Short Breaks
Children may be provided with short breaks under the following legislation:
Situation 1 - Under Section 17 Children Act 1989, in which case they are not Children Looked After, the 2010 Regulations do not apply and there is no requirement to appoint an Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO). A Child in Need Plan is required. Reviews should be carried out at least every 6 months and more often if required; or
Situation 2 - Under Section 20 Children Act 1989, with short breaks of not more than 17 days each in the same setting (where the total number of placement days does not exceed 75 in any 12-month period). In these circumstances, the child is looked after, an IRO must be appointed, and a Short Break Care Plan drawn up and/or families have limited resources to support a child whilst the child is away and may not be able to fully exercise their Parental Responsibility. (See Section 2, Determining the Nature and Status of the Short Break - Assessment of Needs). The 2010 Regulations are modified (Regulation 48), so that Looked After Reviews (see Section 5, Reviews below) and Social Work Visits (see Section 6, Social Work Visits below) are less frequent and the short breaks are treated as a single placement; or
Situation 3 - Under Section 20 Children Act 1989, where the short breaks exceed a total of 17 days per placement/75 days per 12-month period and/or take place in more than one setting. In these circumstances, the child is looked after, an IRO must be appointed, and a Care Plan drawn up. The 2010 Regulations apply in full, including the provisions on frequency of Looked After Reviews (see Section 5, Reviews below) and Social Work Visits (see Section 6, Social Work Visits below).
In situations 1 and 2, the requirements which usually apply to children looked after in respect of health assessments and reports, and notification of placements, do not apply.
Situation 4 – Under Section 2: provision of services under the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970. This is where a local authority having functions under section 29 of the National Assistance Act 1948 are satisfied in the case of any person to whom that section applies who is ordinarily resident in their area that it is necessary in order to meet the needs of that person for that authority to make arrangements for all or any of the following matters, namely:
- The provision of practical assistance for that person in his home;
- The provision for that person of, or assistance to that person in obtaining, wireless, television, library or similar recreational facilities;
- The provision for that person of lectures, games, outings or other recreational facilities outside his home or assistance to that person in taking advantage of educational facilities available to him;
- The provision for that person of facilities for, or assistance in, travelling to and from his home for the purpose of participating in any services provided under arrangements made by the authority under the said section 29 or, with the approval of the authority, in any services provided otherwise than as aforesaid which are similar to services which could be provided under such arrangements;
- The provision of assistance for that person in arranging for the carrying out of any works of adaptation in his home or the provision of any additional facilities designed to secure his greater safety, comfort or convenience;
- Facilitating the taking of holidays by that person, whether at holiday homes or otherwise and whether provided under arrangements made by the authority or otherwise;
- The provision of meals for that person whether in his home or elsewhere;
- The provision for that person of, or assistance to that person in obtaining, a telephone and any special equipment necessary to enable him to use a telephone,
The legal basis on which services are provided should be clear. The decision to provide a short break under Section 17, under Section 20 or the CSDPA 1970 should be informed by the assessment of the child's needs and should take account of parenting capacity and wider family and environmental factors, the wishes and feelings of the child and his/her parents and the nature of the service to be provided.
The key question to ask in deciding whether to provide the short break provision under Section 17, Section 20 or the CSDPA 1970 is how to promote and safeguard the welfare of the child most effectively.
Bromley Local Authority were involved in national research, ‘Innovation in social care assessments for disabled children’ which led to the development of the present on-line assessment. The research was led by the Council for Disabled Children (CDC) and funded by the Department for Education’s (DfE) Social Care Innovation Programme. There followed a report by Coram, summarising the activity and findings of Coram’s evaluation of the Innovation in Social Care Assessments for Disabled Children and Young People Programme led the period May 2015 to September 2016.
The innovation developed was the on-line assessment, from which we offer a lower level of short breaks that can be provided under the Chronically Disabled Person’s Act 1970 or section 17 of the Children Act 1989.
