Residential Short Breaks consultation

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Consultation has concluded

Consultation on proposed changes to overnight residential short breaks

Who is this survey for?

This survey is for parents and carers of children who are currently using Oxfordshire overnight residential short breaks at Viking in Oxford or Sycamore in Banbury.


If you are not a family currently using this service, but you do have a view on this decision, we are accepting email representations and you will find more information below.


The council is proposing changes to residential short breaks that may affect you. At the outset, we want to reassure you that your child’s care package will not change with these proposals.

However, we are proposing some changes to the way your child’s overnight care is delivered and we want to understand the impact proposed changes will have on your family before decisions are made. We will take your views expressed in this consultation into account when looking at how we change and develop the service in the future.

While we will not be reducing any children’s care packages, we may need to provide overnight residential short breaks at a different location to the one your child is using now. Oxfordshire County Council needs to move all overnight residential short breaks to one of the sites currently providing them (Sycamore in Banbury or Viking in Oxford). This is because the number of children using the service can be accommodated at one site and maintaining two sites is increasingly expensive. The council needs to be responsible in its use of public funds.

By consolidating breaks into one setting we will have the opportunity to expand the types of support available. We hope to offer more choice for community based short breaks and expand our family based overnight short break service.

We want to hear from you

We want to know which site you would prefer your child to go to, and how moving to a different site might affect you, your child and your family. We also want to hear about what other overnight short break support you would find helpful.


If you have any questions that are not answered here or in the consultation document attached, please contact the team at ResidentialShortBreaksConsultation@oxfordshire.gov.uk

What are we proposing?

The aim is for children and families to have more flexibility and choice in the services available to support them.

The council is proposing using only one site in Oxfordshire (either Viking or Sycamore) to provide residential short breaks while making other types of support available, for example family based short breaks, home sitting and holiday clubs, that more families would benefit from.

One building offers enough capacity to meet the needs of children currently using the service and is a more efficient use of resources.

Why are we doing this now?

The county council commissions overnight residential short breaks to be delivered by external providers. The contract to run the two residential sites is coming to an end and that gives the council the opportunity to change the service scope, making sure that it meets families’ needs. The council is considering the best way to meet people’s needs with the funding available.

A new contract will be put in place following a competitive procurement process.

What other options have we considered?

  • The council has considered keeping both Viking and Sycamore, but with rising costs and low use this option has been discounted.

  • The council has also considered bringing the service in-house rather than employing a provider company. We have explored this option and it would be significantly more costly which would not allow us to expand the variety of care available.


Please fill in our online survey by clicking the ‘TAKE SURVEY’ button below.

Background
Under the graduated response, Oxfordshire County Council has a statutory duty to meet the assessed needs of disabled children when they have needs that fall into category 3(a), 3(b) or 4 of the Oxfordshire Threshold of Needs.

Documents

There is a link to the consultation document on the right of this page.

Events

You can join us at one of the below events where we will share our thinking and hear your questions:

  • Monday 16 January 10-11.30am, Banbury Children & Family Centre
  • Tuesday 17 January 8-9.30pm online with Microsoft Teams
  • Monday 6 March 6.30 - 8pm, online with Microsoft Teams
  • Wednesday 8 March 6 - 7.30pm, Sunningwell Village Hall OX13 6RD
  • Friday 10 March 10.30-12 noon, online with Microsoft Teams
  • Tuesday 14 March 9.15-10.30am, Banbury Children & Family Centre OX16 0EJ


Please email us at ResidentialShortBreaksConsultation@oxfordshire.gov.uk to let us know if you will be attending one of these events, though you will be able to drop in to the in-person events at Banbury and Sunningwell. Please let us know of any accessibility requirements you have.

For online events an email invitation to a Microsoft Teams meeting will be sent to you a few days in advance.


Other stakeholder responses

If you are not a family currently using this service, but you do have a view on this decision, Please email us at ResidentialShortBreaksConsultation@oxfordshire.gov.uk. Please tell us which location you feel would be best for us to use in future and help us to understand the impacts this decision may have on you or people you represent.


