Bristol City Council confirms £740,000 to provide SEND children 'pathway to short breaks'
The cash is coming from the Department for Education and will help young people who find it hard to leave their home
Money has been secured by Bristol City Council - and it's all for a brand-new pilot project to support young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) who find it hard to leave their home access to short breaks.
More than £740,000 of funding from the Department for Education has been secured by the City Council for the new and innovative pilot which they say has been launched to break the cycle of anxiety in young people with SEND.
Called ‘Pathway to Short Breaks’, it aims to pair children and young people between the ages of seven and 18 with a specialist engagement worker, who will support and encourage them to try out new activities while building their resilience using techniques for managing anxiety.
In total, upwards of 80 children and young people will be given the opportunity to access the service during the pilot.
Councillor Asher Craig, Cabinet lead for Children’s Services, Education and Equalities said: “We know that the long periods of isolation and lockdowns during the pandemic negatively affected our children and young people, who were unable to practice the social and emotional skills needed in daily life, so we are looking at innovative ways to address this.”
“This new programme is one that parents and carers of neurodiverse children and young people have told us is needed. Children and young people are withdrawing themselves from situations and environments that cause anxiety, to a point where the place that they feel safe is a very small area, sometimes just their bedroom. We have worked with families whose children are withdrawing themselves from daily life due to anxiety to help us better understand what is needed to break this cycle and support these children and young people to access Short Breaks.”
Funded by the DfE’s Short Breaks Innovation Fund, Bristol City Council’s Pathway to Short Breaks project will allow for engagement workers and well-being practitioners to support children and families alongside specialist neurodiverse youth groups.
The aim is to help children and young people with SEND to build independence skills, while also giving the chance for them to take time away from their families and - most importantly - have fun.
They also provide families with a break from their caring responsibilities.
For some children with social communication and interaction needs or autism, they are unable to access short breaks because they struggle to leave their homes - and that's where this project comes in.
'Pathway to Short Breaks' will act as a bridging service, working by developing positive and trusting connections to identify areas of special interest or an activity they like to engage in.
The scheme will be delivered in-house by the Bristol Autism Team who will will be working alongside external partners FACE, Neon Daisy and Horus Wellbeing during the scheme.
It runs from April until March 2024.
You can find out more about 'short breaks' on the Bristol City Council website.