Before making, and when reviewing, a decision about whether to provide accommodation under Section 17 or Section 20, there should be a careful assessment of the child and family's needs that addresses:
- Particular vulnerabilities of the child, including communication method;
- Parenting capacity of the parents within their family and environmental context, taking into account any assessments undertaken on family members as carers under the Children and Family Act 2014 and the Care Act 2014 (see Section 3.2, Carer's Assessment);
- The length of time away from home and the frequency of such stays - the less time the child spends away from home, the more likely it is to be appropriate to provide the accommodation under Section 17;
- Whether short breaks are to be provided in more than one place - where the child has substantial packages of short breaks in different settings, it is more likely to be provided under Section 20;
- Potential impact on the child's place in the family and on primary attachments;
- Observation of the child (especially children who do not communicate verbally) during or immediately after the break by a person familiar with the mood and behaviour of the child (e.g. parents or school staff);
- Views of the child and parents - some children and parents may be reassured by and in favour of the status of a child looked after, while others may resent the implications and associations of the 'looked after' status. The child may benefit from having an Advocate;
- Extent of contact between short break carers and family and between the child and family during the placement;
- Distance from home; and
- The need for an Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) to monitor the child's case and to chair reviews.
It is more likely that the arrangements come within Section 20 where families have limited resources and may have difficulties providing support to their child while s/he is away from home or monitoring the quality of care.
In many situations, the child's Assessment maybe a brief assessment where the trigger for assessment is a request for a short break and this is for relatively low levels of short break provision so that it would fall within the Child in Need criteria (see Section 2, Determining the Nature and Status of the Short Break - Assessment of Needs).
Nevertheless, sufficient information will be required to ensure key information about the child is identified; the reason for the short break; contact and communication details of the person with Parental Responsibility and their ability to monitor the placement whilst the child is there; the child's health and medical details and provision of urgent medical attention (if required); the child's routines, likes, dislikes and current arrangements for the child, (e.g. School) together with behavioural issues and how these are usually dealt with by the family. There should be opportunities for the short break carer and parent and child to meet and discuss the child's personality, routines, etc.
This information and the arrangements should be reflected in a Child in Need Plan (see Section 4, Plans) together with the child's understanding and views of them going into a Short Break situation and the caring arrangements to be provided by the Short Term Break carer.
Where the child is to be Accommodated under Section 20, the relevant Accommodation papers and 'Consent ' details should be completed. A Care and Placement Plan should reflect the arrangements required (see Section 4.2 Child Looked After Short Break Care Plan).
Where the child's circumstances are more complex because of their social and /or health needs and they are receiving substantial levels of short break support (possibly in different placements), they will be Accommodated under Section 20; a more comprehensive Assessment will be required and should include a multi-agency approach.
Care and Placement Plans should be fully completed and recorded and include Consent, Health, Education and Contact Plans.
Where children become Looked After the Independent Reviewing Unit should be advised and appropriate arrangements made for a review, depending upon whether Regulation 48 applies (see Section 5, Reviews).
Short breaks will only be used to provide respite care for foster carers when it is in the child's best interests, including improved stability of the child's placement with the foster carers. Any respite care provided must take full account of the child's needs.
Children who receive short breaks should continue to make progress in their development and acquire skills and/or new experiences.
Parent Carers have a right to have an assessments of their own under the Children and Families Act 2014; section 97 of the Children & Families Act 2014 requires Local Authorities to undertake a 'parent carers needs assessment':
- On the appearance of need; or
- Where an assessment is requested by the parent.
Where requested, then the Local Authority must assess whether that parent has needs for support and, if so, what those needs are. The assessment must include an assessment of whether it is appropriate for the parent to provide, or continue to provide, care for the disabled child, in the light of the parent's needs for support, other needs and wishes.
The assessment must also have regard to:
- The well-being of the parent carer; and
- The need to safeguard and promote the welfare of the child and any other child for whom the parent carer has parental responsibility.
