Short Break Stories

Adventure Breaks 2013-14

A story by Buddies Clubs & Services

To-date there has been 3 breaks as detailed above (5 days/4 nights). Each of the breaks has been to the Lochgoilhead area for 16 children/young people.

Due to local authority funding cuts Buddies Clubs were authorised by Better Breaks to utilise some of the funding from 1 break to provide days at Buddies Summer Holiday Clubs for children and young people who otherwise would have no access to socialisation opportunities over this period.

This enabled 12 children/young people to participate in the Summer Club programme and provided much needed respite for their parents/carers.

The aims of the project were to provide respite to parents/carers and socialisation opportunities for children/young people. The project was to provide 6 breaks of 5 days/4 nights for 6 children/young people to allow parents/carers to go away for a few days respite or to have time to explore their own interests. Parents/carers would be enabled to do this knowing their children/young people were being cared for safely by Buddies Clubs staff and having opportunities to try new activities whilst socialising with an appropriate peer group.
Tip 1:
Consult parents/carers/children/young people about their choices
Tip 2:
Keep an ongoing dialogue with parents/carers children/young people during the planning process
Tip 3:
Have a weather contingency plan
'I had fun- never felt so alive with fun in ages! Thanks xxx.' 'Had the best time of my life'. Quotes from 2 of the service users who had not had the opportunity to be away from home before. The trips to Lochgoilhead have enabled children/young people to experience a range of activities particularly outdoor activities such as horse-riding, canoeing, archery, paint-balling, loch cruises.

Paul is a young teen who has never been away from home before. Paul has complex disabilities and requires a 2-1 care ratio and this had made his parents reluctant to allow Paul to be away from home as they were not confident he would cope or how carers would manage Paul's challenging behaviour. Paul's parents attended the parents/carers information night and Buddies staff also made home visits to ensure they understood Paul's needs and routines. Paul was assisted by Buddies staff to undertake new activities such as a sea-fari to see seals, pony trekking and participate in the boys v girls cook off all of which helped to raise his self-esteem. In addition regular telephone contact with Paul's' parents from Buddies Clubs staff eased their anxieties and Paul was able to share his experiences with them via his diary on return.

The Summer Holiday Club also enabled those who would not usually have access to the Buddies Summer activity programme the opportunity to have 2 days per week for 5 weeks enjoying different outings every week.

Joe lives with his parents and siblings and has autism and complex learning difficulties. Joe had previously had been cared for by extended family during school holidays as his parents worked. This year however as Joe is getting older and more challenging in his behaviour his extended family felt they were unable to cope with him this Summer. Joe's family approached Buddies Clubs for assistance and Joe attended Buddies twice weekly for 5 weeks over the Summer. Joe had the opportunity to go on trips i.e to Edinburgh Zoo, Heads of Ayr Farm, soft-play, swimming, sensory play with an appropriate peer group. Joe enjoyed his time at Buddies Clubs so much his family advised he would say 'Buddies Buddies' even on the days he was not attending so keen was he to get back to the Holiday Club. As a result of the positive experience Joe had in the Summer he returned to Holiday Club in October.
Ellen has autism and complex learning difficulties. Due to a turbulent early childhood Ellen lives in a Kinship Care arrangement with extended family. Ellen is socially isolated having no local friends and only mixes with her peers at school. Ellen had begun coming to Buddies Clubs and was offered the opportunity to take part in an adventure break. Ellen went on the adventure break and thrived in undertaking more responsibility for her personal care and enjoyed the cook-off competition between the boys and girls attending the break. In turn these developments in Ellen's personal care/life skills have helped to reduce the caring stresses for Ellen's family.

Jonathan lives with his aunt and grandmother. Jonathan has learning difficulties and enjoys coming to Buddies Clubs. Jonathan's carers were keen for him to experience an adventure break as they feel he is always surrounded by female family members and lacks male role models. Jonathan had the opportunity to spend a 4 night break with an appropriate peer group and tried paint-balling, archery and horse riding for the first time. These activities have increased Jonathan's confidence and he is now attending a local gym which is allowing his gran and aunt some regular free time to either rest or explore their own interests.
Mia lives in a Kinship arrangement and has complex physical and learning disabilities. Despite having some social work involvement due to funding cuts there was no funding available for Mia to attend Summer Club. Mia cannot undertake any of her personal/self care needs and requires constant supervision as she has no awareness of danger which places severe stress on her carer and she feared how she would cope over the holiday period. Mia's carer approached Buddies Clubs for a placement at the Summer Club. Mia was able to attend 2 days per week for 5 weeks. These short respite periods enabled Mia's carer to rest or catch up with friends and she now has approached the local carers centre for ongoing support.

