Prospects Short Breaks

Since you are the most important person to Prospects, we have devised this information to help; as to what to expect when they go to the home. Download the Prospects Children's Guide to Arbennig.

Who can stay? 
How long do I stay? How do I get there? 
What do I do there?  
What happens when I get there?  
What do I take?  
Rules and guidelines
How can I get a short break?
What do the rooms look like?
Will my medication be sorted?
Who is the 'care team'?

Who can stay?
Young people, aged 8 – 18, can stay for short breaks.  There will be you and two other people staying.  It’s ok to ask to stay at the same time as your friends.  You can ask not to go when other young people will be there who may be of a different gender or different age to you.

How long do I stay? How do I get there?
How long young people can stay for is negotiated with the child's social worker / parent / carer; The minimum stay is 4 hours to maximum of as many weeks as you need. In most cases, it will be dependent on availability.

What do I do there?
You will have your own bedroom when you stay.  There are three bedrooms. Sometimes you can pick which room you would like to sleep in, each room is en suite, so your own bathing and toilet facilities are within the room, as well as your own TV.  There is also:
    ·         A kitchen 
    ·         A dining and living room with a TV 
    ·         An outdoor area 
    ·         An office 
    
Young people, who stay with us, said they like to go to the following places:
    ·         Cinema 
    ·         Bowling 
    ·         Swimming
    ·         For walks in the country side
    ·         Other leisure activities

If there is somewhere you would like to go or something you would like to do, then you can ask about it at on the first day of your stay.  When you stay, you will go to school as usual if it is during school time.

What happens when I get there?
There is an initial meeting on the first day where you will meet everyone.  You can tell the staff about the things you like to do, the places you would like to go to and the food you would like to eat. Staff will also talk to you about what to do if there is a fire when you are staying.  If you have any questions about your stay you can ask the staff at this meeting or whenever you like.

What do I take?
It’s ok to bring your usual clothes with you. You can also bring anything else you would like to such as a small number of videos, CDs, tapes, games and books. You don’t need to bring money with you. However, it’s ok to bring some with you if you want to and staff can keep it safe for you.  If you want to phone home, you can use the phone in the office.

Rules and guidelines
There are some rules. The main ones are: 
    ·         Bullying is not allowed. 
    ·         You should not go into other peoples’ bedrooms. 

Staff will talk with you about the rules at the initial meeting on the first day of your stay. It's ok if you are sad or have a problem you can talk to any member of staff, your key worker, your social worker. Or you can phone your family or your friends. If you think something is wrong you can complain. You can talk to your key worker, any member of staff or your social worker.

If you don’t want to talk to us yourself about things that may be wrong you can get somebody to do it for you. This person is called an advocate.  You can choose who your advocate is. You can choose from the people who look after you or talk to your social worker about alternative arrangements.

How can I get a short break?
You will need to talk to a social worker / parent / carer.

What do the rooms look like?
The young person's room have en- suite bathrooms with plenty of wheelchair access into and around the bedroom.  All rooms are decorated and furnished to a high standard.  Our home has been designed and built with disability at the forefront.

Will my medication be sorted?
All medication is administered by a senior member of staff as and when needed; there will be two members of staff present with the young person at all times when medication is being administered.  A nurse will visit the young person as and when needed.

Who is the 'care team'?
We have a highly trained staff team who is able to provide care on a 24 hour basis. We have waking night staff / sleeping in staff and there will always be one carer to each of the young people.  All our staff are qualified or working towards NVQ Level 3 in Health and social care or equivalent.

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