short Breaks Innovation Fund programme is to provide intensive support for families, ensuring young people can access services locally including education and short breaks.
The Short Breaks offer is up to a maximum of twelve weeks and combines an opportunity for overnight respite with an intensive behavioural offer linking school, community and home-based support.
The project will also support young people to access education in a local special school.
Councillor Victoria Cusworth, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said: “This additional funding will mean that more children with the most complex needs can access high quality educational and residential provision within the borough. The Short Breaks funding will ensure that children have safe places to go to and activities to enjoy, whilst providing parents and carers with respite.”
Local resident Helen Breas and her son have benefitted from the Short Breaks Innovation Fund programme. Helen told us: “Letitia and Connor from the Innovation Project have made such a difference to my son’s life. They have enabled him to leave the home without my support which in turn has had a massively positive impact on mine and my other children’s lives. Oliver has learnt life skills and enabled him to become more independent in everyday life”.
This work is linked to the Council’s Children’s Residential programme, which is currently in Phase Four. Previous phases have seen the opening of three children’s homes which are all currently rated as ‘Good’.
The Council is actively recruiting to a range of roles, including full-time and casual Children’s Residential Practitioners, Emergency Response Practitioners and Residential Home Managers.
For further information on available vacancies, please visit the Rotherham Council website