Edinburgh parents plead with council over holiday hubs for chlldren with additional support needs

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Concerned parents have pleaded with Edinburgh council to ensure that children with life-limiting illnesses will not be affected by any changes to holiday hub provision.

The plea was heard at a meeting of a working group looking at how the city council should run its holiday hubs for children with additional support needs after a bid to slash funding for the service was met with dismay by families who rely on it.

Those attending the meeting – which brought together parents, councillors, service providers and staff – were assured that there is a proposal in the council’s budget to allocate £100,000 to the costs of staff to manage the holiday hubs as well as £900,000 for the providers who run them.

Financial pressures faced by Edinburgh council have left the holiday hubs in doubt.  Picture: Neil Hanna..Financial pressures faced by Edinburgh council have left the holiday hubs in doubt.  Picture: Neil Hanna..
Financial pressures faced by Edinburgh council have left the holiday hubs in doubt. Picture: Neil Hanna..

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The November meeting of the council’s education committee made clear that there is political support from across the council to continue to provide the service, after members heard emotional testimony about just how vital the service is to parents and families.

But the financial pressures the council is under mean there is still doubt over what the future holds for the holiday hubs and the council was urged to move more quickly.

Parent Jane Geddes made an emotional plea for the council to take away the stress the situation is causing to parents of children with medically complex needs who will not reach adulthood.

Jane, 53, who works as a nurse in a GP practice, is mother to Euan, 16, as well as his twin sister Kirsty and older brother Cameron.

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She said: “I would like whoever the powers that be are – the chain of education, social work, health, bureaucrats, minions, whoever you are – I would like an assurance that those children will be excluded from any financial budgetary savings.

“You know who they are – there are not many, thankfully, but they need to taken out of any conversation surrounding holiday hubs.

“Those children need to be given respect and dignity to be allowed to play with their peer group during their school holiday before they die.

“I don’t mean to emotionally blackmail anybody but that is the situation. Don’t allow these children to miss out on play and the small amount of childhood that they have.”

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Some of the providers who will be delivering the holiday hubs told the meeting that they are already making decisions about summer holiday provision and they also urged the council to act quickly.

Other parents added that the service is also vital to many families for very different reasons and a “needs-based approach” is necessary to make sure people get the vital support.

Education convener Joan Griffiths said she was concerned that the meeting had become bogged down in discussing who should be managing the holiday provision – social work, education, health or Edinburgh Leisure – rather than what the service should look like.

Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Griffiths said: “For nearly two decades, the city council has offered holiday hubs for families of children with additional support needs.

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“In recent years this essential school holiday provision has expanded beyond the point at which it is sustainable for the Council or parents and carers.

“Consulting with families has been, and will continue to be, vital as we explore and agree a way forward for holiday hubs. Through these conversations it is clear that there are widely differing expectations of the provision, with challenges around increasing need, potential inequalities as well as budget pressures.

“We are committed to finding a safe, achievable and financially viable way forward for Holiday Hubs in the long-term.

“We have extensively explored options which will be considered for approval from financial year 25/26 onwards, and a new sustainable model for the provision will be agreed. I want to reassure families that following budget confirmation in February, we will be in a position to inform parents and carers of arrangements for the summer holidays.”

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