Day opportunities and respite

First steps

If you are already working with a service, they will assist you to access any support you need.

Day Opportunities and Day Services

Day services aim to support attendees to grow in confidence and live their best life, this may involve:

• maintaining independence
• personal development
• inclusion in local community life

They work with people to try new activities to learn new skills and to maintain the old ones. Support workers use their training and clear communication to help people with any goals they wish to achieve.

Types of service

• For those 18+ SEND inclusive day opportunities: Your Care Your Support (opens new window)
• For those 18+ visit Universal day opportunities: Your Care Your Support (opens new window)
• Your care, your support: The Medley Trowbridge - Day opportunity service (opens new window) is a day opportunities service inside Trowbridge, County Hall, that provides enablement and skill building, five days a week to adults 18+ with additional learning needs. The service has a person-centred approach and supports individuals who may be living at home with their families or in a Your Care Your Support Wiltshire: Shared Lives Wiltshire (opens new window) placement. Find out what to expect at the Medley.
• Your care, your support: Day Opportunity Service - The Riverbank - Chippenham (opens new window) is a service for adults with additional learning needs. Promoting independence and community integration, with a person centred approach. Referrals are made by the Community Team for People with Learning Disabilities (opens new window).
• Your care, your support: The Meadows Salisbury - Day opportunity service (opens new window) is a day opportunity service for adults with learning disabilities, based at Fiver Rivers Health and Wellbeing Centre in Salisbury. Customers are encouraged to achieve their goals and develop their skills.
• Your care, your support: Shared Days Wiltshire (opens new window) is part of Your Care Your Support Wiltshire: Shared Lives Wiltshire (opens new window) - a scheme which provides support, care and companionship to adults who have mental health needs or learning disabilities, physical impairments, or are elderly, or those who for a variety of reasons need support. While Shared Lives carers normally share their homes with the people they support on a long-term or respite basis, Shared Days carers share their days with them. From learning independent skills such as cooking and seeking employment, to dog walking or pursuing a new hobby, this day support service empowers individuals to build meaningful relationships and do what matters most to them.
• Community Connecting assists customers to find out more about their local community and how they can access some of the following: finding voluntary work/ socialising/ joining a club/ further education; including college courses and other training opportunities/ using their community facilities to do things that they enjoy/ meeting friends/ Traineeships/ travel training. Watch the short YouTube: Sammy B - Community Connecting (opens new window) video on their service for more information.
• Work Wiltshire: Family and Community Learning (opens new window) assist their attendees with discovering new opportunities, developing skills and achieving ambitions. They have a range of single-session and short courses for adults, taught online or at venues across Wiltshire. They aim to build confidence, develop new skills, reconnect people with learning and enable next steps to further learning, volunteering or employment.

Respite

Respite care means taking a break from caring, while the person you care for is looked after by someone else. It lets you take time out to look after yourself and helps stop you becoming exhausted and run down.

There are three respite services within the council, which young adults with a diagnosed additional learning needs can choose to access. Wiltshire's respite services are in Devizes (opens new window), Chippenham (opens new window) and Salisbury (opens new window).The number of nights offered to a young person is based on need, so varies from person to person. If a young person chooses not to access one of the respite services, they can request a direct payment instead. This option is available for young people with a disability who have an assessed need.

If a young person meets our assessment criteria, a package of support will be offered through partner agencies or as a direct payment, including:

• support at home (personal care, getting up and ready for the day, support during a time of crisis)
• personal care (for individuals with substantial moving and handling needs)
• day care (through Family Link Care or child minders)
• overnight care (through Family Link or Canon's House (opens new window))
• NHS: Carers' breaks and respite care (opens new window)

You can visit the following page for further support information:

Carer support