Wiki’s (love’em), transport again & being a difficult parent

Wiki’s (love’em), Transport again & being a Difficult Parent 20th September 2015 Dear All Wiki’s are a great way forward in supporting your child’s voice; please come to this event if you can. As always, a Word version of this bulletin is also attached (with our lovely new logo).

If we’ve used any abbreviations or acronyms that don’t make sense – please let us know and we’ll be happy to explain and pass them on to the Local Offer jargon buster: http://www.afclocaloffer.org.uk/pages/home/jargon-buster

The Wiki We can’t begin to say how fabulous Wiki’s are…. Please see the text below from Simon James, inviting a wide audience to come and learn more.

Monday 12 October - 5:00pm to 6:30pm.

Langdon Down Centre, Normansfield, 2A Langdon Park, Teddington, Middlesex, TW11 9PS “I would like to invite you to the Achieving for Children Wiki Showcase Event which highlights the work we are doing using Wikis to support Education, Health and Care planning (EHC plans) for children and young people with special educational needs.

Wikis are simple, accessible, easy to build personal websites which people can access using a tablet, smartphone, laptop or PC. If you would like to see a real-life example of a Wiki in action, please take 11 minutes to watch this video, it is an outstanding illustration: http://rixmedia.org/portfolio/case-study-video We have partnered with Rix Research and Media, part of the University of East London, to show people who face challenges because of their communications difficulties, how Wikis can give them a voice and enable them to take control of their lives.

Our event will show case studies that demonstrate the life-changing potential of Wikis and everyone will have an opportunity to build their own Wiki ‘hands on’ at the event, so don’t forget to bring your tablet, laptop or smartphone.

I am hoping to attract an audience from across the spectrum of people who have special educational needs, their parents and carers and from the range of professionals involved in their care.

We want people to take a full and active role in the EHC planning process and we believe that using Wikis will lead to genuine collaboration between parents, young people, teachers and professionals.

To register go to: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/afc-wiki-showcase-event-tickets-18625648817 If you would like to know more about Wikis please visit our Local Offer website: http://www.afclocaloffer.org.uk/pages/home/assessment-and-education-health-and-careplanning/about-wiki-s-and-how-to-get-on

or contact James Mannion: James.Mannion@achievingforchildren.org.uk (020 8831 6394) I look forward to seeing you there.

Yours sincerely, Simon James Associate Director, Special Educational Needs and Disability Achieving for Children”

Transport again…

A brief update to let you know that we are planning the SEN Transport consultations with parents and have arranged venues across both boroughs. Achieving for Children have to seek a formal delegation (permission) from the Councils to conduct this consultation. Until this has been formalised, we can’t announce any dates etc.

However, if you would like to be a part of the parent’s working group on this (a smaller group than the open consultations), please reply to this e-mail.

Two new events 1. For parents of young people with autism…. Express CIC are very pleased to be able to offer a new support group for parents & carers of teenagers and young adults. This new group will meet on the third Monday of each month and starts on: Monday 21st September, 7:30-9:00pm At the Express office at 452 Ewell Road, Surbiton Tel: 020 8390 4273 “Transition is a difficult time for any young person, becoming a teenager, new settings, exam pressure, leaving school all can lead to anxiety and create a pressure cooker of emotions.

For our young people this can be even more difficult. This group seeks to support and help parents & carers through this period through sharing experiences, offering support, an empathetic ear and a space to express your own feelings at this time.

The group will be informal and relaxed and will develop as the group decide. Please do let us know if you will be attending so we can ensure we provide enough refreshments. We very much look forward to welcoming you and seeing the group grow.”

2. New Youth Club for young people, ages 12-17, with mild/moderate learning disabilities and/or social communication difficulties: come for a disco & a pizza !

Sundays 27th September / 25th October / 29th November 2015 OSO Arts Centre, 49 Station Road, Barnes, London SW13 0LF - 5pm to 8pm Tickets: £5 per person. Please book via Richmond Mencap: 020 8744 1923 For any queries, please call Mencap on the number above or email Activity Station on activitystation@outlook.com

Links, links, links (x7) 1. Contact A Family says… “London families we need your help!

