Short Breaks Foster Care Overnight Service for Children and Young People with a Disability

Telford & Wrekin Council and Shropshire Council wish to commission a Provider to deliver planned overnight short breaks to resident children and young people aged 5-17, with disabilities.

There is insufficient, local overnight Short Breaks across both Shropshire Local Authority area and the borough of Telford and Wrekin. Therefore both Council's are seeking to jointly commission a Foster Care Short Breaks service. This aligns to both Council's ambition to offer regulated, local and high quality overnight breaks, within a homely environment.

Telford & Wrekin Council are the tender process lead. The successful provider will be awarded a contract from both LAs. There will be an ongoing partnership between the provider and these two Ofsted "Outstanding" Councils regarding service delivery and monitoring of impact and outcomes. The Short Breaks Regulations set a requirement for Local Authorities to provide a range of overnight short break opportunities available to children and young people with disabilities. The Short Breaks offer aims to support the needs and aspirations of children and young people with disabilities, as well as support parent, carer and family wellbeing.

Planned overnight breaks are an essential source of Short Breaks support for families that are eligible, providing a much needed break for both parent carers, the child/young person and supports family wellbeing. We want to ensure that overnight breaks are a positive experience for the CYP, helping to support their social and emotional development as well as providing them with leisure and opportunity to learn new skills.

The Council is seeking a provider that can satisfy the service delivery requirements, Ofsted requirements, and the workforce requirements to deliver a quality and sustainable overnight short breaks provision. It is understood that the successful provider will require time for recruitment and training in the lead up to service delivery, and this will be underpinned via a partnership approach over a long contract period.