Respite

Respite users enjoying activities

Respite breaks

We offer respite services in Gloucestershire to adults with disabilities aged 18 – 35 years old, outside term-time at National Star.

We offer respite at Bradbury Gardens in Cheltenham. The facility is next to Pittville Park and is close to Cheltenham town centre.

We also offer respite at National Star, Ullenwood. Irrespective of where guests access our respite services, they will be able to enjoy a range of fun activities. These can include fully inclusive, free activities such as arts and crafts, cookery, nature walks and shopping trips. Cinema visits, tenpin bowling and trips to local attractions such as West Midlands Safari Park and Weston-super-Mare are also offered (additional costs apply). It’s always good for respite guests to bring a small amount of pocket money so they can treat themselves to an ice cream at the beach or a milkshake at StarBistro!

Prices for respite are on a per night basis and include all meals and bedding. An assessment of need per guest will be required in advance to ensure everyone staying with us has the right care and support package in place so that they can relax and have fun.

All rooms are ensuite and the accommodation allocation takes into consideration the needs of each guest and their peer group. We make every effort to ensure guests stay with people they will enjoy spending time with.

Places are allocated to people with funding according to room availability and personal need. Respite has benefits for guests and their families and carers.

Potential dates on offer for respite in 2025/26 are:

October half-term (National Star students only)
December half-term
February half-term
April half-term

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Respite breaks brochure

Download the brochure (634.9KB pdf)

‘I loved it! All the staff were excellent, and I could not fault them at all. I am booking for next year and I’m going to stay at Bradbury Gardens again.’

“He is completely happy. Respite has given us, as parents, the confidence to book a short break abroad. It is the first time we have been abroad on our own since our honeymoon."

Daisy’s respite break

National Star’s respite service is critical for the well-being of Daisy and her family. For Daisy, it is the opportunity to be independent and to enjoy a wide variety of activities with her peers.

For her parents Sharon and Carl, who are Daisy’s primary carers, it provides a much-needed break. When Daisy, who has cerebral palsy, left National Star and moved home in 2016, she enjoyed a busy life with activities out of the house four days a week. Now, due to programmes losing funding and lack of alternative provision, Daisy gets out of the house for activities two days a week. The rest of the time she depends on her parents to support and entertain her.

Sharon says National Star’s respite team at Bradbury Gardens, in the centre of Cheltenham, has been brilliant.

‘The team has been incredible in their care of Daisy,’ says Sharon. ‘Their thoughtfulness in allocating her the same bedroom and giving her an ID card for her stays, providing for her dietary likes and the various outings she has been on, has been amazing.’

When Daisy arrived at Bradbury Gardens for her stay, she got out of the taxi and drove straight to ‘her room’.

‘By doing these little things, such as giving her the same room, they have given her a sense of confidence so that she can enjoy her independence. She doesn’t have to apologise for who she is, and they make her feel part of things.’

For Sharon and Carl, it provides an opportunity for them to have a much-needed rest. The respite breaks have become important to Sharon as she recovers from poor health.

‘As a parent your biggest worry is who can you trust. If you can trust Daisy is being taken care of, emotionally and physically, then you can rest easy and have a break. Daisy gets her independence, and we get ours and that is so important for all of us.’

‘When Daisy returns home, she says, ‘I’ve had the best time’ and ‘it’s so much more relaxed at Star’. That says it all.’