Hamelin House in Billericay, Essex, was the first care service provided by the Trust and opened its doors in May 1983. It provides a short break (respite care) service for children between 3 and 18 years of age.

All the children have learning disabilities and may also have additional support needs because of any physical or sensory impairments they may have or challenging behaviour they may exhibit. Hamelin House is an 8-bedded Ofsted registered care home. Children who come to stay mainly live in Essex, but some do come from further afield, particularly from London boroughs. This service has no specific boundary or catchment area.

The House sees approximately 60 different children each month and provides a welcome break for parents/carers from the day to day demands and pressures of caring. It also provides an exciting and enjoyable stay for the children, enabling them to develop skills towards independence and spend social time with their peers. Children's stays can be anything from as little as one hour up to two weeks, depending on family choice and availability of dates. Most bookings are arranged in advance for the whole year, although dates may be changed if necessary. Whilst at Hamelin House most children are still able to attend their usual school, which enables them to have some continuity whilst away from home. Children are encouraged to bring family photos and other personal belongings with them to provide the comfort of having familiar things around them and are able to keep in touch with their families by telephone during their stay or visits from relatives.

Hamelin House has a large secluded garden, which was refurbished in 2005 to provide wheelchair accessible play equipment. It also has an activity den that has heating and lighting, which is suitable for extra messy play. Indoors there is a soft play area in the main lounge, a 'quiet' lounge with TV and video, and a sensory room. During evenings, weekends and holidays, outings are arranged using the two wheelchair-accessible vehicles to visit local leisure and community facilities such as local parks, adventure playgrounds, 10-pin bowling and the seaside.

The staff team at Hamelin House are appropriately experienced and trained to meet the diverse needs of all the children who come to stay. Each child has a key worker allocated to them who is a point of contact for the child and others. The key worker has particular responsibility for co-ordinating all aspects of support to the child including developing an individual care plan, attending relevant meetings and reporting details of progress of stays to parents and others involved in the child's well-being.

There is a great demand to stay at Hamelin House, particularly during school holidays and weekends. As part of the continuing development of our services, during 2008 we plan to develop outreach services from Hamelin House.