SEND 0-25 Service

Civic Centre

North Block

Ground Floor

Southampton SO14 7LY

23rdMarch 2017

Dear Buzz Network Families,

Re: Short Breaks Review and Redesign and2017-18 Buzz Network Short Break Allocation

Short Breaks Redesign

Following feedback from families we have agreed to carry out a review and redesign of both Jigsaw (assessed) and Buzz Network (Non-assessed)Short Breaks. Parents have given us this feedback in various formats, including:

  • A petition in response to the 2017/18 Council Budget Consultation
  • Feedback via a targeted meeting held by the Southampton Parent Carer Forum
  • Parent carer and young person feedback as part of the Southampton OFSTED/CQC SEND Area Inspection
  • Via 3 focus group meetings held by the SEND Service in March 2017

Parents told us that whilst some aspects of the offer work really well, that others do not. We have therefore decided to carry out a full redesign to enable us to make the offer more fair, equitable and sustainable.

This review will begin in early April with the development of a task and finish group. The group will have equal representation from the Local Authority and Parent Carers. To express an interest to be a part of this group please contact Claire Pritchard – Southampton Parent Carer Forum Coordinator, on the details below:

Email:
Telephone: 07410 411344

Claire will arrange parent representationto ensure that the wide range of both age and need are represented as part of the group. As a group we will jointly develop a number of proposals based on feedback received and we will then hold further engagement events with the wider parent carer population as part a full formal consultation process.

If you would like to comment or offer ideas but not be part of the group, please send these to Claire and she will collate all feedback and feed this into the task and finish group.

2017-18 Buzz Network Short Breaks Allocation

The Buzz Network Short Breaks have become increasingly popular over the past 2-3 years with over 1000 families now accessing the service. This is great because we want as many families to benefit from this offer as possible. However this does have financial implications. Whilst no reduction has been made in the overall budget,we do need to ensure that we remain within this allocation whilst responding to the increasing demand.

We know that if we were to continue to give the current allocation of 52hrs One2One per year, or the £600 Personal Budget per year, that we would be overspent immediately. This is due to the “full year effect” – this refers to the parents who joined mid-year so were only allocated half of the budget but whom would expect to receive the whole budget in the following year -2017/18. We would also be unable to allow any new parents/children/young people to join the network and weknow that we already have 70 new parents who have expressed an interest in taking up the personal budget.

To support us to manage this whilst we await the outcomes of the full redesign, we held 3 parent focussed group meetings at the beginning of March 2017. The feedback was unanimous in that it was felt that it would be fairer to reduce everyone’s individual allocation to enable new parents and children to join and benefit from the current offer.

Parents also agreed that in light of the redesign, that it would be more appropriate to agree a 6 month allocation instead of the full 12 months. This approach would enable us to implement the changes agreed as part of the redesign as soon after the completion of this work as possible.

We have taken into account parent’s representations during the engagement and also the growth in the last two years and the forecast increase in parents joining the Buzz Networkand have thereforeagreed that we will need apply a temporary reduction in One2One and Personal Budget allocations by 30%. Future allocations will be pending the outcome of the review and redesignand parents will have to opportunity to be involved with this redesign and all comments made will be taken into account. Once the proposals have been formulated following the reveiw and redesign the Council will carry out a full consultation with parents and all stakeholders. All representations will be taken into account before any final decision is made.

The 6 month allocation between 1st April 2017 and 1st October 2017for short breaks is:

  • Personal Budget - £200.00 per child belonging to the Buzz Network.

For parents already in receipt of the personal budget please respond to the attached Personal Budget letter and you will be awarded the new payment once you return your bank statements/receipts for year ending March 2017 and following the audit process to ensure that monies have been used appropriately.

For families who do not currently have a personal budget but want more information please contact Beth Carter on the details below:

Email:

Telephone: 023 8083 3881

  • One2One – 17 hours One2One Support per child belonging to the Buzz Network.

For parents already in receipt of this support, please speak to your One2one service directly regarding booking your sessions.

In exceptional circumstances where a parent/carer is able to demonstrate that this reduction will cause extreme hardship we have the discretion to look at this on an individual case basis and maintain the existing level of support. If you do feel that this reduction will have a significant impact on you or your child, please contact Julie LeMarquand on the details below:

Email:

Telephone: 023 8083 2069

Please note that play schemes and community based activities are still available to all Buzz Network families. Information on all of these can be found on the Southampton SEND Local Offer Website:

We look forward to working with you on the redesign of the Short Breaks Offer in the coming months.

Best wishes

Rob Winfield
Service Manager – SEND 0-25 Service
Southampton City Council