Copyright scotsman
Up to this spring, the council-run Braidburn holiday hub provided a number of spaces for additional support needs (ASN) pupils along with other sites run by third-sector partners. But in a shock decision at the start of this year council officials closed the centre without approval by councillors, seeing the programme lose 78 spaces overall since last year. And since 2023/2024, the programme has lost almost 500 spaces from its total then of 1,720. Now, at Tuesday’s education committee meeting, councillors voted to have officers put together a feasibility study for the council to again start running holiday hub services. SNP councillor Euan Hyslop, who pushed for the change, said things had come an ‘incredibly long way’ since last year, when a complete closure of the service was floated. He credited parents of ASN pupils for the success, and said the ‘lifeline service’ had provided ‘joy and happiness’ for decades. Cllr Hyslop continued: “The next stage of the process in securing the long-term future of holiday hubs is vital. “SNP councillors have asked for officers to begin work to re-establish council-run hubs following the shock closure of the Braidburn hub. “We will continue to call for increased capacity as a solution to lack of spaces, but we also need to ensure that any criteria that is agreed prioritises children and families who cannot access mainstream provision and for whom this service is life-saving.” He added he was glad it now appeared politically untenable to propose axing the service entirely. Holiday hubs provide respite care for children with additional support needs over the summer holidays. They allow children to socialise where it might otherwise be difficult, and enable parents and carers to continue work during the school holidays. Labour councillor and education convener James Dalgleish acknowledged that the history of holiday hubs had caused frustration for families and children who benefit from the service. But he told councillors he felt optimistic things would improve in the near future, and he felt stakeholders were working towards that. Council officers said earlier this year that the closure of the Braidburn hub was necessary due to a shortage of resources to employ qualified staff. They added that if the Braidburn hub was not closed, the Seaview respite home – which provides care for children in receipt of social work support and who have ‘critical needs’ – would have to shut. But councillors criticised the decision, saying that officers had overstepped their bounds by electing to shut it without their approval. The overall level of holiday hub provision for each pupil using the service has been cut, too, with the number of weeks dropping from four to three this year. It came after it was found that the council was set to deny places to children with complex needs who could not access alternative services elsewhere. Reducing the allocation each pupil received made sure that those children still got access to some holiday hub time. And in other years, the level of provision has been even higher, with each young person using the service receiving six weeks. A report presented at the Tuesday meeting said that an annual increase in the holiday hub budget, in line with inflation, was being proposed. Councillor Dalgleish said: “I know sometimes it feels like holiday hubs goes a step in the right direction, and then we have a bit of a pause or a bump in the road. “To a certain extent, the change of criteria to three weeks could be seen as a bump in the road. “I’m under no illusions, as we heard from the deputations, that it has caused a bit of uncertainty and frustration for some families, and we have to acknowledge that.”
