Summary
Our Better Breaks project is part of our Carer Support Service delivering a shortbreak service in Shetland to both children and young people with disabilities and their carers. This is done through a range of targeted activities and groups which all aim to give time out.
What Better Breaks - Shetland did
VAS Carers offered a range of groups, sessions and activities to young people with siblings with additional needs, parent carers, families and young people with additional needs. It is without doubt that these groups have positively impacted on the mental health of the participants and their families, and allowed them to continue in their caring role.
Siblings came together regularly to have fun, share their experiences, have a break from their caring role and gain peer support from other young people in similar circumstances. These siblings were given the opportunity to go to the cinema, make a soft toy, make pancakes, decorate biscuits, visit beaches, explore/learn about local history, make Christmas and Valentines decorations and learn about Vikings at the local museum. Some of these sessions took place during the school holidays, others once a month.
Teenagers who were vulnerable in other groups took part in a fortnightly group to improve their access to a mainstream environment, as well as boost their confidence in these settings and increasing their independence.
Family days were offered to families who would benefit from it, and allowed their children to all play together without being judged by other families in a mainstream environment.
Parent carers were given a break from their caring role when their children attended any of these groups, and were able to gain peer support and build support networks by speaking to other parent carers at the groups. Parent carers were given the opportunity to take part in four wellbeing sessions and two informal chat sessions .
Young people with additional needs and their siblings were able to take part in Lego Group, which was offered in regular blocks of sessions. This helped them to work on turn taking, communication and sharing in a fun way. These skills could then be transferred to other situations. All of these groups have been successful, especially on an individual level, for those involved. As with any groups, we have seen lower numbers attending at certain times, and then the groups grow again when circumstances change or new families join.
What Shetland Carers, Voluntary Action Shetland has learned
These groups have continued to be a lifeline for the families that use them. The continued rise in the cost of living has hit these families hard, and they have had to cut back the family expenditure. For some, our groups are the only groups that they are able to access, and are seen as a 'treat'. There is no spare money in households for nice things or fun activities. With this in mind, we have tried to ensure that we are offering a range of activities that are fun, worthwhile and give the participant a break from their caring role. We always offer snack on our sessions (except Family Days) and this is gratefully received.
It has been clear this year that parents have wanted to access more support and to feel less isolated in their caring role. We were able to try a pilot of informal get-together sessions and these were well received. They gave parents another opportunity to gain peer support and to access information from our service – sometimes to be signposted to another organisation or service. It is really important to be as flexible as possible to meet the needs of the group.
Friday Group changed slightly this year, with participants wanting time to hang out with their friends at group rather than doing an activity. Games were always available but they wanted time to listen to music, chat and have a snack. It became clear that these young people with additional needs do not get the same chance to hang out with their friends to do these things as mainstream young people do. The staff member was happy to sit back and be there for support if needed.
How Shetland Carers, Voluntary Action Shetland has benefitted from the funding
This funding has helped to strengthened existing links between the voluntary sector and ASN education which has become a partnership to allow the young people who need the group to attend the Friday Group. The ASN Outreach teacher was also involved in referring young people to the group. This has allowed our service to offer support to new families who we might not have had contact with otherwise. This has also been evident in our partnership working with the local youth services staff to enable an occasional venue for Friday Group. The funding has allowed us to give feedback and recommendations to mainstream facilities e.g. the Family Sessions at the local leisure centre, and Friday Group at the local arts centre. This has undoubtedly strengthened their services and has benefited families who go on to use these services in the future. This is something that we do on every session but staff in these organisations often change so it is still important that we do this.
We have been able to continue a volunteering placement for an adult at our Sibling Group sessions. This has allowed them good and useful experience to use on their CV for further employment and educational opportunities. Through delivering our sessions, staff are increasing their knowledge of each family’s own situation and needs as well as strengthening their own individual relationship with the family. As well as making us more able to adapt to any emerging needs, this increased knowledge and strengthened relationship enhances the reputation of VAS Carers Support Service reputation with families.
Our service is a vital lifeline for a lot of the families we work with, and it has never been more needed.
Project Outcomes
Outcome
Lego Group: participation in the sessions which will grow skills that will be transferable in other areas of their life. Friday Group will allow young people who are vulnerable in other groups to come together fortnightly in a relaxed youth-club style session in the local arts centre.
Results
Lego Group: target was 24 sessions. We delivered 19 sessions. These sessions allowed young people to consolidate their skills in a supportive environment. The participants enjoyed taking part and looked forward to each session. Fewer sessions were delivered than intended due to the worker being on compassionate leave.
Friday group: target was 19 sessions. We delivered 17 sessions. These sessions were very valued by the participants, but some sessions were unable to take place as due to the worker being on compassionate leave.
Case study
Cody is 17. Cody has communication difficulties and need support to go to cafes, cinema etc. Her teacher thought that she would like to come along to Friday Group as her social circle had decreased over the past year and Cody often said that they felt lonely. The worker went along to school to meet Cody and her teacher. This meant that Cody knew who was running the group and could ask any questions she had about it before we started. Cody was a bit unsure of coming, even after meeting the worker, and the teacher reassured her that she would come along for part of Cody’s first session as well.
