This in from the council. Ed
A range of exciting fun activities have been planned over the coming months and providers are eager to hear from parents of disabled children who would like a break from caring.
Under the government’s ‘short breaks’ scheme, a wide variety of activities are available across the Island for children to enjoy.
The idea behind the scheme is to give parents a break from looking after their children, which could be from a few hours to a whole weekend. It also gives the children an exciting activity to take part in that they normally may not have access to.
Specialist one to one tuition is available from the UKSA to enable disabled children to access wind-surfing, dinghy surfing, keelboat sailing, kayaking and sailing for half or whole days of fun.
The YMCA is providing summer day camps and Nettlecombe Farm is offering parents and their children a chance to visit a farm with small animals, plenty of play areas for picnics and three fishing lakes for casual or fishing tuition. The West Wight Sports Centre is offering specialist sessions for aquarobics and swimming.
New all-terrain wheelchairs will also give disabled children the opportunity to go on forest or beach excursions.
Short breaks are available to all families of disabled children, in particular those with severe and complex needs. All activities are either free of charge or require a nominal fee.
Earlier this year, organisations were asked to bid for contracts starting from £2,500 upwards against strict criteria. Disabled children and young people were a vital part of the commissioning process.
The funding is available under the government’s ‘Aiming High for Disabled Children’ programme which aims, in particular, to improve the short break opportunities for those children with the most severe and complex disabilities.
Further details and information on the activities available can be found either online at www.iwight.com/council/aiminghigh/default.asp or you may prefer to ring the Family Information Zone on 821999.
