Short Breaks and Holidays for Carers

When the weather is cold and miserable, what better way to lift your spirits than to start planning a short break or a holiday? But when you’re a Carer, it isn’t that easy to make plans or to even afford a break. Here are some organisations that offer Carer breaks and funding for Carer breaks.

Carers Weekend Break Friday 22 March – Sunday 24 March 2024
Our Partner, Birmingham Buddhist Centre offers a free weekend break for Carers. All food, accommodation and travel to the venue are provided as well as a range of activities to help you unwind, relax and feel refreshed. Some of the activities include walks in the countryside, relaxation breathing exercises, tai chi/yoga suitable for all abilities and art workshops. If you’d like to request a place on the weekend, please fill in your details on this page. The carers team will then contact you 4-6 weeks before the break to confirm a place is available and get any dietary or accessibility requirements.

For more information about the carers project at the Buddhist Centre, take a look at their website. 

Carefree Breaks
Carefree is a national organisation that sources hotel breaks for Carers. To be eligible for this, you will need to be a Carer caring for someone for 35+plus hours a week and will only need to pay an admin fee of £25.00.

If you are a Carer registered with Birmingham Carers Hub or Walsall Carers Hub, one of our advisors can refer you to Carefree and this way, we will pay the £33.00 admin fee for you.

You can get up to 2 nights break including breakfast, anywhere in the UK and there are lots of local hotels where you could also just take advantage of a night away without worrying about transport or being too far away. You can self-refer online or contact Birmingham Carers Hub to make a referral for you. 

Residential Camps
Over The Wall is a UK-based charity offering free residential camps across the UK for children, young people and families living with a health condition or illness. There are various dates, each year for camps, taking place at Whitemoor Lakes in Staffordshire. Transport can be provided.

Sense Holidays
The charity Sense, offers accessible holidays for people with complex disabilities, including deafblindness and this year celebrates 50 years of running holidays for disabled people in the UK!

Sense Holidays are for people aged 8 and over who have complex communication. That could mean that you have:

• Sensory impairment
• Learning disability
• Physical disability
• Autism

This isn’t an exhaustive list. There’s no upper age limit on Sense Holidays – they are available for children and adults. There are holidays that are filled with adventure, and activities, or enjoy staying in a cosy cottage in the countryside.

How much do Sense Holidays cost?
The cost of each holiday is included in the listing. Costs are normally between £400 to £800. You will also need to get yourself to and from your holiday venue so please keep this in mind when making your choices.

When you accept an offer of a place on a Sense Holiday, you’ll be asked to pay a non-refundable deposit of £200. This will be deducted from the overall cost of your holiday with the balance paid in full by the end of June. Sense Holidays Grant application forms will be made available with all holiday place offers. Further information is available here.

How to apply for a Sense Holiday
If you’re interested in a Sense Holiday, you should apply as early as possible – places fill up quickly! The deadline to complete and submit your holiday application form is Wednesday 31 January 2024.

Applications for 2024 are now open. Take a look at holidays for holidays under the age of 18 and for those aged 18 or over.

If you require further information email holidays@sense.org.uk or telephone 0300 330 9257.

Family Fund
Funded by the Department for Education and managed by Family Fund, the Support for Families with Disabled Children (SFDC) programme provides a wide range of grant items to families in England on a low-income, who are raising a disabled or seriously ill child or young person.

Family Fund works with a selection of partners in the UK to offer family break grants to suit your family’s individual needs. Choose from a range of accessible, fun and scenic breaks in the UK, or overseas, so you can spend quality time together as a family.

Check if you are eligible to apply.

When applying, please include as much information as possible about the type of break you’d like as a family and the difference it will make to the child or young person you’re applying for. Please note that you cannot apply for a grant for breaks that you’ve already booked.

As well as family breaks and days out, Family Fund also offers grants towards:

• Clothing
• Computers and tablets
• Sensory toys
• Games, books and music
• Games consoles
• Clubs, hobbies and activities
• Specialist trikes/bikes
• Outdoor play
• Kitchen appliances
• Furniture and household
• Garden improvements
• Driving ambitions