New term, New news, Read on… 30th August 2016 Dear All Activity steps up as summer ends and term begins… At the request of the Lead Education Advisor for SEND (AfC), we will be compiling a “SENCo’s Summer Compilation” which will edit together News and Links, but remove the date-specific items. This will be on our website under Useful Documents later this week.
Please look at the SFV website… We’ve been busy planning for the new academic year, we’ve updated our website including our Policies and more about who we are (About Us). More importantly, we’ve started planning events – please take a look at our Events page and get back to us with any questions or comments. You may be surprised at the breadth of our work! http://www.sendfamilyvoices.org/events Over the coming weeks, many disability specific support groups will be finalising their events programmes. You can find Express CIC’s calendar of autism related events here: http://www.expresscic.org.uk/events.html And, in the text below, you’ll find full details for the programme of talks from the Richmond Dyslexia Association. One of the thing that strikes us is that there are far more active disability specific support groups in Richmond (8) than in Kingston (3). We don’t know exactly why – but it is the way it is. Happily, the nature of support groups is that they welcome all parents and professionals regardless of where you live or practice.
A spectrum isn’t a straight line… We really liked this cartoon, published by The Mighty. Have a look at this and the pandisability stories on their website. “We publish real stories by real people facing real challenges. We are building a media brand and community around them. Having a disability or disease doesn’t have to be isolating. That’s why The Mighty exists.” https://themighty.com/2016/05/rebecca-burgess-comic-redesigns-the-autism-spectrum/
Talks and Forums
Meet the Richmond MPs Ruils are hosting a Disability Forum with Dr Tania Mathias and Zac Goldsmith. Both Tania and Zac will be there to listen to your issues and answer your questions. Thursday 8th September - 10.30am to 12noon Cole Court 150 London Road TW1 1DN Cole Court has free parking on site, or is a short walk from Twickenham station.
Flyer attached. No need to book – just turn up!
Employment & Support Allowance (ESA) Following our very successful workshop on Personal Independence Payments (PIP) with Colin Morris (Dept. of Work & Pensions) on 17 March, we have invited Colin back to talk about ESA (Employment & Support Allowance). Monday 19 September - 12.30pm to 2pm Cross Way Centre, Richmond Road, East Twickenham Refreshments will be provided from 12.30pm. We welcome all parents, staff, voluntary sector representatives and anyone else involved. Please see the attached flyer and book using the contacts below: T: 020-8288-0042 E: denisecarr2@virginmedia.com W: http://www.richmondmencap.org.uk/
Dylexia These are open to everyone, irrespective of which borough you live and work in (there isn’t a Kingston association). “The Richmond Dyslexia Association has put together a programme of speakers, all experts in their fields, to discuss a wide range of issues of interest to teachers and parents of children with dyslexia. Each talk will last about an hour with an opportunity to ask questions at the end. The full programme follows… Venue: Old Town Hall, Richmond, Whittaker Avenue, TW9 1TP Start time: 7.30pm Price: £8 per night or £45 for all 6 (members), £10 per night or £55 for all 6 (non-members) T: 07495 648 025 E: info@richmonddyslexia.org.uk September 27th Lucy Gill “How Apps Can Support Children with Dyslexia.” Lucy Gill is the creator of the Good App Guide, part of the website www.FundamentallyChildren.com providing free advice to parents and teachers on which apps to choose for children to support development (particularly for under 12s). October 4th Claire Hughes “The skills and management of reading: practical tips to help both parents and teachers." Claire Hughes has worked for the Helen Arkell Centre for 6 years. She lectures, tutors and assesses on their courses as well as working in a local secondary school as a Specialist Teacher. October 11th Florence Charles “Mindfulness.” Doctor Florence Charles is an Educational Psychologist who undertook her Doctorate at the University of Cardiff, here she cultivated her interest in applying psychotherapy theories to the classroom and as part of her thesis wrote a training programme for teachers. November 1st Sarah Wedderburn "Making sense of fractions, decimals and percentages." Sarah Wedderburn is the principal of Unicornmaths which she established in 2004 to focus on maths remediation and dyscalculia. She is the author of the Unicornmaths Programme which is a cumulative multi-sensory programme for the remediation of maths difficulties.
November 8th Caroline Bateman “Harnessing IT for Dyslexics.” Caroline Bateman is a learning technology consultant with a personal experience in dyslexia: all 3 of her children are dyslexic. She is convinced that the effective use of IT is the cornerstone of transforming the dyslexic’s learning experience. November 15th Valerie Hero “Dyslexia. Now What? How to support learning in the child / young adult who has just been identified with Dyslexia” Valerie became an Educational Psychologist in 1996 and worked in a number of local authorities prior to setting up her own independent practice in 2000. Since then Valerie has worked in mainstream primary and secondary and has extensive experience of assessing pupils for a range of learning needs, including dyslexia.
