Summary
We provided a Holiday Club for families of children and young people with disabilities / additional support needs. We offered a programme of fun recreational activities across the Shetland Islands for six weeks of the holidays for children aged from 3 to 18 years.
What ASN Holiday Club did
The Holiday Club operated over three full days for 1 week at Easter, 4 at Summer and 1 in October. We had a full timetable of activities on offer, tailored to the children and young people who were attending.
We utilised 2 local schools for our base in Lerwick, but were very much out and about ensuring that our activities took place all across Shetland so that activities were available and accessible to families all across the Shetland Islands.
Our programmes were put together by Holiday Club coordinators who planned with the knowledge of children's needs and likes but also within guidelines as we came out of lockdowns and covid restrictions. These planners were then distributed through schools, NHS, the third sector, social media and social work so that we could reach as many families as possible. As our numbers have increased we have a booking system so families request days they would like their children to attend and then Holiday Club coordinators allocate days. As we are a registered child care service with the Care Inspectorate, we have a set amount of places available so this must be taken into consideration too. We were pleased that we were able to allocate days to all family requests, ensuring they had the breaks they required. We continued to work with Shetland Carers, making sure that our dates worked in with support they could offer to parent / carers and siblings. They put on Sibling Groups, Family Days and Carer activities to fit in with Holiday Club so families are getting a complete break.
We continue to work alongside a variety of providers to provide a really variety of activities. We have a Sports Development Coordinator as part of our team now and she was able to come along and deliver a 'Sports Day' and Boccia sessions. The Shetland Recreational Trust continue to be a popular destination for activities and we accessed their leisure centres for activities such as swimming, climbing walls, bouncy castles and soft play.
We have a large team led by Team Leader, Holiday Club Coordinator and sessional staff. The team is complemented by volunteers too. We work alongside Short Breaks staff and individuals Personal Assistants.
What Ability Shetland has learned
We have learned that sometimes keeping it simple is better for the children. Parents often want a fixed plan of activities, and this is necessary for particular activities as they wouldn't book their child in to a day that had horse-riding for example if they were terrified of horses, or they need to prepare their child for the day to relieve any anxieties. However, sometimes having a day of free play whilst weather watching can be nice so that children can direct what they want to do or where they want to go. Having high levels of staffing can allow us to do this.
Flexibility is key - another piece of learning from covid! We continue to be flexible in our approach as last minute changes do happen through no ones fault. We always have a Plan b and c up our sleeves at Holiday Club.
How Ability Shetland has benefitted from the funding
We would not be able to deliver the Holiday Club without the Better Breaks funding. Many funders will only provide match funding so having this big grant is really helpful in gaining other funding.
Project Outcomes
Outcome
Children attending the Holiday Club will all have joined in activities provided and will have shown their enjoyment in their facial expressions, body language, words and actions. Ability Shetland workers, parents and carers will have confirmed that impression.
Results
We had 67 children attend the holiday clubs in 2021. The children accessed and enjoyed many activities at Easter, Summer and October. Although our Easter Holiday Club ran in the midst of lockdown and many venues were still not open, the children and young people still had a great time together, utilising the school's specialist departments and sensory rooms, trips outdoors to playparks, gardens and beaches, and also spending time indoors partaking in activities such as baking, arts and crafts, sand and water play, trampolining, building, and lots more! The smiles on their faces and joyful noises whilst taking part and being together to play again told us that outcomes were met, even with minimal resources available locally. Summer and October were more back to normal and the children were delighted to get back to the leisure centres to take part in swimming, bouncy castles and sports - in addition to all the usual activities!
Case study
This year has been really difficult for many families and the Holiday Club being something that continued throughout and coming out of lockdown was really well received. Families shared that their children had really missed that social contact and the fact we hosted the Holiday Club in the familiar environments of the schools (which were also used as Hubs) meant children were settled and able to enjoy their time together as smooth transitions took place. It was lovely to see friends reunited and in particular 2 little non-verbal boys who were absolutely delighted to be together to play at last!
Outcome
Carers will have had eighteen days in which they’ve been able to undertake activities in addition to their caring role, giving more time to their other children and pursuing personal interests. Along with Shetland Carers there will have been days for siblings too, giving parents a complete break.
Results
We set dates for the whole year this time around so that families could make arrangements in plenty of time, making the most of the break that the Holiday Club provides for them and any other children they may have. We set these dates alongside Shetland Carers so they could put on specific activities for carers, should they wish to access these - including Siblings Groups and Family Activity Days.
Outcome
Carers will have enrolled their children for as many sessions as they would like – and asked to book for future programmes. Carers will have made full use of the opportunity to talk to Holiday Club workers and seek advice on the issues and problems which arise in their lives beyond the Clubs.
Results
We have 67 children and young people who have accessed the Holiday Clubs in 2021. Families requested dates in advance for the year and so we did that this year, enabling families to plan and take some of the worries they have around the long holidays away. Most of the children we support require routine and continuity and we can support that by preparing our clubs to follow a familiar daily schedule which in turn supports families at home - they are settled and prepared for transitions in a familiar environment with familiar staff. This is reassuring for families and supports their caring role.
Case study
Because we provide the dates in advance for the whole year now, families can actually book short holidays away as they can plan their respite, direct payment packages and other family member support to tie in with the holiday club days - giving them an extended period of respite. We have some families who do this, book their trips away around the support available to them, having confidence that we will all work closely together to ensure routines and care plans are kept the same and communication between services / extended family is open and honest.
Outcome
Carers will have had 18 days of opportunity to have a break from their caring role. During this time they will have taken part in activities that helps them to relax and revive and spend time with friends and other family members.
Results
Families have access to carer support and sibling support groups run by Shetland Carers as we continue to liaise with this organisation to ensure our activities run parallel to enable carers to attend particular events to support their mental and physical health and wellbeing.
The range of activities that we provide for the children and young people are very social and physical and led by them. We have 1:1 staff / volunteer support for each child so if there is an activity they don't want to take part in they can choose to do something else. This is the children's holiday club so we ensure it is individualised so they get the most from it. Knowing their child is listened to and happy ensures that carers are confident to leave them and fully enjoy their break.
Case study
Some of our parents leave the children at Holiday Club and then head off together. Two of our single parents of autistic boys regularly head off for the day to take part in coastal walks together. They come back with rosy cheeks and are visually more relaxed. They have become friends through dropping off their boys at Holiday Club and you can see that they enjoy each other's company and comment to us that they provide each other with peer support too.