Short Breaks (Respite Care)

A short break (sometimes known as ’respite care’) provides opportunities for children and young people to enjoy new experiences and develop relationships outside their immediate family as well as allowing the child’s parent or carer to have a break from their caring obligations.

A short break can include the provision of day, evening, after-school, overnight, weekend and holiday activities for the child and can take place in the community, school, youth and voluntary settings, the child’s own home, the home of an approved carer or in a residential or community setting. It will normally mean the child and the main carer spending a short period away from each other, although some carers may prefer to have a break without being in a different location from their child.

In this area you will find out about the different short breaks opportunities available and how you can access them. Some are provided by Reading Borough Council, and families will need to be assessed for their eligibility. Short breaks are also offered by many other providers and the Family Resource Centre can provide fuller information about these. Please see Short Breaks Provided by Non-Reading Borough Council Organisations below for a link to their website.

To see Reading Borough Council's Short Breaks Statement and an at-a-glance umbrella of services that we offer, please see the downloadable documents at the bottom of this page.