Following assessment, the Local Authority must then decide;
- Whether the parent has needs for support;
- Whether the child has need for support;
- And if so whether those needs could be met (wholly or partly) by services under Children Act 1989, s17.
Services to be provided for parent carers of disabled children should be included in the Child in Need Plan and can be included in the Education, Health and Care Plan, if the child has one.
There should be effective relationships with parents/carers so that they feel confident leaving their child for their stay and they understand what the placement can offer. Parents should feel involved in the planning of the short break placement and that they are able to raise concerns and complaints. Short break staff should be accessible and keep parents informed about their child’s short break experiences.
Also see:
This is applicable where short breaks are provided under Section 17 Children Act 1989.
The Child in Need Plan should be in writing and set out clearly all the services that are to be provided to meet the child's needs. Many families with disabled children receive a range of services to meet their child's needs. Wherever possible there should be a single plan which includes the full range of family support services on a multi-agency basis. The plan will show how the short break will meet the needs of the child and family identified in the assessment. It will:
- Have clear and realistic objectives;
- Include the ascertainable wishes and feelings of the child and views of the family. The child may benefit from having an Advocate;
- Follow consideration of options, including but not limited to direct payments;
- State the nature and frequency of services, as far as is practicable, including health and social care in the same plan, especially if short breaks are provided from different agencies;
- State the child's health, emotional and behavioural development including full details about any disabilities and clinical needs the child may have and medications they may require;
- State the child's specific communication needs, especially for children who communicate non-verbally, and include the child's likes and dislikes with particular regard to leisure activities;
- Include the results of all necessary risk assessments which could include, depending on the child's impairment, moving and handling, invasive procedures, and behaviour;
- State contact arrangements for emergencies;
- State commitments of professionals involved;
- Refer to or summarise any other important documents about the child's development;
- Confirm those caring for the child have been selected following the advice set out in Government guidance on direct payments (see GOV.UK Applying for direct payments); and
- Outline arrangements to review the plan.
The plan should include all the information necessary to ensure the welfare of the child in the short break. Much information may already be available from a variety of sources including the parent-held child record. The plan should be made available as necessary in accessible formats.
This is applicable where short breaks are provided under Section 20 Children Act 1989.
Where, following assessment, it is agreed with the family that the child should be Looked After under Section 20 of the 1989 Act, there will be additional requirements about planning and review. In this situation the information compiled for the Child in Need Plan (as set out in 4.1 above) will form the basis for the Short Break Care Plan required when a child is looked after under Section 20 and Regulation 48 applies (Situation 2).
In Situation 3, the Short Break Care Plan should be linked to the Care Plan, which should include all the key information about the child. These should not be separate plans which duplicate information.
The Short Break Care Plan must set out the arrangements to meet the child's needs with particular regard to:
- The child's health and emotional and behavioural development, any disability, medical needs and medications;
- The child's specific communication needs;
- Promoting contact with parents/anyone with Parental Responsibility;
- Arrangements for contacting parents as necessary, in particular an emergency contact number;
- The child's likes and dislikes regarding stimulation and leisure interests;
- How the carers, as appropriate, promote the child's educational achievement;
- The name and address of the registered medical practitioner;
- The type of accommodation, address, name of person responsible;
- The child's personal history, religious persuasion, cultural and linguistic background and racial origin;
- The respective responsibilities of the Local Authority and parents/anyone with Parental Responsibility; any delegation of responsibility from parents to the Local Authority; the respective roles and responsibilities of the placement provider, social worker, Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) and other staff employed or commissioned by the Local Authority to contribute to the plan for the child's care; the respective safeguarding responsibilities of the provider and the Local Authority;
- The expected duration of the arrangements and the steps to end them; arrangements for giving notice of intention to terminate the placement along with the Local Authority's responsibilities for convening a review of the child's Care and Pathway Plan where there is a risk of the placement being terminated;
- Frequency of visits;
- Financial arrangements for the placement;
- When the child is placed with a Local Authority-approved foster carer, confirmation of the foster carer's agreement;
- The provider's responsibilities for notifying the child's social worker of any significant change in the child's circumstances.
