Aiming High for Disabled Children (AHDC) - Short Breaks

Short breaks for disabled children are a key priority in the Aiming High for Disabled Children programme. This resource contains information, advice and guidance for practitioners at all levels seeking to improve short break services for families with disabled children.

Local authorities in England have specific additional funding of £370 million during 2008-11 to improve the quality and quantity of short break services for families with disabled children. 21 pathfinder areas have been chosen to pilot the delivery of innovative and high quality short break services. Short breaks are additional services provided to disabled children and young people to enable them to gain new experiences away from their families and to provide their families with a break from caring.

These resources will enable professionals to understand the short break transformation programme and meet the requirement to deliver a short break Full Service Offer in every area.

To help you select the resource most appropriate to your needs, we have provided some detail of the contents here:

Short break funding allocations for 2008-11 - the local authority funding allocation letter for short breaks to be read in conjunction with the Sure Start, Early Years and Childcare Grant Memorandum of Grant and implementation guidance

Capital Funding Q&A - commonly-asked questions on the additional £90 million capital funding announced in the DCSF Children's Plan

Sure Start, early years & childcare (SSEYC) grant: 2008-09 Memorandum of Grant - sets out the terms and conditions of short break funding, held within the AHDC block of the SSEYC grant, and should be read in conjunction with the SSEYC grant MoG and implementation guidance.

Short breaks pathfinder application report
The DCSF invited children's services departments, in partnerships with PCTs, to submit expressions of interest in being part of a short breaks pathfinder programme. The submissions received contained a wealth of information from a number of areas relating to both their current provision of short breaks and plans for meeting the aspirations of Aiming High. This report brings together the valuable information gained from local areas through this process to support shared learning.

Short breaks Q&A - provides important questions and answers for local authorities and PCTs outside of short break pathfinder areas.

Short breaks implementation guidance - informs Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) and local authorities provision of short breaks. PCTs should also consider this guidance in shaping their response to the 2008-09 NHS Operating Framework priorities.

Short breaks implementation guidance cover letter the letter should be read in conjunction with short breaks implementation guidance and provides information on associated funding announcements.