Project Overview 

Our Halton Short Breaks provision supports families of young people with disabilities in Halton Borough. 

As part of our provision we’ll deliver a series of free two-hour creative workshops across locations in both Widnes and Runcorn, in order to engage young people aged between 8-17 who live in Halton. Short Breaks are designed to give respite to parents and carers by giving the young people in their care a fun activity. 

Short Breaks provision is not open to the general public and young people who sign up will need to match the eligibility criteria in the following section.

This provision is funded by Halton Borough Council and will run from 2022 until 2024, with the option of an additional year until 2025.

Who is eligible for a Short Break? 

Short breaks are for carers and disabled young people who live in Halton. In our borough we define a disabled young person as: someone between 0 – 18 years old (our workshops will be for ages 8-17) whose lives are affected by one or more of the following diagnosed conditions: 

    – A Hearing impairment

    – A Visual impairment

    – A Learning disability

    – A Physical disability

    – A Chronic / life threatening physical illness

    – A Communication disorder (including Autism)

    – A Consciousness disorder (e.g Epilepsy)

    – A Mental health condition

     

    The young person’s condition should usually be expected to last for more than 12 months and have a substantial effect upon the young person in more than one of the following areas:

     

    – Physical ability 

    – Communication and understanding 

    – Awareness of risk and danger 

    – Behaviour 

    – Independence 

    If your young person has an EHC Plan or has 15 or more hours of individual support at school or college that will greatly support their application for Short Breaks provision.

    When and where will the project happen?

    We will run ten two-hour sessions (one per month) in community spaces in Widnes and Runcorn. The full programme of events is available to book in this Eventbrite collection.

    Each session will introduce a different creative activity so please book the session(s) that best suits your young person by clicking through to the relevant Eventbrite page:

    15th April 2023 – Halton Lea Library, Runcorn – Digital Art with Procreate – 11am-1pm

    20th May 2023 – The Studio, Widnes – Minecraft Build Challenge – 10am-12pm

    10th June 2023 – Halton Lea Library, Runcorn –  LEGO Stop-Motion Animation – 10am-12pm

    15th July 2023 – The Studio, Widnes – Video Game Design – 10am-12pm

    16th September 2023 –  The Studio, Widnes – Digital Cartoon Animation – 10am-12pm

    23rd September 2023 –  Halton Lea Library, Runcorn – Code-A-Drone – 11am-1pm

    14th October 2023 –  Halton Lea Library, Runcorn – Halloween Paper Circuits – 11am-1pm 

    11th November 2023 –  The Studio, Widnes – Pixel Art and Badge Making – 10am-12pm

    16th December 2023 – Halton Lea Library, Runcorn – Green Screen Christmas Cards – 11am-1pm  

    13th January 2024 – The Studio, Widnes – Digital Music Making – 10am-12pm 

    24th February 2024 – Halton Lea Library, Runcorn – Code-A-Sphero – 11am-1pm

    16th March 2024 – The Studio, Widnes  – Micro:Bit Creative Coding – 10am-12pm

     

    How do I sign up?

    To book a place for any Short Break session please click the relevant session above and fill out the information on Eventbrite.