Staffing teams and a young person's family have worked closely together to make a family holiday a real success.

Young person Helena has been on a family holiday to Portugal over the summer break with a collaborative effort between her past and current home on our site and Helena's family to support her to enjoy the break to its fullest.

Giles and Autumn House Team Managers helped prepare Helena for her trip using social stories. And, by liaising with Helena's family, the team put together a schedule for the morning of pick-up to help Helena know exactly what was going to happen.

And, in advance of the trip, Helena's family provided photos of the places they went to on their last family trip to the area. From this, staff could make visuals for the family to use schedules, now and next boards and other support materials while they were away.

While in Portugal, a speedboat trip, swimming in the sea, and a water park visit have been some of the highlights for Helena and her family.

While Helena was also able to a self-serve ice-cream cafe where she got herself a vanilla and strawberry ice cream with Smarties and jelly sweets and sat beautifully to have her face-painted and her hair plaited.

We're so pleased that Helena and her family had such a wonderful experience together.