Better Breaks

Key Criteria

Better Breaks funds a wide range of short breaks projects and activities including holiday activity programmes, after school clubs, sports coaching, and youth groups. The activities can be for children and young people without their carers, with their sibling/young carer, or for whole families to enjoy together.

Their five principles must be demonstrated in the planning and delivery of the project:

• Mutual benefit: all projects should make a positive difference to the lives of disabled children and young people (aged 20 and under) and their carers, improving their quality of life and well-being, and supporting the caring relationship.
• Personalisation: all projects should ensure that disabled children and young people (aged 20 and under) and their carers are actively engaged in planning and making decisions about their short breaks. Projects should always aim to deliver short breaks that are genuinely personalised, providing the right break at the right time.
• Targeted support: all projects should seek to make a difference to people who most need support. This may include children and young people (aged 20 and under) with multiple support needs and/or whose needs are not met by current models of service provision, carers who have a substantial caring role, carers who are less likely to access current support, or carers whose needs are not met by current models of service provision.
• Adding value: all projects should complement, and not replace or duplicate, the range of services which local authorities, the NHS and other agencies already fund or provide.
• Knowledge and understanding: all projects should be open to sharing learning and practice and helping to build a common evidence base that increases Shared Care Scotland’s understanding of short breaks and how they support the caring relationship.

Around £1.7m will be distributed through one year grants (April 2027–March 2028).

Applications must show projects will contribute directly to achieving at least three of these outcomes:

• Disabled children and young people (aged 20 and under) will have more opportunities to have fun, develop friendships and do activities they enjoy
• Carers of disabled children and young people (aged 20 and under) will have more opportunities to enjoy a life outside of their caring role
• Carers of disabled children and young people (aged 20 and under) will feel better supported to sustain their caring role
• Disabled children and young people (aged 20 and under) and their carers will have improved well-being.

Better Breaks is a funding programme of the Short Breaks Fund, operated by Shared Care Scotland on behalf of the National Carers Organisations and the Scottish Government.