Dates, Reminders & School Admissions 8th October 2017 Dear All We’re having a busy month with parent/carer meetings and focus groups. Reminders and November dates for diaries below…
CAMHS Chats 2 – last two next week CAMHS = Children & Adolescent Mental Health Services These meetings follow on from the summer term discussions on the diagnostic pathways for autism and adhd. The Kingston Commissioner will be attending each of these meetings to share proposals, talk and listen. Monday 9th October - 1pm to 2.30pm at Express CIC, 452 Ewell Road, Surbiton, KT6 7EL To book e-mail: info@expresscic.org.uk Tuesday 10th October - 7pm to 8.30pm at Langdon Down Ctr, Normansfield, 2A Langdon Park. Teddington. TW11 9PS To book e-mail: sendfamilyvoices@outlook.com
Educational Psychology - working with parents There is one more focus group with the Educational Psychology Service; an opportunity to influence a service our children need. Achieving for Children's Educational Psychology Service (AfC EPS) are front line workers with our children, young people and the schools. They are highly trained professionals and they want to understand how parents experience EPS, and then improve their services where needed. The final focus group is: Monday 16th October - 7pm to 9pm Doubletree Hilton, 1 Skerne Rd, Kingston, KT2 5FJ
SEND Forum with Sir’s Vince Cable and Ed Davey MPs Ruils and SEND Family Voices are jointly facilitating this opportunity for parents, carers and young people to address their concerns directly to local MPs. Friday 20th October -12noon to 2.30pm at Cole Court Lodge, 150 London Rd, Twickenham, TW1 1HD Booking: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/send-forum-tickets-38335644946 The aim is to allow the MPs to understand the extent and seriousness of the issues faced by families as a result of the 2014 SEND reforms and cuts to education budgets. Time will be very limited, and if you wish to contribute it would be very helpful if you could send a precis of your experiences / concerns, as soon as possible, to: E: Alexhardy@ruils.co.uk or E: Penny@sendfamilyvoices.org This is an extraordinary chance to influence local and national policy through personal testimony, and we hope you will join us.
EHCP Transfer (from Statements) Workshop This short workshop is for families who would like to help with the Transfer process (from a Statement to an EHCP). It being co-delivered by SEND Family Voices with the Independent Supporters. More details to follow soon. For now, dates for your diary. Friday 3rd November - 10:00am to 12:00noon at Winter Garden, York House, Richmond Rd, TW1 3AA Thursday 9th November - 7pm to 9pm at DoubleTree Hilton,1 Skerne Road, Kingston, KT2 5FJ Friday 17th November - 10:00am to 12:00noon * at MeToo&Co, The CrossWay Centre, Twickenham, TW1 2PD * creche available. Contact Fiona: info@metooandco.org.uk
October – ADHD Awareness Month Nationally: “October is the ADHD Awareness Month and our 2017 theme is “Knowing is Better: ADHD Across the Life Span.” It’s better for parents to know that ADHD might be part of the picture so they can seek out the help their children need; it’s better for young adults to know about their ADHD so they might arrange for appropriate accommodations in school or the workplace; and it’s better for adults to recognize their ADHD instead of feeling destined to a life of underachievement and frustration.” http://www.adhdawarenessmonth.org/
Locally: You can read more about Richmond ADHD’s activities on the Local Offer: https://www.afcinfo.org.uk/local_offer/blog_articles/1585-adhd-a-power-to-change-theworld and their website is here: https://adhdrichmond.org/
@SENDFamilyVoice SEND Family Voices’ twitter presence continues to grow and inform… Free conference on EHCPs at the University of Roehampton https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/university-of-roehampton-11276215817 SEND parenting and loneliness http://community.fireflyfriends.com/blog/article/special-needs-parents-loneliness/#poll-46 Heartbreaking reality of the impact of bullying on CYP with learning disabilities http://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/powerful-video-reveals-heartbreaking-reality582465.amp Great blog on moving from children to adult services https://notsoordinarydiary.wordpress.com/2017/10/07/elastic/amp/ A virtual reality experience of ASD in some girls https://amp.theguardian.com/technology/2017/oct/07/the-party-a-virtual-experience-ofautism-360-video
Risky Behaviour - update Last week, we contributed to a Public Health review on Risky Behaviour and the services provided to young people in both Richmond and Kingston. We took part in a two-hour interview and submitted 3 pages of feedback. These are the highlights from our written submission: “It is almost impossible to generalise about our young people in this space - they are so different. The key point (for the most profoundly disabled) - "they are at the mercy of the kindness of strangers" ...who will be their voice...? these are the most vulnerable in our society... And… common themes: • the major issue is the risk of depression and other mental health issues - that are simply not picked up at all by our health system [due to the primary named disability being the focus] • Bullying is of course a big problem and leads to depression and risky behaviours. This is true for all disabilities”
School Admissions – great document! …a briefing document from the marvellous Council for Disabled Children (CDC). The document is 17 pages, clearly written and covers 6th forms as well as schools. You can find a copy on our website, under Useful Documents, or follow the link below. “School Admissions Briefing for parents of children and young people with disabilities or special education needs. This briefing provides a summary of the arrangements and focuses on issues that are particularly relevant to the admission of disabled children and children with SEN.” https://councilfordisabledchildren.org.uk/help-resources/resources/school-admissionsbriefing
Christmas dates start here… Inclusive Christmas Fairs: this is probably the first of many, the idea is just to get the date in your diaries for now. Sunday 3rd December – 11am to 4pm at Yorda Playhouse, Devon Way, Chessington, KT9 2RJ E: laura@yordaadventures.co.uk W: http://www.yordaadventures.co.uk/ As ever, if you have any queries at all, please ask and we'll always do our best to find an answer. With best wishes, Caroline North (for Kingston) and Romany (for Richmond) Phone: 07469 746 145 www.sendfamilyvoices.org