Better Days 2023 Survey – What do you think about Day Opportunities?

Dorset County Council would like to know about your experiences and what you think about day opportunities. If you have an interest in day opportunities, even if you don’t use them now, but might in the future, please share your views in this Better Days 2023 Survey.

There are a significant number of people in Dorset who have an illness or disability who need some help to plan their days or take part in activities and visiting day opportunities is a way of accessing this support. Day opportunities also provide a chance to develop new skills, maintain or increase independence or support care needs.

Dorset County Council’s Adults Social Care team would like to hear about your experiences of day opportunities both now and what you might want to see in the future. The Council is encouraging anyone who needs support to arrange daytime activities to share their views. This includes hearing from those with a learning, physical or sensory disability, mental health diagnosis, dementia or memory loss, as well as their carers or care workers who have used day opportunities. Opinions from young people who might need support into adulthood are also needed.

Day opportunities can provide life skills training, support to find a job, sporting activities, clubs and social activities, and less formal activities such as time with friends, nature walks, or visits to the local town centre. The Council would like to help people to have a well-supported and varied day, to enable people to try new things and to create an offer that moves beyond the 9 to 5 weekday.

The Council would like to revisit and build upon what people said in their research in 2021 and understand how things might have changed in their access to day opportunities post Covid as well as hearing from new voices. Help shape what you would like from day opportunities and make sure that you have your say.

The survey is open until 8 December 2023.

If you prefer, here is a link to the easy-read version of the survey.