Children’s Service Eligibility
We provide a variety of projects and short breaks for children and young people, with many of these being subsidised through our contract with SMBC or supported by other organisations like HAF.
To gain a deeper understanding, please take a moment to review the information below.
If you would like to discuss your eligibility please contact us via:
Phone: 0121 779 3865
Email: childrens@sololifeopportunities.org
Targeted Community Short Breaks for children and young people with a disability
Children and young people will be eligible to attend and receive the services provided by SoLO and subsidised by SMBC:
- up to their 19th birthday (or until the end of Year 13 if they attend a special school)
- if they are resident in the borough or are in care and are the responsibility of Solihull Council, wherever they are placed.
To be eligible for Targeted Short Breaks a child or young person must have a disability (as defined by the Equality Act 2010) that prevents them from accessing universal services without substantial ongoing additional support.
When applying for the service, families will be required to provide confirmation of eligibility. This could include:
- Evidence that the child or young person is in receipt of middle or higher rate disability living allowance (DLA) or any personal independence payment (PIP)
- An Education, Health and Care Plan or Social Care Assessment showing a relevant assessed need
- A letter from a relevant professional (e.g. their GP, consultant, schools special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO), community nurse or another relevant professional) confirming that the child or young person’s needs mean that they require targeted services for children and young people with disabilities.
Joining SoLO
All the activities that take place on our breaks are planned around age groups and support needs. Before your child can attend one of our breaks, they must be registered with SoLO.
During registration you will be asked to complete a profile, which will be used to assess their support needs and ensure that we can allocate to the right age/ability group and provide the right levels of support. The more information you can give us at this stage is really important. We aim to make this process as easy as possible and will offer a variety of options of the best way to get this information.
Once registered and we have agreed the most appropriate break with you, you can then register for opportunities that become available on our term time and holiday breaks.
First attendance
We can offer a taster session for a child to attend and see if they like it. This gives the child and parents an opportunity to discover what the break is like and to meet the staff. It also gives us a chance to further assess the support needed. A parent may attend this first session with their child to help them manage any anxiety they have about attending (it also helps the parents’ anxiety about leaving their child in someone else’s care). We find that most children tend to settle better without their parent present, but this is dependent on each individual child. We will work with parents and carers to support the best way to encourage a child to successfully attend and to get the most out of the break.
It may be that after the first attendances we feel a different break, or a different level of support would be more suitable, and we will liaise with parents and staff to identify and try other breaks until we find the right one for them. We work closely with other service providers and can signpost you to other children’s breaks that are on offer.
Register
If you’re eligible and wish to enroll your child in our services, please contact us via:
Email: info@sololifeopportunities.org (please add Children’s Service Enquiry as your email subject)
Phone: 0121 779 3865