Cody and her teacher met up with the rest of the group and Cody quickly relaxed as she knew most of the other participants. Cody was happy for the teacher to sit in a different part of the café away from the group but asked her to stay for the whole session ‘just in case’. The teacher was happy to do this.
Cody interacted well with the rest of the group and had fun chatting, sharing stories and eating cake! Cody thought that she would like to come again and one of the other participants said that they could walk from school together. Cody ran this past their teacher who came over at the end of the session and she said it was a brilliant idea. The teacher supported these young people to do just that each time that group was on.
Over subsequent sessions, Cody’s confidence grew and so did her social circle. Cody said that she really liked coming to the group and the best bit was getting “to hang out with my friends – I don’t see them outside school and they have never been to my house”.
It occurred to the worker that young people like Cody do not get the regular opportunity to hang out with their friends as their mainstream peers might. This kind of group is invaluable in these instances as it provides a safe environment for the young people to meet with each other, with as much support as needed on hand. Cody’s mum shared that Cody had been much happier since she started coming to group, and now talked about her friends and the things they got up to – something that hadn’t happened in a long time.
Outcome
Sibling Group will build up sustainable support networks and give a break from their caring role. Family Days create opportunities for families with children with additional needs to feel comfortable to attend activities together. Parents can attend Parent Group to do a time out activity.
Results
Sibling Group/Family Days: target 16 sessions. We delivered 17 sessions. Sibling Group sessions were offered on the last Saturday of the month, and more were offered in the school holidays. These were well attended and the young people had a brilliant time! Favourite activities from this year were crafty activities and trips to the park/beach with ice cream. Family Days were three bouncy castle sessions in the local leisure centre. These were great fun and allowed families to mix with each other during the school holidays.
Parent Group: target 4 sessions. We delivered 6 sessions. 4 sessions offered a time out activity to parent carers, allowing them a chance to make links with others who are facing similar situations. This will help to strengthen their support networks. Staff attended to lead the activities and signpost to other organisations as needed. The other 2 sessions were a pilot as requested by the participants to have a more regular catch up session for a cuppa and a chat. These were popular.
Case study
“It’s my birthday. This couldn’t have fallen on a better day. I’ve been able to spend time with lovely people, feel supported, do something crafty and have a hot meal that I didn’t have to rush – what a luxury! I am so glad that I came.” Parent Carer who attends our Parent Group.
“Family Days are so great. My whole family loves coming along and I know that we are not going to get any stares or comments if my youngest makes her noises. There aren’t many places we can go without that happening. Here, everyone just plays and joins in to whatever level they want to and there is no judgement. I feel more relaxed here with other parents who know what it is like to have a child with an additional need.”
Parent Carer who attends our Family Days.
“I love coming to Sibling Group! We always get to do fun activities. I really don’t mind what we do – it is always fun. One time we went for a walk and got ice cream – it was soooo yummy, and then we went to the beach. We were allowed to paddle up to our knees. I made a sandcastle with my friend and we made a moat round it that filled up with the waves. I found a bit of blue seaglass! That is really rare and I put it in my special jar and that will remind me of being at the beach with Sibling Group. “ Sibling Group participant.
Outcome
Parent Group: target 4 sessions. We delivered 6 sessions. As detailed in Outcome 2 above.
Family Days: We delivered 3 sessions. As detailed in Outcome 2 above
Results
Please see the results for Parent Group and Family Days in Outcome 2 above.
Case study
Parents who attended the Parent Group wellbeing/time out sessions had a discussion during one of the sessions. This was around how much they would like to have a more regular chance to chat to each other. They were very clear that they really valued the sessions that already happened but felt there was too long between them (4 sessions spaced throughout the year).
The worker approached Better Breaks to see if it was possible to do a pilot of a more regular drop in group and they were happy for us to go ahead. This pilot group was offered at the midway point between the remaining sessions. This meant that Parent Carers had the opportunity to link with each other roughly every 6 weeks.
Parents who attended these pilot groups found them to be very useful and they were able to gain peer support for each other. This made them feel less isolated and more able to continue with their caring role.
Outcome
On the project we are measuring the wellbeing scores for people over a period of time. Success is when these scores are improving over a period of time. We will also look at some of these scores as a family.
Results
Families were supported as a group and/or individually as needed. Our service has been a point of contact for information, and has helped in many situations. Our groups have helped young people, siblings and parents to connect with each other. This, without a doubt, has improved the wellbeing of all involved.
Case study
Several parents have approached our service to gain information about the rights of a child and family in terms of their additional support at school. This has ranged from how to make sure the child with additional needs is supported in school, to when is an exclusion from school an unlawful one. We have been able to source information about these issues from various national organisations. This has included giving numbers for helplines, links to webchats to speak to advisors and support to access these things. We have signposted to local organisations e.g. CAB and Advocacy. This information has then been made available to other families through email and our facebook page.