Consultation on proposed changes to overnight residential short breaks

Who is this survey for?

This survey is for parents and carers of children who are currently using Oxfordshire overnight residential short breaks at Viking in Oxford or Sycamore in Banbury.


If you are not a family currently using this service, but you do have a view on this decision, we are accepting email representations and you will find more information below.


The council is proposing changes to residential short breaks that may affect you. At the outset, we want to reassure you that your child’s care package will not change with these proposals.

However, we are proposing some changes to the way your child’s overnight care is delivered and we want to understand the impact proposed changes will have on your family before decisions are made. We will take your views expressed in this consultation into account when looking at how we change and develop the service in the future.

While we will not be reducing any children’s care packages, we may need to provide overnight residential short breaks at a different location to the one your child is using now. Oxfordshire County Council needs to move all overnight residential short breaks to one of the sites currently providing them (Sycamore in Banbury or Viking in Oxford). This is because the number of children using the service can be accommodated at one site and maintaining two sites is increasingly expensive. The council needs to be responsible in its use of public funds.

By consolidating breaks into one setting we will have the opportunity to expand the types of support available. We hope to offer more choice for community based short breaks and expand our family based overnight short break service.

We want to hear from you

We want to know which site you would prefer your child to go to, and how moving to a different site might affect you, your child and your family. We also want to hear about what other overnight short break support you would find helpful.


If you have any questions that are not answered here or in the consultation document attached, please contact the team at ResidentialShortBreaksConsultation@oxfordshire.gov.uk

What are we proposing?

The aim is for children and families to have more flexibility and choice in the services available to support them.

The council is proposing using only one site in Oxfordshire (either Viking or Sycamore) to provide residential short breaks while making other types of support available, for example family based short breaks, home sitting and holiday clubs, that more families would benefit from.

One building offers enough capacity to meet the needs of children currently using the service and is a more efficient use of resources.

Why are we doing this now?

The county council commissions overnight residential short breaks to be delivered by external providers. The contract to run the two residential sites is coming to an end and that gives the council the opportunity to change the service scope, making sure that it meets families’ needs. The council is considering the best way to meet people’s needs with the funding available.

A new contract will be put in place following a competitive procurement process.

What other options have we considered?

  • The council has considered keeping both Viking and Sycamore, but with rising costs and low use this option has been discounted.

  • The council has also considered bringing the service in-house rather than employing a provider company. We have explored this option and it would be significantly more costly which would not allow us to expand the variety of care available.


Please fill in our online survey by clicking the ‘TAKE SURVEY’ button below.

Background
Under the graduated response, Oxfordshire County Council has a statutory duty to meet the assessed needs of disabled children when they have needs that fall into category 3(a), 3(b) or 4 of the Oxfordshire Threshold of Needs.

Documents

There is a link to the consultation document on the right of this page.

Events

You can join us at one of the below events where we will share our thinking and hear your questions:

  • Monday 16 January 10-11.30am, Banbury Children & Family Centre
  • Tuesday 17 January 8-9.30pm online with Microsoft Teams
  • Monday 6 March 6.30 - 8pm, online with Microsoft Teams
  • Wednesday 8 March 6 - 7.30pm, Sunningwell Village Hall OX13 6RD
  • Friday 10 March 10.30-12 noon, online with Microsoft Teams
  • Tuesday 14 March 9.15-10.30am, Banbury Children & Family Centre OX16 0EJ


Please email us at ResidentialShortBreaksConsultation@oxfordshire.gov.uk to let us know if you will be attending one of these events, though you will be able to drop in to the in-person events at Banbury and Sunningwell. Please let us know of any accessibility requirements you have.

For online events an email invitation to a Microsoft Teams meeting will be sent to you a few days in advance.


Other stakeholder responses

If you are not a family currently using this service, but you do have a view on this decision, Please email us at ResidentialShortBreaksConsultation@oxfordshire.gov.uk. Please tell us which location you feel would be best for us to use in future and help us to understand the impacts this decision may have on you or people you represent.


  • CLOSED: This survey has concluded.

    Residential short breaks consultation survey

    Consultation has concluded
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