Short Breaks

Local authorities have a range of legal duties to provide breaks for carers and disabled children, called ‘short breaks’. Within this is a legal responsibility assist individuals who provide care for disabled children to continue to do so, or to do so more effectively, by giving them breaks from caring (Children Act 1989, schedule 2, paragraph 6).

Short breaks should also be available to support parent carers to care for their child ‘more effectively’ to enable them to:

o    undertake education, training or any regular leisure activity
o   meet the needs of other children in the family more effectively, or
o  carry out day to day tasks which they must perform in order to run their household.

Carers assessments are usually done via another organisation on behalf of the local authority. Unfortunately, most people we've asked have not found these to be of any help.