Southwark Council is reviewing its short breaks provision for children with disabilities, aiming to strengthen preventative services and reduce inequality.

The Health and Social Care Scrutiny Commission met on Wednesday 2 July 2025, to discuss the impact of changes to the short breaks model, including the ending of provision at Orient Street. Short breaks include core provisions like workshops, trips, and family events.

The new short breaks offer aligns with the principles of Southwark's 2030 Vision, focusing on strengthening preventative services, reducing inequality, and empowering people. The aim is to provide more targeted support to families, ensuring children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) have access to meaningful activities and their carers can access breaks during high-pressure periods like school holidays.

Delivery locations for short breaks include after-school clubs, weekend programmes, and holiday playschemes. Targeted short breaks services show that almost 50% of users are Black, 17% are White, 13% are of mixed ethnicity, and 7% are Asian.

In a survey conducted in September 2024, 88% of young people and parent carers rated the provision they accessed as good or excellent. Furthermore, 94% of parent carers agreed that the short breaks provision had a positive impact on their mental wellbeing, and 92% stated that their child had tried new things.

Overnight short breaks data from February 2024 to January 2025 showed that five children and young people accessed overnight short breaks totalling 131 days, costing £117,000. The flexibility of the new model has freed up £475,000 to invest in a more comprehensive short break offer, as well as spending £117,000 on overnight short breaks.

When Orient Street provided overnight short breaks in 2022, it served 28 children and young people with an occupancy rate of 45.12%. Since its closure:

  • 11 young people have moved into adulthood.
  • 12 are in receipt of specialist support.
  • 2 continue to receive overnight short breaks through third-party providers.
  • 2 have been accommodated, with no overall increase in the number of children looked after.
  • 1 young person died of natural causes.