Short Breaks for Disabled Children 2025 - Soft Market Test

Daytime short breaks can be a combination of after school and weekends term time, and school holiday provision, and are between 2-5 hour sessions. Clubs run all year round, with some provision term time only, some holiday provision only and some a combination of both. There is potential to create a junior and senior club for different activity types. We commission dedicated group sessions and children are referred by Sheffield City Council only subject to meeting eligibility criteria.

The aim of this type of short break is to provide an exciting alternative to a daytime short break, which gives children with a disability the opportunity to engage in new activities in new environments. These sessions require experienced qualified instructors, and adapted spaces and equipment. These types of activities are suited to school holidays, usually around 5 hours per day and can be a few days a week or blocked booked for weeks in advance.

We'd like to explore residential (overnight) activity based short breaks in and around South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire. This would suit an outward bounds centre with accommodation, specifically if it has adaptations to support children with physical disabilities and can also accommodate staff and is secure and safe. Were also very interested in other types of organisations and activities that could offer activity based residential.

Another potential opportunity is to provide a service to families in their own home; to allow parents and carers the opportunity leave their child at home with a carer who would engage in activities and meet the child's needs including any personal care needs accordingly. This service could potentially be after school, evenings and weekends for children aged 5-17 with a range of disabilities. This type of service would suit an organisation that has access to experienced consistent staff, who could work flexibly to suit the family's needs, either an agency or not for profit organisation/charity who runs similar services or a CQC registered Provider who could provide outreach. We do not offer breaks in school time during school terms, and are only interested in after school, weekends and school holidays.

We want to provide dedicated Transitions short breaks for young people aged between 16 - 21/25. This would provide some stability for children as they engage in other transitions in their education and health care etc and provide targeted activities and experiences that combine social opportunities with learning key life skills for a more independent life as adults. These sessions need to be stimulating and fun, but also accommodate varying needs and abilities, and could run at weekends and school holidays. They could be activity-based services to engage young people initially then offer further transition specific activities. They are not intended to replace adult short breaks/day care services, and would start with a younger cohort, grow and adapt with the young people and bridge them into universal or targeted adult services as and when they are ready, taking away the transition point at 18.

Where assessed as appropriate, children with less complex needs would join in with universal sessions, with additional support where needed. This would be on a sport purchase (per child) basis to promote inclusion. This would suit organisations who deliver play care, community based sports activities, after school and holiday clubs, community based organised groups such as cubs and brownies, forest school etc, who have accessible spaces, and/or are open to making reasonable adjustments, and have access to experienced staff and an ethos of inclusion.

We are also keen to hear about any other type of support you think we should offer to children and families as part of the Short Breaks menu.