Reaching families...

Supporting young people with special educational needs

Many founders of charities or not-forprofit organisations decide to start their own organisation as a result of finding themselves unable to find the support they themselves need … Brian O’Hagan, Director of Reaching Families, is no exception.

In 2008, Brian had recently moved back to Worthing, after many years living in London, and had a child, James, who had been diagnosed with cerebral palsy at eight weeks old. Brian says, “When my son was poorly, I noticed that there was very little support for parents of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) so I began to explore what could be offered to support parents and families and in doing so, enhance the quality of life for children with SEND and their families.” Having spent 25 years working in the voluntary sector Brian decided to use his skills to launch an organisation that could achieve these objectives.

Working with over 3,000 West Sussex families

Brian explains that the aim of Reaching Families is to empower families of children with SEND in order for them to “maximise the support they receive from external agencies, have the knowledge and skills to care for a child or young person with SEND and to improve their resilience and emotional wellbeing through the support of other families in a similar situation.

“We do that through the delivery of a one-stop shop of services that includes an in-depth parent -carer guide, an online library of factsheets and animations, training workshops and courses, benefits advice and a befriending service for parents of children undergoing diagnosis.” The charity also has parent support groups based in Billingshurst, Burgess Hill, Chichester, Littlehampton, Worthing and online via zoom. With another group to be launched in Shoreham later this year.

Every year, Reaching Families supports over 3,000 families with a range of projects and services. Although the charity does receive referrals from health, schools and the local authority, referrals are not necessary for those seeking support from the organisation.

Delivering a range of information and training services

Reaching Families achieves its mission is to “empower, inform and support parents and families of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities in West Sussex,” through the delivery of a wide range of services. Possibly key amongst which is the charity’s parent-carer guide: “Making Sense of It All” –often referred to by users as the “parent-carer bible.” The guide is designed to enable and inform parents of children with SEND from birth through to adulthood, covering subjects including diagnosis, benefits and money matters, accessing support at school and from health & social care, and transition into adult life. It also contains a useful directory of local and national organisations, and an equally useful, and extensive, jargon-buster. The guide may be ordered free of charge as an eBook or in hardcopy format, subject to postage and packing, from the Guide Page of the charity’s website.

The charity also offers a series of fact sheets on childhood disabilities and rare syndromes, combining clinical information with local information on relevant projects, services and support for a particular condition. All information is localised to the needs of West Sussex families. Reaching families also produces information in the form of animated films – Animation Shorts – on a variety of subjects.

In 2021-22, 2,600 copies of the Making Sense of it All guide were downloaded/delivered to families, whilst over 10,000 factsheets were downloaded from the Reaching Families website.

Additionally, there is a range of Training Workshops for the parent-carer, again free of charge, and a “Making Sense of it All – Foundation Course”, introducing key issues parent-carers will face as their child grows and develops, which is available via Zoom or in person. Again, in 2021-22, 949 parents attended one of Reaching Families training workshops.

Offering

“Face-2-Face Befriending” and Parent Support Groups

Parent-carers of recently diagnosed children also have an opportunity to benefit from befriending and emotional support, from an experienced and specially trained parent-carer, under the charity’s Face-2-Face Befriending project. Volunteer based, the charity’s befrienders undergo intensive training, are DBS checked and have ongoing support and supervision.

Monthly support groups - Umbrellas Parent Support groups are based in Billingshurst, Burgess Hill, Littlehampton and Worthing and since Covid, a weekly online group meets on Zoom. These groups can be crucial for isolated parents, offering the opportunity to connect with other parents and signposting them to other relevant projects and services.

Amongst the information provided in Reaching Families’ Impact report for 2021 22, are figures illustrating the positive effect the charity has upon the lives of those who use its services. 90 percent of parent-carers reported improved knowledge in accessing support for their child, whilst 80 percent of parent-carers reported feeling more resilient in overcoming difficulties thanks to peer support. And 78 percent of parentcarers reported improved skills and selfconfidence in supporting their child as a result of attending a Reaching Families training course.

“£10 will pay for the cost of printing our parent guides for one West Sussex family”

Reaching Families is funded from a variety of sources including the National Lottery, the local authority, the NHS and various charitable trusts and foundations. When I ask about Fundraising Events, Brian says that, “We very rarely put on fundraising events mainly because we are a small team and do not have the resources for managing these sorts of events.”

However, if you enjoy running, cycling, skydiving or putting on coffee mornings then Brian O’Hagan would be delighted to hear from you to discuss how you could raise much needed funds to sustain the work of the charity. “We have been very lucky to have had support from local people with fundraising, for example, a family in Littlehampton last Christmas raised money for us through a Christmas light show. Another lady ran a Zumbathon for us, many more have given donations.”

Reaching Families is also keen to hear from anyone who might want to volunteer with the charity. “We use volunteers in our befriending service… Our team of twenty volunteers provide emotional and practical support with things like signposting, accessing other services, learning about their child’s condition and meeting other parent-carers.” There are other ways in which volunteers can contribute to the charity too – by promoting the work of Reaching Families at community events, representing the charity at groups in your own local area or by distribution information to community venues, such as preschools and GP surgeries.

Exponential growth in demand for services since Covid

Now, more than ever charities are struggling to provide their much-needed services. As Brian says, “Our biggest challenge is meeting an exponential increase in demand for our service. Since the start of the covid pandemic demand has increased in some projects by over 200 percent. Finding the funds to increase resources to meet that demand has been difficult particularly in the current economic climate.”

Contact: Reaching Families Unit 16 Oaklands Business Centre, 64-68 Elm Grove, Worthing. BN11 5LH. Or please call 01903 366360

Email: admin@reachingfamilies.org.uk wwww.reachingfamilies.org.uk

By Lynn Smith

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