Services
Respite provides families with a break from the challenges that they may face on a day to day basis. We encourage the children to be as independent as possible, and to practice activities that they are interested in. Each child who avails of respite has an individualised 'Person-Centred-Plan' (PCP) and a designated key worker who holds responsibility for it's meaningful implementation. This is to ensure that each child's wants, needs, goals and learnings are focused on and supported while the child is in our care.
What we do
Respite Service
Deliver an effective, efficient, safe, person centred, equitable service, in line with best practice standards and service policies.
Multi- Disciplinary Team
There is a multi-disciplinary team on site which consists of psychology, occupational therapy, speech & language therapy, psychiatry, social work, and social care leaders. The clinical members of the multi-disciplinary team provide a full range of clinical supports for children who attend St Paul's Special School and their families. They provide support to care staff working with children who attend St Paul's CFCC respite service but who do not attend St Paul's Special School.
Expertise
Provide care and support to meet the needs of each child. We work with each child and their family to set realistic and achievable goals for the child and work towards these while in respite.
Person Centred Planning
At St Paul’s our team of Key Workers works with each child to develop an individual ‘Person-Centred Plan’. This plan places each child at the centre of their respite care plan which means their wants, needs, goals and learnings are focused on and supported while the child is in our care.
Through the Plans, we encourage the children to take part in activities that they enjoy, give them opportunities to learn or practice activities they are interested in, and provide them with the chance to be as independent as possible while they are in our care. Here are some examples of activities which children may engage in while attending the respite service:
- Using garden play equipment
- In house activities- cooking, messy play, sensory play, watching TV, listening to music
- Activities in the community- shopping, cinema, bowling, visiting the library
The PCP includes information on the types of support required by the child. This enables our keyworkers to support the child during their stay and to encourage independance through repeated practical application. We work with each child and their family to set realistic and achievable goals for their child and work towards these while in respite. Children can look at their Person Centred Plan whenever they want to. A Key Worker can give the child a copy of it in pictures or in words – whichever is best for them.
St. Paul's CFCC is a Total Communication Environment, an environment in which all forms of communication are acknowledged, listened to and responded to. Within each Person-Centred Plan there is what we call a ‘Communication and Positive Behaviour Support Passport’. This part of the Plan includes information on how the individual child communicates and how staff should communicate with a child. It also includes information about how the child shows how they are feeling, how staff can tell if they are happy or unhappy and how best to meet the child's individual needs.Our Key Workers are trained in different communication methods and are always guided by the child and family in terms of how best to support interaction.