SEND Ofsted At some point in the next 4.5 years, both Kingston and Richmond (separately) will be subject to Ofsted inspections on the local area’s SEND offerings. Whilst there is not a ‘judgement’ as such, the feedback is in the form of a narrative – a letter. Below are the ‘Outcome letters’ for the five boroughs that have thus far been inspected. “Ofsted and Care Quality Commission inspect local areas’ effectiveness in identifying and meeting the needs of children and young people who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.” Bolton - 14 July 2016 Brighton and Hove - 14 July 2016 Enfield - 24 August 2016 Gloucestershire - 3 August 2016 Nottinghamshire - 10 August 2016 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-area-send-inspection-outcome-letters
Hints & Tips Challenging Behaviour – help… “We want to pave the way to an ordinary life for children with extraordinary needs. We believe that understanding the cause of challenging behaviours is the first step on that path. “Paving the Way” is a joint project from the Challenging Behaviour Foundation and the Council for Disabled Children – working in partnership with families and professionals to share and promote good practice.” http://pavingtheway.works/
Cerebra Cerebra’s aim is to provide high quality health and social care information for the parents and carers of children aged 0-16 years with neurological conditions. Cerebra have a wide selection of guides for parents, including: Anxiety Guide: A Guide for Parents Decision Making, Confidentiality and Sharing Information: A Guide for Parents Finding and Assessing Sources of Legal Help: A Guide for Parents Pain in children with severe intellectual disability: A Guide for Parents Parent/Carer Rights: A Guide for Parents Problem-Solving Toolkit Social Care in England: A Guide for Parents Toilet Training for Children with Autism and Intellectual Disabilities http://w3.cerebra.org.uk/help-and-information/guides-for-parents/
Care Trade This organisation looks interesting. They have only just made it on to the section 41 list (independent special schools) so don't appear on the latest version on Gov.uk. http://www.care-trade.org/
What’s New on the Local Offer We have a really good working relationship with Karen Lowry (LO Content manager); we send her stuff… Karen sends us stuff… and this helps to keep the Local Offer and our community up-to-date. SFV don’t advertise everything we’re asked to as often the best place for it is the Local Offer – hence our ‘What’s New’ regular slot. We recommend you check the Local Offer regularly and if you are struggling to find something, please use the Local Offer Contact Us page. Every request put into the Local Offer must be published and answered (it’s the law). It’s a really good way to keep the Local Offer alive! Marston Avenue is a homely and highly recommended adult respite/short break service in Chessington. Marston Avenue can be accessed through Social Services or privately. https://www.afclocaloffer.org.uk/organisations/15700-marston-avenue-respiteservice?term=marston+avenue ASD-UK is a UK research family database of children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The project is funded by Autistica (www.autistica.org.uk). https://www.afclocaloffer.org.uk/blog_articles/641-national-autism-research-study-call-toparents-of-children-on-the-autism-spectrum Search #summer in the Local Offer to find out what is going on in the summer holidays. This includes details of the Family Fun afternoon at The Moor Lane Centre on 4 th September. Perhaps see you there? https://www.afclocaloffer.org.uk/site_search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&search_site%5Bterm%5D=%2 3Summer We were all saddened to hear of the passing of Lord Brian Rix who was a visionary who had been at the heart of the Mencap movement for over four decades. Members of RIX Media and Mencap recently contributed to this video tribute to Lord Rix: https://www.afclocaloffer.org.uk/blog_articles/645-tribute-to-lord-rix-1924-2016 And some links are just for fun, like this one (Karen sent this through today). The Plaster cast song… the Echocardiogram song… http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/shows/get-well-soon
Summer Struggles Sadly familiar for too many of us – we were sent this link several times. “Parents of children with learning disabilities are being left to struggle alone without support during the summer holidays, according to Mencap. After we reported on the charity's findings, including that access to childcare was "insufficient" and "inflexible" in many council areas, lots of readers got in touch to share their stories. Here are some of your experiences.” http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-37185992
NHS England Learning Disability and Autism Advisory Group Are you a person with a learning disability, a person with autism or a family carer? Do you want to be part of NHS England's new Advisory Group? The Advisory Group will help NHS England with its work on learning disability and/or autism. If you are interested, please view the full information pack to find out about applying. You will need to complete the application form by Friday 16th September. https://www.engage.england.nhs.uk/application/ld-aa-group https://www.engage.england.nhs.uk/application/ld-aa-group/consult_view
AfC organisation chart Achieving for Children (AfC) is commissioned by both Kingston and Richmond Councils to provide children’s services. Their structure chart is published on the AfC website and just been updated: http://fluencycontent2-schoolwebsite.netdnassl.com/FileCluster/AchievingForChildren/Mainfolder/documents/FOI/AfC-seniormanagement-structure-August-2016.pdf
Life, Animated We enjoyed the trailer… www.youtube.com/watch?v=4n7fosK9UyY (“who gets to say; what is a meaningful life..?”) Thursday 29th September - 7.30pm to 9.30pm Richmond Adult Community College, Parkshot, Richmond, TW9 2RE www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/racc-monthly-cinema-bfi-present-life-animated-preview-screeningtickets-26223272514 Or entry on the night is just £8 “Synopsis: A documentary from Academy Award® winning director Roger Ross Williams, LIFE, ANIMATED is the inspirational story of Owen Suskind, a young Autistic man who was unable to speak as a child until he and his family discovered a unique way to communicate by immersing themselves in the world of classic Disney films. This emotional coming-of-age story follows Owen as he graduates to adulthood and takes his first steps toward independence. All of the ticket sales go towards raising money for RACC to help us to continue to provide a range of courses including learning opportunities for Learners with learning difficulties and disabilities.”
Accessibility? For those that really, really don’t like the London underground… “Transport for London has released a new Tube map showing the distance in steps between Underground stations. For instance, the walk from Cannon Street to Mansion House takes just 400 steps, while the journey from Oxford Circus to Bond Street will take 700 steps.” http://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/tfl-has-released-a-walk-the-tube-map-showingthe-distance-between-london-stations-a3331686.html
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, Romany (for Richmond) and Caroline North (for Kingston) Phone: 07469 746 145 www.sendfamilyvoices.org If you wish to unsubscribe from this e-mail list, please reply to this e-mail with Unsubscribe in the subject line.