Short Break Stories

Better Breaks Social Group Falkirk

A story by The Action Group

We provided monthly youth groups for young people with a learning disability, the group were offered a programme of trips including, Dynamic Earth, Scottish Parliament, Stirling Castle, Linlithgow Canal, Scottish Rugby at Murrayfield, Transport Museum, Calendar House Estate and Muiravonside Country Park.

In addition to this we offered two activity camps a year at outdoor education centres in Aviemore and Edinburgh were young people took part in a range of adventurous outdoor activities .

What Better Breaks Social Group Falkirk did

This year we delivered monthly youth groups and two activity camps. One group had to be cancelled because of the adverse weather which was re scheduled. At the start of the year we met the young people and looked at outcomes for the year, everyone was clear that they wanted to be out and about rather than in a community centre every group. Our program this year was called “Getting Out and About” the aim was to spend more time in the communities both locally and further afield.

We discussed with the young people where they would like to visit. Once a destination had been decided amongst the group, we worked together to prepare the journey. Each young person gets a say in the choice of destination and are encouraged to make suggestions. The great destinations we have been too are Dynamic Earth, Scottish Parliament, Stirling Castle, Linlithgow and Linlithgow Canal, Scottish Rugby, Murrayfield, Transport Museum, Calander House Estate, Muiravonside Countryside Park. We also managed trips to the Cinema, Bowling and Megazone. Our two weekend camps were Lagganlia Outdoor Education Centre near Aviemore and the other Banally -Edinburgh.

We send out information to all pupils at Carrongrange Additional Needs School, had a stall at parent’s nights, social workers, information handed out at a Falkirk council event - Believe, Achieve. We also went to additional needs college classes to speak to pupils and give information home. Unpaid carers were part of the target group.

Better Breaks Social Group encourages families to use the free time, to enjoy things that they may not get to do whilst looking after a young person with learning disabilities. We made sure the young people were cared for whilst having fun learning new activities, allowing families to take a break from their caring roles. The project seen families from most Falkirk areas.

What The Action Group has learned

We found an effective way to do a consultation with a group of young people with communication difficulties was to have an open discussion with everyone making suggestions verbally or using signing. You can then take the most popular suggestions and make cards with the options represented with pictures for the young people to choose from.

We have catering for a very diverse group of young people with support needs we have tried to find activities that can be enjoyed on a sensory level. Somewhere like Dynamic Earth that lets you explore with all your senses!

It is easy to develop a fixed idea of what a young person likes or is capable of, however continue to provide different options and challenges as young people will often surprise you.

How The Action Group has benefitted from the funding

This funding and the continuity, has allowed us to build on the relationships made with the young people and their families. We have also had a stable group of staff who have delivered the monthly sessions and the camps, so the young people are relaxed and familiar with the staff. The links The Action Group has with other services eg social work, Carrongrange school, other local organisations enables us to sign post parent/carer to other help.

Project Outcome

We will have provided 10 monthly Saturday Activity Groups for 6 hrs for young people aged 13 - 18 who have learning disabilities and additional support needs. During mid term school breaks we will have provided weekend adventure outdoor activity camps in October ‘17 and February ‘18.

Results

We achieved 9 groups but due to adverse weather one had to be cancelled. We were however able with permission to provide this at a later date. We listened to the young people during a planning group session to ensure their views were taken on board. This year saw the groups being out in the community and further afield for most of the sessions. We asked participants and parent carers to complete regular evaluations to feedback their experiences. The feedback was positive, people enjoyed that activities and weren’t restricted to a community centre. We went to a new venue for one of the camps, this was at Banally feedback was positive that this provided new activities that had not previously been done.

Case study

We sent out invitations to parents from the new year 1 pupils to encourage younger people to engage in the group. When first arriving at the groups DS withdrew from the groups and didn’t want to stay. We introduced him to one of our buddy’s, we then planned an activity that let people get to know each other by sharing there likes and dislikes though game, this enabled DS to feel include in the group but not under any pressure to speak if he didn’t wish too. Over the course of a few months he developed new skills including planning and time management. He was happy trying new activities and helping others that he saw needed a little help. We strived to teach the young people life skills that are transferable to life at home. DS’s parents said that he is more open to trying new things and he also talks about his friends at the group. Social isolation is a fear that they have for their son they said to hear this gives them get joy.

Project Outcome

Parents and carers will have had the opportunity to enjoy respite times away from their caring responsibilities on a regular basis.

Results

The group sessions and camps were achieved, this gave parent carers the chance to have some free time away from their caring role. To enjoy things that they may not get to do whilst looking after a young person with learning disabilities.

