6806 Evaluating a volunteer-run approach to respite care for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)

Objectives Whilst research is ongoing, current evidence suggests that short break services can provide effective respite care for SEND children, which is known to be effective in reducing stress and improving health outcomes in this population.¹ ² However, these breaks are often inaccessible for families due to prohibitive cost or availability.³ Campus Children's Holidays is a charity that provides week-long respite breaks in the Summer to children referred by social care from the Merseyside area. This includes 100–200 children each year from care backgrounds, and/or SEND children. Using surveys for qualitative analysis, this report aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of volunteer-run organisations in providing this care. Methods Post-attendance surveys given by the charity to attendees of the last two years were reviewed to evaluate the children's experiences. These surveys included five questions, not all compulsory, with results from a total of 101 children. Results from the last full survey of parents/carers of children, in 2019, were also analysed. This survey focused on perceived benefits to children and the family unit as a whole, with five compulsory questions answered by 50 parents/carers. Results Figure 1 demonstrates the level of enjoyment reported by children surveyed in 2022 and 2023. Figure 2 displays the results of the parent/carer survey on the perception of the break upon the family. Other questions in the surveys about the desire to attend future Campus breaks show: 100% of parents/carers would be keen for their child(ren) to attend future projects. On average, 90% of children surveyed in 2022–23 would like to attend future projects. Conclusion The Department for Children, Schools and Families encourages short breaks for children with disabilities to support not just the individual child, but their whole family unit.⁴Whilst this analysis is limited by only having access to pre-collected data, survey responses show that the children greatly enjoyed these breaks and would choose to participate on a recurrent basis. Current evidence also indicates that respite breaks can improve family outcomes by reducing parental stress, and 2019 data from the parent/carer survey demonstrates that the Campus Children's Holidays charity is effectively supporting families more widely.⁵ From this, we can conclude that volunteer-run charitable organisations can provide a unique route to improve outcomes for this population and should be assisted in expanding access to respite breaks for SEND children across the UK. References Cooke E. Smith V. Brenner M. 'Parents' experiences of accessing respite care for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) at the acute and primary care interface: a systematic review'. 2020. Suzuki S. Kamibeppi K. 'Impact of respite care on health-related quality of life in children with medical complexity'. 2022. Preece D, Jordan R. 'Short breaks services for children with autistic spectrum disorders'. 2007. 'Short Breaks'. Department for Children, Schools and Families. 2010. Harper A, et al. 'Respite care, marital quality, and stress in parents of children with autism spectrum disorders'. 2013.