The Short Break Stories website is a collection of good practice and ideas created by projects that are funded through the Short Breaks Fund. All records are the evaluation reports written by the projects themselves with their experiences (good and bad) there for people to see and learn from. It is hoped that the increase in transparency will lead to an improvement in the quality and amount of services offered to carers and those they care for.
The Short Breaks Fund provides grants to third sector organisations that support unpaid carers to take a break from their caring role. The fund aims to increase the range and availability of short breaks across Scotland, allowing more carers to take the right break at the right time.
Shared Care Scotland operates the Short Breaks Fund on behalf of the National Carers Organisations and the Scottish Government. The Scottish Government currently funds the Short Breaks Fund on a rolling annual basis.
The guiding principles of the Short Breaks Fund are:
- to provide tangible outcomes for carers, improving their quality of life and those they care for;
- to support the personalisation agenda, providing early intervention, choice and tailoring service provision to meet the needs of individuals;
- to support the key policy areas of reshaping care, strengthening self-directed support and developing person-centred solutions;
- to be additional to existing provision.
The Fund is comprised of the following programmes:
The Creative Breaks programme provides 12-month grants to third sector organisations to develop and deliver short breaks projects and services for carers of adults (aged 21 years and over), young carers (caring for children or adults), and those that they care for. This programme opens for applications in April each year.
The Time to Live programme provides grant funding to carers organisations (usually carers centres) to develop and deliver micro grants schemes for carers of adults (aged 21 years and over), and young carers. TTL enables carers to access funds and support to help them take short breaks that meet their needs. This programme is not open to unsolicited applications.
The Better Breaks programme provides 12-month grants to third sector organisations to develop and deliver short breaks projects and services for children and young people with disabilities (aged 20 and under), and their carers (adult carers and/or young carers). This programme opens for applications in October each year.
Take a Break
In addition to the above grant programmes managed by Shared Care Scotland, a further grants fund, Take a Break, is administered by Family Fund. Take a Break provides direct grants to families of children and young people with disabilities (aged 20 and under) to support personalised leisure activities or holiday breaks.
Grant Advisory Panel
To assist the NCOs in ensuring the Short Breaks Fund is well managed, is delivering its outcomes and is operating openly and transparently, Shared Care Scotland has set up a Grant Advisory Panel. Members of GAP come from the 3rd sector, local authorities, national carer/disabled people organisations, Scottish Government and include people with caring responsibility. Our Better Breaks GAP is chaired by Fraser Falconer (formerly Director of BBC Children in Need in Scotland and Creative Breaks is chaired by Mary Craig (formerly director of the Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland).
National Carers Organisations
The Short Breaks Fund is managed by the National Carers Organisations with secretariat through Shared Care Scotland.
The National Carer Organisations are:
- Carers Scotland
- Coalition of Carers in Scotland
- MECOPP
- Carer’s Trust (formerly the Princess Royal Trust for Carers)
- Scottish Young Carers Services Alliance
- Shared Care Scotland
