News, Short Breaks commissioning survey & Adventures to be had 10th November 2015 Dear All It’s been nearly two weeks since our last news, and whilst we start with an update on Meetings, there’s a lot in here for Young People…
Meetings … #1 – Open Our Open Meetings have just begun – hopefully every parent has received a letter with the dates. If you’ve misplaced it, or just want to check (or are a professional that would like to come and meet us), please refer this page on our website: www.sendfamilyvoices.org/events
#2 - Cake The Young People’s Chocolate Cake Consultation on the Accessibility Strategy is on Thursday 24th November – 6pm to 8pm The Langdon Down Centre, 2a Langdon Park, Teddington, TW11 9PS A flyer is attached. The offer of providing specific cakes upon request is genuine – and we will, of course, provide fruit as well! (We understand that M&S do a lovely gluten and dairy free lemon drizzle.) Please reply to this e-mail if your young person is interested in coming along.
#3 - Transport SEN Transport… We have had the first steering group meeting, plus the first two open consultations on this subject. There are two more open consultations and details are on our events page. Some of the principles emerging from these discussions are: The new policy needs to present a clear, transparent eligibility process …and this to be a process that allows for a personalised approach that works with the capacity of the child or young person No-one should be concerned about their child or young person’s SEN Transport Parents and young people are clear that a good experience of SEN Transport is an important start to the day (and its end) The safety of the child is assured; that includes excellent management of health needs and medication if/when required.
#4 – Participation & opportunity In the last “Dear All” we mentioned that our steering group, along with representatives from schools (ie SENCo’s), including commissioners from Health, Achieving for Children and others were holding a developmental workshop on the subject of participation. Our objective was to answer the question: “How do we work together to maximise positive consequences, and minimise negative consequences, for the child or young person & their family?” Without exception, attendees found it a very productive workshop. By the next Dear All, we should be able to publish the outcomes from the morning’s work. To re-iterate, and without being too gloomy, the Government’s spending review does mean cuts. What exactly they will be is as yet undecided at both a national and local level. However if we, as parents, can work with the commissioners as critical friends & equal
partners, we can aim to preserve the services that are most important for us and develop new approaches to support families. If you feel inclined to read more about the spending review, follow this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/spending-review-and-autumn-statement-2015everything-you-need-to-know
Inspired Action – for Young People… The organiser of the Inspired Action Big Inspiration event contacted SEND Family Voices today, with the following offer… and it looks good! “The Big Inspiration event is a part of the Inspired Action project which is run in partnership with Whizz-Kidz and the British Red Cross. The event aims to inspire young people (aged 1525) to volunteer. One of the main objectives of the project is to promote a positive image of disabilities and also encourage young people with a disability to volunteer. The event is taking place on the 21st November and is being held at the British Red Cross head office in Moorgate. The event will hopefully be a fun day and will be comprised of stalls, workshops and inspirational talks. The workshops include: Inspiration Workshop, Disability Equality training and Advocacy Workshop. “ The link to the event is here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/inspired-action-big-inspirationevent-tickets-19057878628?aff=es2 They are happy to organise transport e.g. taxis to Moorgate if that would be useful. Take a look at the event link above then contact Frances on: FWaite@redcross.org.uk
Journey of a Lifetime Trust “The nominations for the 2016 “Journey of a Lifetime” are now open. We will travel for a month during July and August 2016 through Singapore, Indonesia and Northern Australia, taking in jungles and beaches, trekking through rainforests and across mountains . We will travel by bus, plane, raft, boat and train as well as on foot or wheelchair across more than 2,000 miles. The group will consist of 18 physically, medically, emotionally or socially disadvantaged youngsters from the UK and will be led by six experienced leaders, including two doctors” The trip looks amazing! The deadline for applications is November 16 th 2015. http://www.jolttrust.org.uk/getting-ready-for-jolt-2016/
Short Breaks – pre-commissioning consultation SEND Family Voices are undertaking a consultation to inform the current short breaks commissioning process. We need to know what you and your family would most benefit from in order to assist Achieving for Children in providing the most suitable services. Please take a few moments to fill in & return the attached survey. All questions are of course optional. All answers will be confidential and any information given to Achieving for Children will be entirely anonymised.
Please give as much information as you like, continuing onto the back of the page. If you have more than one child, please use a separate page for each child (nearly all the questions are child specific so it won't involve much duplication!) The Consultation Survey is attached, and you can also pick up a paper copy at one of our Open Meetings. If you have any questions or would like to discuss further, please don't hesitate to contact SEND Family Voices’ lead parent for Short Breaks; Rachel Derrick either by email on rachelkd@gmail.com, or by telephone on 07739 412430.