As far as practicable, the child should be involved in agreeing the Plan.
The parents must be fully involved in all aspects of agreeing the Short Break Care Plan.
The plan should be signed by the parents, the Local Authority, those providing the care/ the provider agency and, where appropriate, the child.
There is not a requirement for a separate Placement Plan for short breaks.
(Where required and appropriate please note 'Ceasing to look after a child', Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations - Volume 2: Care Planning, Placement and Case Review).
No significant change to a Child in Need Plan or a Short Break Care Plan should be made unless it has first been considered at a review.
In each case, whether children are provided with accommodation under Section 17 or under Section 20, the review should consider whether this continues to be the most appropriate legislative basis for the service provided.
A record should be kept, recording the views of those involved in the review, decisions taken and the identity of the persons responsible for implementing them.
A case review for a child who is not looked after should:
- Ensure the service(s) provided meet the needs identified in the Child in Need Plan and safeguard and promote the welfare of the child;
- Focus on outcomes for the child and family;
- Be a multi-agency review whenever possible. Different elements of a child's care package should not require a separate review;
- Include the ascertainable wishes and feelings of the child and the views of the family;
- Take place at least six monthly. The needs of the child and family may indicate that a review should take place before the statutory minimum, for example if the child's condition is changing quickly, or there are changed family circumstances, or where there is a complex package of services including direct payments.
A review will usually include a face to face meeting but in some cases, regular review meetings may not be necessary. Generally it should be possible to include a review of short breaks with a review of other aspects of a child's health, education or development, where some of the same people will already be together.
Reviews should take the form of a meeting when requested by the family. In all circumstances a face to face meeting should take place at least once a year.
Depending on the level of service for the child and family and the vulnerability of the child, Local Authorities may wish to consider including an element in the review which is independent of the service provider and those with Parental Responsibility, for example arranging for an 'independent' chair with a role similar to the role of the IRO in the case of a child looked after.
Having an Advocate may be particularly useful for disabled young people moving towards adulthood.
Reviews are less frequent than for Children Looked After in Situation 3:
- The first review must take place within 3 months of the start of the first placement;
- Second and subsequent reviews must take place at intervals of not more than 6 months;
- Reviews may be convened earlier, e.g. at the request of the child, parents or carer; or in cases where the child is particularly vulnerable; or where the child is provided with a high level of short breaks.
They will receive a yearly review, which could be a visit, telephone call or when developed a review on-line assessment. Manager oversight is provided at the Children’s Disability Resource Panel. Formal case supervision is not routinely required on these cases.
The book ‘Disabled Children: A Legal Handbook, 3rd Edition’ provides helpful guidance on the statutory framework regarding the reassessments and reviews of short breaks
Local authorities must keep under review the care needs of disabled children and their families. A care plan should normally specify a ‘review date’ which will ordinarily be within 12 months – although where there is a material change in a disabled child’s needs, a reassessment should be undertaken without delay. Working Together to Safeguard Children states (p29, para 66) that ‘The [child in need] plan should be reviewed regularly to analyse whether sufficient progress has been made to meet the child’s needs and the level of risk faced by the child’ – although of course the reference to ‘level of risk’ may be inapposite in many disabled children’s cases
In R (J) v Hillingdon LBC, the court criticised the absence of any ‘provision or mechanism for reviewing the progress and deciding whether it was sufficient “to meet the child’s needs and the level of risk faced by the child” ’. The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGO) has held that once support needs have been put in place the level of service should continue until there has been a reassessment. A reassessment/review should be undertaken to ascertain if the person’s care needs have changed and if so – if there is a need to make changes to their care plan: a ‘review must not be used as a mechanism to arbitrarily reduce’ the level of a person’s care support.
In addition, there is reference to the linking in with EHC plans.