Case study

JS: “ It was great knowing our son was well cared for whilst having fun and learning new activities, this enabled us to take a break from our caring role. I know this may not be a break to some but I like going shopping, to take a stroll around the shops and stop for a coffee with friends without worrying is a real treat” “The time we had when our son was at the group was invaluable, to be able to do things without worrying and knowing our son was safe was a lifeline”

Project Outcome

Parents and carers will have had the opportunity to enjoy respite times away from their caring responsibilities on a regular basis.

Results

The group sessions and camps were achieved, this gave parent carers the chance to have some free time away from their caring role. To enjoy things that they may not get to do whilst looking after a young person with learning disabilities. We listened to the young people during a planning group session to ensure their views were taken on board. This year seen the group being out in the community and further afield for most of the groups. We asked participants and parent carers to complete regular evaluations to feedback their experiences. The feedback was positive, people enjoyed that activities weren’t restricted to a community centre.

Case study

MK: They used their free time to spend precious one to one time with other family members. Over the longer weekend breaks MK liked to enjoy an evening catching up with friends knowing she will not need to wake up early to administer medication and care for her daughter. When one of the camps were taking place, they took the opportunity to have a weekend break with their other son. This was the first time they had spent a night away from there disabled child in 18 years.

Project Outcome

Great user satisfaction statistics, Happy parents and carers, new experiences for our service users and use the information that we gain from evaluations to inform future projects and work of this kind.

Results

The group sessions and camps were achieved, this gave parent carer the chance to have some free time away from their caring role. To enjoy things that they may not get to do whilst looking after a young person with learning disabilities. We listened to the young people during a planning group session to ensure their views were taken on board. This year seen the group being out in the community and further afield for most of the groups. We asked participants and parent carers to complete regular evaluations to feedback their experiences. The feedback was positive, people enjoyed that activities weren’t restricted to a community centre.

Case study

MK: They used their free time to spend precious one to one time with other family members. Over the longer weekend breaks MK liked to enjoy an evening catching up with friends knowing she will not need to wake up early to administer medication and care for her daughter. When one of the camps were taking place, they took the opportunity to have a weekend break with their other son. This was the first time they had spent a night away from there disabled child in 18 years

Project Outcome

We will have provided consultation with the young people and their carer’s to identify a range of choices and opportunities to engage in new activities and repeat activities that they enjoy, using community resources and experiences that they may not have had opportunities to engage with previously.

Results

We discussed with the young people, where they would like to visit. Once a destination has been decided amongst the group, we worked together to prepare the journey. Each young person got a say in the choice of destination and we encouraged them to make suggestions. We strived to teach the young people life skills that are transferable to life at home, school and in a work environment. They enjoyed planning the journey using public transport and encouraged and supported the young people to use their bus passes to travel the surrounding areas. This has also give one person the confidence to independently travel on shorter journeys. The great destinations we have been too are Dynamic Earth, Scottish Parliament, Stirling Castle, Linlithgow and Linlithgow Canal, Scottish Rugby, Murrayfield, Transport Museum, Calander House Estate, Muiravonside Countryside Park. We also managed trips to the Cinema, Bowling and Megazone.

Case study

We received very positive feedback from the young people regarding support staff, with them feeling that the staff were approachable. As support staff, we have a duty of care to the young people and have had to work through difficult situations with the children and their parents to reach an identified outcome. In order to do this, the support staff took the time to develop working and trusting relationships with the young people. We took the time to listen to the questions, difficulties and emotional responses every young person has and strive to support them through these. One young girl confided in a member of staff that she was getting bullied at college, we spoke with her one to one, she had said she had tried to ignore them but that didn’t help. We explained that it will not stop unless she speaks up and we would support her through this, with her permission we spoke to her parents who were worried and didn’t know what to do. As we have links at the college we offered to helped with the issue. This has thankfully now been resolved.

Project Outcome

Great user satisfaction statistics, Happy parents and carers, new experiences for our service users and use the information that we gained from evaluations to inform future projects and work of this kind.

Results

We have had very positive and supportive feedback from the parents of the young people we supported. The parents are very honest about how valuable a resource Better Breaks Social Groups are, to their children, families and personal lives. The parents have developed relationships with staff that allow them to discuss struggles and difficulties they face, raising a young person with a learning disability, and how reliant they are on services like Better Breaks Social Groups. Better Breaks Social Groups rely on outside funding to provide a valuable, meaningful and educational service to young people in the community. Without breaks from there caring role they would struggle.

Case study

Feedback from the information/ questionnaires was positive, also attending a local Falkirk Council event , called Believe, Achieve let us hear directly from parents/carers how joining the groups and camps would help. There were other organisations at the event and although they were unable to offer the model we deliver they were able to signpost people to our Better Breaks project.