Elizabeth lives with her parents and siblings. Elizabeth has learning difficulties and went on an adventure break with 2 of her peers from Buddies Clubs. Elizabeth enjoyed going to Oban, visiting the sea-life sanctuary and going ice skating. Elizabeth's parents had been struggling to balance her needs with those of her siblings and this respite time enabled them to spend quality time on their own and with their other children.
Adventure breaks enables children/young people to access socialisation opportunities with an appropriate peer group which reduces the social isolation so often experienced by children/young people affected by disability.

The success of the breaks is evidenced by the number of children/young people/parents/carers requesting repeated breaks. Parents/carers are reassured that their children/young people are happy and safe with Buddies Clubs staff enabling parents/carers to use their respite time to 'chill' or pursue their own interests or spend quality time with family and friends.
Parents/carers children/young people all attend the information evening which is the principle planning tool for the adventure breaks. The information gathered at the evenings in conjunction with home visits provides valuable insights into routines/likes/dislikes which in turn informs engagement with the children/young people and their activity choices. All children/young people input into the activity plan and some trips such as the Sea-fari are a perennial favourite.

The success of the breaks is reflected in the young people currently going through the personalisation process requesting breaks as part of their plans.
Buddies Clubs position is that Social Work Services remains the principle agency for assessment and as a funding source. Service users who come to Buddies Clubs who have social work involvement either statutory or or voluntary will be advised to contact them regarding funding for breaks. Many parents/carers however and indeed children/young people sometimes choose not to have local authority respite due to the lack of flexibility over dates and provision preferring instead to utilise services like the adventure breaks.
Children/young people are encouraged to take responsibility where appropriate for their personal/self care. Some children/young people have learnt to shower with supervision on breaks. The cook-off challenges where boys cook for girls and vice-versa allow children/young people develop their life skills in a fun way with the guidance and support of Buddies Club staff. The range of activities children/young people can undertake on breaks such as pony trekking, paint-ball, archery, hill walking, boat trips etc. are activities which some may never had the opportunity to experience previously.
Each break has provided learning which has informed future breaks. Accommodation is now booked with chalets close together which allows service users freedom and integration within the larger group. The shopping list has been refined with more fresh produce being purchased on site/locally than previously. The activity programme is sometimes subject to change at the last minutes usually due to the weather so there is now always an alternative list of activities that can be accessed.

Due to the complexity of the disabilities of some of our service users 7 staff rather than 6 staff maybe required on some future breaks as some service users need 2-1 care rather than 1-1 care whilst in the community.

The positive benefits have been in the numbers of children/young people who have increased their self/life skills on breaks and the willingness of all the service users to try new activities.
Families on the waiting list for Buddies Clubs services, those new to Buddies Clubs with no other services and through links with local Carers Centres
All of the children/young people who attend Buddies clubs have disabilities. These range from those on the ASD Spectrum to children/young people with learning difficulties, cerebral palsy, downs syndrome, physical disabilities, visual impairments and those with complex disabilities.
There has been tremendous support from Shared Care Scotland particularly in evaluation training and the opportunities to network with other providers. The flexibility of the Better Breaks fund in allowing the transfer of funds to provide respite via the Buddies Summer Holiday club proved invaluable to parents/carers who otherwise would have had no access to respite provision.
Face to face meetings with parents/carers children/young people before trips.

Diaries kept by children/young people on the trips and taken home with them to share their experiences with their families.

Photographs and story reporting from parents/carers on how much their child/young person has enjoyed the trip..

The formal monitoring and review forms have been less successful as the return rate has been poor. Anecdotal evidence and the number of children/young people requesting repeat breaks evidences the success of the programme.