EHC plans must be reviewed at least every 12 months. Each review should consider the social care provision made and ‘its effectiveness in ensuring good progress towards outcomes’. Although a representative of social care must be invited to the review and given two weeks’ notice of the meeting, there is no absolute requirement in the SEND Code that they should attend. However, it is difficult to see how the requirements of the review can be achieved without direct input from children’s social care in cases where there is any social care provision being made under the plan. The SEND Code states that ‘EHC plan reviews should be synchronised with social care plan reviews and must always meet the needs of the individual child’.
Visits should usually be undertaken by a qualified social worker and always by a person with the skills and experience to communicate effectively with the child and fulfil the functions of the visit.
Situation 1
No statutory requirement for visits.
Situation 2
Visits should take place at regular intervals to be agreed with the Independent Reviewing Officer and parents/person(s) with Parental Responsibility and recorded in the Short Break Care Plan before the start of the first placement.
In any event:
- The first visit must take place within 3 months of the first placement day or as soon as practicable thereafter;
- Subsequent visits must take place at intervals of no more than 6 months for as long as the short breaks continue.
Situation 3
Visits must take place:
- Within one week of the start of the placement;
- Thereafter, at intervals of no more than six weeks for the first year.
Situation 4
There are no statutory requirement for visits.
Following the assessment of the child and family, short breaks can be arranged in a number of settings which are subject to different registration and inspection requirements.
| Outline Requirements on Settings Where Short Breaks Might Take Place | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Hospices |
Regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) under the Care Quality Commission (Registration) Requirements 2009 |
Hospices are regulated and inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) |
|
Local Authority foster care |
Fostering services are registered with and inspected by Ofsted. |
Revised National Minimum Standards which came into force in April 2011 |
|
Children's homes |
Children's homes are registered with and inspected by Ofsted. |
|
|
Residential special schools |
Different regimes apply depending on whether the residential special school is maintained, non-maintained or independent. |
The National Minimum Standards for residential special schools which came into force from 1st April 2015 |
Looked after children under the age of 16 cannot be placed in 'other arrangements' placements for the purposes of a short break except where the accommodation is provided as part of a residential holiday scheme for disabled children or is one of the other exempted regulated settings under Regulation 27A Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010:
- A care home as defined in section 105(1) Children Act 1989;
- A hospital as defined in section 275(1) of the National Health Service Act 2006;
- A residential family centre as defined in section 4(2) of the Care Standards Act;
- A school within the meaning of section 4 of the Education Act 1996 providing accommodation that is not registered as a children's home as defined in section 105(1) Children Act 1989.
(See also Placements in Other Arrangements Procedure)
This section provides additional guidance around the internal procedures for assessing, reviewing and level of supervision required for children open to the Children’s Disability Team.
Where appropriate we encourage families to complete an on-line assessment of the child and family’s needs. This was developed as part of a social care innovation work with the Council for Disabled Children. It is widely recognised that disabled children are over assessed. The majority of these children fall under ‘situation 4’.
The term ‘Children in Need’ is categorised Under section 17 of the Children Act 1989. It states in section 10, ‘For the purposes of this Part a child shall be taken to be in need if, and in section c states ‘he is disabled’. Section 11 provides the definition of disability which is broad stating, 'For the purposes of this Part, a child is disabled if he is blind, deaf or dumb or suffers from mental disorder of any kind or is substantially and permanently handicapped by illness, injury or congenital deformity or such other disability as may be prescribed; and in this Part:
- “Development” means physical, intellectual, emotional, social or behavioural development; and
- “Health” means physical or mental health'.
Using this definition all children open to the Children’s Disability Team, can be defined as a Child in Need. Bromley have broken down this term into three interchangeable levels dependent on the presenting level of need. In addition to these 3 areas, we also support children who are subject to a CP plan, Children Looked After, or children whereby we are completing a Child and Family assessment all of which have their own specific review, visit and completion timescales.
