Hop Skip & Jump Foundation

  1. What does your service do?
Hop Skip and Jump provide respite care for children and young adults with disabilities and special educational needs. We cater for any disability, no matter how complex. Our staff are trained to the highest standard to ensure that we can accommodate even the most complex of care requirements. Our care means that parents and carers can take some time off from the responsibilities of full-time care. We know how difficult this can be, so we want to help families access the care and support they need. We create a community of carers and young people, reducing isolation and helping to provide a support group for families in similar situations. We provide stimulating and engaging therapy packages for children to promote confidence, self-esteem and achievement. We liaise closely with parents, social workers and local authorities to ensure that the service we provide is individually tailored to each child who visits Hop Skip and Jump. We provide ongoing support for children and young adults, from age 5-25, offering play therapy; arts, crafts and music; soft play; targeted learning plans. Our centres are equipped with wet rooms, play areas and dedicated arts areas to provide a complete package for the children we support.

 
  1. Where is it located and what areas does it cover?
Hop Skip and Jump run a series of centres around the country. From our original base in the South West, we have expanded to include centres in West Sussex, Wales and the North West. Our current centres: Bristol – Covering the city of Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, South Gloucestershire Cheltenham – Covering Cheltenham, Gloucester, Gloucestershire and the surrounding counties Swindon (Shaw) – Covering Swindon, Wiltshire and the surrounding counties Wigan – Covering the Greater Manchester area Horsham (Swan Walk Shopping Centre – Care in the High Street) – Covering Horsham, Brighton, West Sussex and the surrounding counties

 
  1. Who does your service provide for?
We cater for children with any disability or special educational need from ages 5-25. Our staff are specially trained to support children and young adults with even the most complicated of needs. We never turn anyone away and work closely with local authorities and families to ensure the services we provide are exactly what our families require.

 
  1. How can I start using the service?
Hop Skip and Jump’s care is immediate – there are no waiting lists and care is available as and when required. You do not need to book months in advance: we are available as and when you need us. Care is available all day in all of our centres. You can access our services yourself (you can self-refer) or you can be referred to us through your social worker or local authority. We assess each child who uses our centres to ensure the care we provide is tailored to their needs and yours as a parent/carer. Care is available from £5 per hour for 1:3 children, rising to £14 per hour for 1:1 support. Our services can be paid for from your personal budget and there are local authority funding streams that we can help you access to support your family.

 
  1. How are decisions made about who can use your service?
Anyone with an additional need can use our service – we will never turn anyone away if they need our support. All decisions are made with the consultation of parents/carers and relevant social service and local authority bodies. Our assessment process means that we, and you, are kept up to date with progress and areas we are looking to support you with. Each centre is managed by a centre supervisor, who is responsible for the day to day running of the centre, supported by a qualified team of expert carers. Each centre is responsible to the board of trustees who oversee the work of staff in the centres and are responsible for the financial management and direction of the charity.

 
  1. How do you communicate with service users and how are they involved in decision making/planning?
We communicate with service users and parents on a regular basis to ensure that the services we provide are fit for purpose and meeting the needs of our local communities. We meet with families on a daily basis and are able to feedback regular process reports in this matter. All staff are trained in Makaton to assist communication. We have online survey capacity to measure feedback and send out regular e-communications to keep our families up to date with news, announcements and changes. We have an active social media presence (Facebook and Twitter) which allows us to communicate regularly with our families, supporters and interested parties. Our website is a great source of information (hopskipandjump.org.uk) and has a live chat facility, meaning you can talk to a member of the team in real time over the internet. We run a variety of different events for families to get involved in. These have included sessions with adoptive families working on attachment, parenting skills sessions and sessions targeted at understanding different needs and care requirements. Hop Skip and Jump is very much a family-orientated organisation – we want to help parents and carers wherever possible and make sure everyone feels an active part of their local community. We run regular family fun days, sibling days and pampering days for parents to try and go the extra mile and really make a difference.

 
  1. Is your service fully accessible?
Each of our centres is fully accessible for children and adults with any complex need. We have wheelchair ramps where appropriate, wet rooms, changing facilities and hoists to ensure that all of our users are treated with respect and dignity. All of our staff are trained in dealing with complex care requirements and are dedicated to providing a high quality service.

 
  1. What training are the staff supporting children and young people with SEND had or are having?
We have an in-house training team who ensure that each member of staff has received all of the training required to cater for children with complex needs. All staff receive training in child protection, manual handling, restraint, Makaton etc. Training for all staff is reviewed on a regular basis as are relevant background checks (DBS etc.) We comply with all relevant bodies and are accredited with local councils.

 
  1. Who can I contact for further information?
For further information or enquiries, please contact our Hop Skip & Jump team at [email protected] or 01453 836390. We will be able to support you through the process of accessing Hop Skip and Jump’s care and put you in contact with others who can help you too. For additional information please see our website (www.hopskipandjump.org.uk), follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook.

Tags

Asperger Syndrome Autism High Functioning Autism