Contact a Family on Short Breaks “How will our short breaks resources help you? Four times a year we're publishing resources designed to support co-production between children, young people, parent carers, commissioners and providers to improve the provision of short break services.” http://www.cafamily.org.uk/news-and-media/case-studies-and-bulletins-for-improving-shortbreaks-services/
CarerSmart CarerSmart is a new club from Carers Trust, the UK’s largest carer’s charity, and is open to carers, people with care needs and staff and volunteers across the Carers Trust network. Joining is free and member's benefits include cash back on shopping from numerous high street retailers, best rates from energy providers, reductions on insurance renewals, discounts on holidays and travel arrangements, reduced price lifestyle activities plus member's advice services. The website portal for CarerSmart is http://www.carersmart.org should you wish to take a look.
Integrated Service for Children with Disabilities (ISCD) Attached is Caroline Baxter’s regular letter on news from ISCD. The letter includes details of the Transition Event for young people moving on from school to further education or employment. The date for your diary is: Monday 25 January 2016 – 5pm to 8pm The Langdon Down Centre, 2a Langdon Park, Teddington, TW11 9PS Caroline also includes details of “drop in” sessions before Christmas at Moor Lane and Windham Croft. Also details of Parent Recruits Crew Training in the New Year; this crew would work with the ISCD sitting on the recruitment panel/s for their staff.
Out & About #1 (is it too early to think about holidays?) The Calvert Trust came in to existence as a charity on 12th March 1976 with the vision to enable people with disabilities to benefit from outdoor activities in the countryside. They welcome everyone with a disability, whether that be autism, mobility and/or those with learning difficulties. Activities include rock climbing in a wheelchair… http://www.calvert-trust.org.uk/about-us/calvert-trust-video
#2 (perhaps you’re doing some Christmas shopping?) “The Changing Places Consortium launched its campaign in 2006 on behalf of the 1/4 of a million people who cannot use standard accessible toilets. This includes people with profound and multiple learning disabilities, motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, as well as older people. You can find your nearest registered Changing Places toilet in the UK by going to the location map and typing in an address, town or postcode.” http://www.changing-places.org/Findatoilet/Locationmap/tabid/70/Default.aspx
#3 (or some exercise?) Twickenham Rowing Club offer inclusive ‘taster’ sessions, and regular rowing outings, for all children and young people; both for fun and for competition. Please contact the club for more information. E-mail works best: manager@twickenhamrc.co.uk ...and the website is here: http://www.twickenhamrc.co.uk/
SEN Strategy - reminder Achieving for Children (AfC) are seeking feedback on the new SEN Strategy. The Strategy outlines the values, principles and key priorities for AfC over the next 3 years in supporting children and young people (and their families and/or carers) who have Special Educational Needs (SEN) in Richmond and Kingston. The Strategy has been developed by AfC with input from SEND Family Voices. AfC welcome all comments and if you would like to contribute, please contact Oliver Sheppard by the closing date of 13th November: oliver.sheppard@achievingforchildren.org.uk The aim is to publish the final strategy on the Local Offer by the end of November. http://www.afclocaloffer.org.uk/blog_articles/290-achieving-for-children-specialeducational-needs-strategy
Links & Videos My Curious Documentary – from the BBC’s Imagine series. “Imagine meets those involved in the play [The curious incident of the dog in the night-time], from early rehearsals and research to stage performances in both London and New York. This is interwoven with moving testimony from other children and families on the challenges they face as they live with autism.” http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06phq27 Danny Raede and Hayden Mears, both diagnosed with Asperger’s at young ages, aim to “enliven, empower, and educate people with Asperger's and their families. Their work addresses both sides of the same coin; they help parents understand, motivate, and enjoy their kid while helping people with Asperger's understand themselves and thrive in all areas of life.” “Stop Resisting: This is the one thing that changed our lives with Asperger's the most.” http://www.aspergerexperts.com/go/changedlives/ “In 2010, the Commission produced its first report on equality (How Fair is Britain?) and separate report on human rights (the Human Rights Review) in 2012. Is Britain Fairer? is the
Commission’s follow-up report on both equality and human rights. This report outlines our findings and sets out the challenges for the future.” http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/about-us/our-work/key-projects/britain-fairer/greatbritain-report What is new on the Local Offer? News from the blog pages… http://www.afclocaloffer.org.uk/blog_articles/300-wiki-showcase-event-october-2015 http://www.afclocaloffer.org.uk/s/young_peoples_zone/blog_articles You don’t need a facebook account to watch these… This is a jolly Australian advert aimed at those with sensory overload (1.50 minutes) As we watched it, it occurred that we could probably all do with a Squease vest from time to time! https://www.facebook.com/Squease/videos/10153916722408488/?fref=nf Some young American students with learning disabilities give their teachers some heartfelt advice…. (1.52 minutes) https://www.facebook.com/Upworthy/videos/1125589414148582/?fref=nf As ever, if you have any queries at all, please ask and we'll 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