Within the team and recorded within Liquidlogic we have used the following definitions:
CIN
These children will receive the highest level of monitoring of all CIN cases. The term ‘CIN’ is used across social care to refer to children in part 1 and 2 of the definition of a CIN under section 17. These are often children who have been stepped down following a child protection plan or remain in need following a Child and Family assessment and require ongoing support through social care. Within the Children’s Disability Team, these children will also include children who have stepped down from a Child Protection Plan, or where we have lower level safeguarding concerns not meeting the threshold for referral for a Child Protection Conference or at risk of being accommodated under section 20.
They will receive 4 weekly visits and 6 weekly reviews, alongside an expectation of 1 monthly case supervision.
CIN Support
These children are a sub-category of our children in need, where in the majority of cases they are benefiting from being allocated a Social Worker/Social Work Assistant. There will not be safeguarding issues which are attributable to the parents, however there could be complexity of the child’s need and /or the family situation or a necessity to meet with the team around the child to ensure the child and family are supported to meet positive outcomes.
They will receive 3 monthly visits and 6 monthly reviews, alongside an expectation of 3 monthly case supervision.
CIN Review (referred to as situation 4)
These children are open to the service, predominantly due to needing a low level of short break to support parents in their caring role of their child with disabilities. Despite these children being of high need in line with team’s criteria of having a severe or profound disability, a lower level of monitoring is recommended, with no evident concerns over parenting or no identified need for requiring more regular multi-agency meetings. These children are likely to have a EHCP and require a 12 monthly EHCP review, where it might be appropriate for social care professionals to attend. Under Article 8 of the Human Rights Act, this protects a person’s right to respect for their private life, their family life, their home and their correspondence (letters, telephone calls and emails, for example), therefore these families can choose to receive the least intrusive level of support, however, can request a new assessment as and when needed by the young person/family.
Many of these children would have entered the service through an online assessment, which has similar domains of a child and family assessment; development of the child or young person; parents and carers needs; and family and environment factors. However, the on-line assessment is more focussed on the child’s additional needs and the care needed to support such need, with limited focus on safeguarding. At any point a family can request a formal child and family assessment. Equally, if the information shared at assessment, raises concern over the welfare of the child, a child and family assessment will be completed prior to the provision of services.
Other children under this CIN level might have historically received a child and family assessment, however the reason they remain open to the service is primarily due to receiving short breaks. Therefore, the referral process might be different, however the provision of support is similar.
They will receive a yearly review, which could be a visit, telephone call or when developed a review on-line assessment. Manager oversight is provided at the Children’s Disability Resource Panel. Formal case supervision is not routinely required on these cases.
The key to providing safe care to children in their own homes is the same as to the provision of safe care elsewhere. It is essential that safe recruitment practices are followed and staff are properly trained and supervised and that the requirements of the Disclosure and Barring Service are complied with where they apply to Regulated Activity. (See DBS referrals guide: summary of regulated activity with children).
Where the Local Authority provides a sitter or overnight carer in the child's own home, the child is not being provided with accommodation by the Local Authority and the authority is therefore providing the short break service under Section 17 Children Act 1989.
However, caring for or supervising children unsupervised, or providing Personal Care to them, will come within the definition of Regulated Activity under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 as amended by the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, and the requirements of the Disclosure and Barring Service in relation to Regulated Activities will apply.
Best practice is that the child should be cared for by an approved Local Authority foster carer. Childminders with whom the Local Authority places or wishes to place children overnight (or childminders wishing to take on such work) should be asked to apply for approval as Local Authority foster carers. It is not appropriate for the Local Authority to provide overnight accommodation with childminders who are not also approved foster carers.
It is essential that individuals providing care in their own homes are subject to full employment and personal checks, as well as safe recruitment methods, and that they are provided with induction and training.
There are no requirements for agencies to register with Ofsted or the Care Quality Commission if they provide services to support disabled children in the community or in their own homes, unless they provide Personal Care. If Personal Care is provided, services must register with the Care Quality Commission and comply with the relevant standards, and the activities will be Regulated Activity.