We have been asked by the Department for Education (DfE) to run some focus groups on early years childcare. The next one will be held at Contact a Family's head office in east London on Thursday 24 Sept and includes a free lunch.

We are looking for parents of children with additional needs under 10 to attend. Parents will be reimbursed for their costs. To book a place, please email Siobhan on campaigns@cafamily.org.uk or ring 020 7608 8714.

To find out more about why we are running these focus groups visit our website. http://www.cafamily.org.uk/…/help-inform-government-childc…/ 2. Disabled Students Alllowance - proposals Disabled students in higher education: funding proposals Closes 11.45pm 24th Sept “We want information and evidence to help us direct funding for disabled students in higher education (HE) more effectively. We want to balance the support available for all disabled students from HE providers, and that available from Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs).

The consultation is relevant to:  HE providers  disabled HE students (current and prospective)  stakeholders working with disabled students in HE or wishing to enter HE  disability charities  advocacy organisations working with disabled people  DSAs assessment centres  non-medical help suppliers The questions only relate to HE students entitled to receive support from Student Finance England. https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/disabled-students-in-higher-educationfunding-proposals “ 3. AfC Survey… “Please find the web link for a survey about the Family Fun Day that was held on Saturday 22nd August at Moor Lane Centre in Chessington.

The event was for Richmond and Kingston families to attend and we all had a great day and received some very good feedback on the day but would like to receive a more in depth feedback. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GBWJPCZ “ 4. A practical petition “Ensure Equality of Access to Disabled Toilets For All by Making the Provision of Changing Places Toilets Mandatory in the Buildings Mentioned in BS 8300:2009 https://www.change.org/p/end-degrading-disabled-toilet-facilitiesnow?recruiter=39763582&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campai gn=share_facebook_responsive&utm_term=des-sm-share_petition-no_msg&fb_ref=Default” 5. “On 16th September, the House of Commons voted narrowly in favour of severe cuts to working tax credits.

These changes will come into effect in April 2016 and are estimated to affect around 150,000 working families with disabled children. It is claimed that these cuts will leave 3 million families worse off by £1,000 a year on average.

We're asking families to write to their MP to urge them to consider ways to mitigate (lessen) the effects of these cuts when they come into place. http://www.cafamily.org.uk/news-and-media/mps-approve-cuts-to-tax-credits/ “ 6. TES SEN Show… “This free-to-attend event has resources, ideas, advice and CPD training to provide teachers, SENCOs, support staff and parents with the tools and skills to help all pupils achieve. Registration for TES SEN Show 2015 is now open.

Entry to TES SEN Show 2015 is FREE of charge.” http://www.tessenshow.co.uk/

7. Ambitious about Autism… “is running a seminar with the law firm Irwin Mitchell for parents, carers and professionals, on the Care Act 2014 and the law on social care, which will be on Thursday October 15th in central London. The seminar is relevant for professionals working with families and young people, and parents and carers of young people approaching 18 (i.e 16+) or who have already reached adulthood, and will cover the new law, and how to write effective care plans and support carers. The seminar is heavily subsidised for parents and carers (only £10 including lunch) so I would be very grateful if you could forward to any of your parent/carer forums as well as your social care staff.

The flier with more information and the list of speakers and topics is here: http://www.ambitiousaboutautism.org.uk/sites/default/files/Care%20Act%20seminar%20v2.p df People can sign up using the following link, via their website under courses, by email or phone (below): http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/family-support-seminar-the-care-act-2014and-the-law-on-social-care-tickets-18134791650 “

A short article… on being a Difficult Parent Sent in by a parent (or two). This is a website we hadn’t heard of before, and this article rings bells. The difficult parent: “I thought you might find this article interesting - it's from the excellent SEN magazine which you can subscribe to for free. https://senmagazine.co.uk/Newsletter/ Their newsletter is full of interesting articles and adverts for special needs conferences, training and schools.” https://senmagazine.co.uk/articles/articles/senarticles/the-difficult-parent

And a one hour video…

ADHD Richmond recently held a talk on ADHD, education and the law… In their usual efficient manner, they have videoed it and made it available to all (approx. 1 hour) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLzvU8614rk&feature=youtu.be 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.richmondsendfamilyvoice.org