What kind of short breaks are available?
All the short break services described below require an assessment from a social worker.
If you would like to be assessed for these services, please contact the social work team at Wellington House by phoning 01273 295 550.
If you are already involved with a health or social care professional, they can make a referral on your behalf. You can read more about social workers.
There are also short break services that don't require a social care assessment. These include after-school and holiday play schemes and the Compass Leisure Card.
You can visit these pages for more information:
Who is eligible for short breaks
Children and young people in Brighton & Hove are eligible for short breaks if they have a disability where it's assessed that their needs in terms of their learning disability, physical disability, challenging behaviour and/or mental health issues can be met only through the input of specialist services.
A disability is defined as a mental or physical impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on the ability to perform normal day-to-day activities.
Outreach service
Experienced workers provide children with disabilities with individual support, enabling them to access social and leisure activities within the community. You can read more about the outreach service.
Barnardos Link Plus
Offers family-based short breaks with a link family, ranging from a few hours of daycare to overnight or weekend breaks.
You can read more about Barnardos Link Plus.
Barnardos Home Support Sitting Service
Provides care in the child’s home or in the community.
Barnardos Contract Carers
Provides overnight care to children and young people with autism and/or challenging behaviour.
You can read more about Barnardos Contract Carers.
Crossroads
Provides a home sitting service for children and young people with disabilities.
You can read more about Crossroads.
Tudor House
This is a residential home offering short breaks for young people who have severe learning disabilities and who may also have physical disabilities. This facility is best suited to young people aged 10-18.
You can read more about Tudor House.
Drove Road
This is a residential home offering short breaks for young people who have severe learning disabilities. This facility is best suited to young people aged 8-18.
You can read more about Drove Road.
You can read more about our short breaks that don't require an assessment.
Direct payments
Direct Payments are an alternative means of providing families with short breaks - they provide families with money ‘in lieu’ of direct services. This means a family can buy their own short breaks, for example by employing their own home sitter.
Some families may have a mixture of Direct Payments and services, whilst some will have just Direct Payments. Read the Direct Payments advice pack for children (PDF 158kb) for more detailed information.
Contact us
To contact our Specialist Community Disability Service (SCDS) you can:
- send an email to SCDS@brighton-hove.gov.uk
- write a letter to Specialist Community Disability Service (SCDS), Families, Children and Learning, Wellington House, Wellington Street, Brighton, BN2 3AX