The Children’s Disability Resource Panel (CDRP) is the decision-making panel approving short break and resource allocation with the aim of improving outcomes for children and young people with disabilities and their families and providing value for money. It is acknowledged that short break services can be essential in supporting parents of children with disabilities, and in some cases, preventing family breakdown. For children and young people, short breaks can give the opportunity to have new experiences, socialise, and reduce their feelings of isolation and promote their inclusion in the community.
For the purpose of the Panel the definition of disability is that identified in the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 which defines a person with a disability as someone who has 'a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and adverse, long term effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.'
Wherever possible, families with children with disabilities, like other families, should be able to access practical support services easily without having to pass through too many professional 'gateways'. There are a wide range of short breaks and community services available.
The Panel allocates specialist short break care resources to families of children with a disability, who have been assessed as meeting the threshold for a service from Childrens Disability Service by having a severe and profound disability or critical health needs. These will be children who require additional short break services over and above the Local Offer or those provided by universal and mainstream provision, and who are disabled.
- Aged 0-18;
- Diagnosis of a severe and profound physical disability;
- Children with a diagnosis of severe and profound autistic spectrum disorder, the impact of which is severe and profound in the daily functioning of the young person;
- Children with life limiting conditions, multiple and complex health needs;
- Children with severe and profound learning disability the impact of which has a severe and profound impact on their daily functioning.
This does not include:
- Children with moderate disability;
- Children with Social Emotional Mental Health Difficulties;
- Children with cognition and learning difficulties.
The Panel will provide both a structured process and effective guidance to social workers and other staff to ensure that the plan for the child to have a short break is in the child's best interest by:
- Providing consistent support or challenge whether families meet threshold;
- Ensuring that all appropriate support for short break for the child or young person to be inclusive in the community and where it is safe to do so;
- Ensuring that a child or young person short breaks are regularly reviewed;
- Ensure robust decisions regarding good quality and a range of suitable provisions for children;
- Ensuring that families practice their parenting responsibility;
- Ensuring resources are reviewed within a best value framework to meet the needs of the children and young people:
- Maintaining management oversight of budget pressures and demand.
- Collecting and collating management information which informs the Councils overall strategy and will help to identify any gaps in service provision available;
- Oversight to ensure the effective use of short break provision
- Improved and timely support for families of children and young people with disabilities;
- Integrated packages with key partners (such as Education and Health);
- Contributing to a reduction of the numbers of children in care;
- Improved and targeted commissioning;
- Improved relationships with placement providers leading to value for money.
- Decision making is child focused, whilst recognising the needs of the family and carers role and impact;
- Decision making is needs led and outcome focused;
- The panel members will focus on the right intervention being implemented at the right time;
- The voice of the child will be clear and heard;
- Provide a forum to determine the most appropriate resources to achieve positive outcomes;
- Be responsive to children and young people’s needs, culture and disability;
- Ensure short breaks provide the opportunity for young people to progress to take a long view into adulthood and to support transition planning into age appropriate support services;
- There will be a clear expectation that agencies work in partnership to meet children’s needs;
- To ensure that where possible every consideration is given to safely maintaining a child or young person safely within their home environment, extended family, schools and communities;
- Strengthening family relationships;
- To promote inclusion and access to universal services;
- To ensure that short breaks are provided based on the principles of choice and control for families.
- To act as a gateway for all entries to care for children with disabilities and any resources needed in relation to this;
- To understand the child or young person’s needs and consider if the planned response is appropriate;
- To review if the short break will meet the child’s needs and achieve the best outcomes, to measure impact of the short break;
- To ensure appropriate services are involved where necessary;
- To identify trends and feedback into practice and placement commissioning/sufficiency;
- To consider allocation of resource and ensure value for money;
- To offer consultation;
- To share good practice;
- To prevent a drift in short break allocation.
On the basis of a Child & Family Assessment, the panel will agree in principle the allocation of the following resources:
- Direct payments;
- Playscheme allocation;
- Activity Budget;
- Mencap Services – childminding/community workers/buddying;
- Overnight short breaks – Home/Hollybank/Foster care;
- Short breaks through Bromley’s Fostering Service;
- Outreach/domiciliary support in the child’s home, through an independent agency;
- Signpost to other services – e.g. Bromley Children’s Project, Maypole, Mencap, Local Offer;
- Spot purchase of additional resources where required, to meet the assessed needs of the child.
On the basis of an online assessment the panel will agree up to the following allocation. This is viewed as a maximum allocation without a formal child and family assessments being completed, although each child and family will be assessed considering their own individual circumstances and needs.
- Up to 8 hours DP per week;
- 400 hours childminding per annum;
- 17 days playscheme per annum;
- £2,000 activity budget per annum.
The Disability Resources Panel will not consider:
- Applications for Day Care Services such as childminder or Nursery to enable a parent to work;
- Applications for play schemes that surpass a short break allocation thereby providing childminding to enable a parent to work.
Children assessed as suffering or likely to suffer Significant Harm should be referred directly to the Children and Family hub.
The panel will maintain an overview of short break resources allocation and co-ordinate referrals to the most appropriate service to secure the best outcomes for the child. Needs will be prioritised to ensure that services are allocated appropriately. Shortfalls in provision will inform new service commissioning.
Membership is made up of, but not exclusive to the following roles:
- Group Manager Children’s Disability Service (Chair);
- Specialist Information Officer;
- Occupational Therapist;
- Integrated Commissioner;
- Representative from Early Intervention Service;
- Representative from SEND;
- Representative from CPT commissioning;
- Panel Administrator.
We will continually encourage new and existing staff to attend panel and observe as part of their ongoing development and learning.
Where members are absent due to annual leave, the panel administrator must be informed, and they will be required to identify deputies to attend in their absence. This will ensure continuity and consistency in panel membership.
The panel will be considered quorate if the chair, vice chair or their representative, at least one other panel member and the administrator is present. A lack of quoracy will result in the panel being stood down and all agenda items deferred to an alternative panel.
The agenda and supporting papers will usually be shared with panel members by noon on the Friday before panel, by the panel administrator. This will give panel members sufficient time to consider all paperwork prior to panel.
The panel administrator is responsible for collating all referrals and ensuring timely and correct receipt of all paperwork, allocating times for social care staff to attend panel and the circulation of the documentation. The decision log is used to ensure all decisions from panel are recorded in one place and provide a clear audit trail. The log is maintained by the panel administrator and is reviewed at each panel.
The panel will meet on a fortnightly basis – Wednesday afternoons 2pm to 4pm.
All decisions will be recorded on a decision log which will be made available to all panel members as part of the panel papers. The Resource Panel are accountable to the Head of Service 0-25 Service.
- Approval by Team Manager.
The following attachments must be sent to the access to resources inbox by 1pm Friday prior to Wednesday panel:
- Resource Request Form – to include recommendation and costs;
- Child & Family Assessment (if not an online assessment);
- CIN Plan/CP Plan/Pathway Plan;
- Resource approval will not be agreed if these papers are not received on time.
The child’s Social Worker/ Lead Professional will be responsible for co-ordinating the package of support, based on the panel’s decision. The Commissioning team will assist in this process as required.
The Social Worker will be informed in writing of the panel’s decision. A letter will also be sent to parents (via mail from social worker).
If a parent is not happy with the panel’s decision, this should be put in writing to the chair of the panel outlining the reasons why. This will be discussed at the next panel meeting, with the parent notified of the outcome of the discussion in writing.
If the parent is still not satisfied, an official complaint can be made via Bromley’s complaints procedures.
In cases of emergency, resources will be allocated by the Group Manager/Team Manager as per internal processes. If support for the family is required on a longer term basis, the case will be presented to panel so that resources can be agreed accordingly.
The terms of reference of the panel will be reviewed periodically.
Last Updated: May 20, 2024
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