SEND News – April
Below is the link to the April edition of SEND news, featuring stories and updates about how services are continuing to support families of children with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities despite the fact that face to face meetings cannot take place.
https://sendnews.hertfordshire.gov.uk/april-2020/latest-news-and-updates/welcome
BBC Bitesize – Parents’ Toolkit: SEND
In addition to three new lessons each weekday, for each year group, BBC Bitesize is offering a Parents’ SEND Toolkit, including practical resources, activities and support to help families during lockdown. It can be accessed from the link below.
Stay at Home Superheroes!
Please see below for a link to a lovely little book that might help children who are finding the lockdown difficult and frustrating.
Young People’s Helpline – age 10 plus
Hertfordshire Mind Network have launched a new early intervention and prevention helpline for children and young people aged 10-17 in Herts. The helpline will provide a safe, non-judgemental space to talk to a Young People Advisor or Mentor who will provide emotional support, advice and information, signposting and discuss coping strategies. For opening hours and more information please visit the website https://www.hertsmindnetwork.org/young-peoples-helpline . The helpline number is 01923 256391.
Opening times at the moment are:
Mon, Wed, Fri – 13:00 – 16:30
Tues, Thurs – 17:00 – 19:30
Sat – 10:00 – 13:00
They are also able to offer support to parents either through this line, or their 18+ 24/7 line – reached through the same number.
Specific Learning Difficulties telephone advice line
The Hertfordshire Specific Learning Difficulties Outreach Service will be opening a telephone advice line to answer queries from professionals and parents starting from next week.
If your child has specific difficulties relating to reading and writing and/or maths, diagnosed or undiagnosed, and you would like advice during this school closure, please see the flier below containing further details.
Understanding ADHD and Autism Online Course
Please find below details of 4 (identical) courses entitled ‘Understanding ADHD and Autism’. These 6-week courses for parents and carers always sell out incredibly quickly, so if you are interested, you would need to register immediately.
Priority will be given to parents in the nominated districts, with Stevenage being our district. However, with the course being run via Zoom, if you cannot get onto the Stevenage course, or if the timing of one of the other courses is more appropriate, it would still be worth trying to get on an alternative one.
Online Parent Support
Please find below details of some parenting courses taking place this term, which may be of interest.
Activity Track
What a fantastic idea, sent in by a parent! If you have the space, this is a lovely way to keep the children active, and they get to choose what to include on the track.
Online Resilience Course for Parents
Please find below a letter received today about an Online Resilience Course being offered to parents of children aged 9 and above. It starts tomorrow, so please get registered as soon as possible if you are interested.
Dear parents,
The charity, Bounce Forward are
holding regular sessions for parents to build vital skills to help their children be more resilient during this uncertain time. Each hour-long session will be hosted by Lucy
Bailey – Chief Executive Officer & Co-founder of Bounce Forward, with the content based on the science of resilience.
Session Topics
Session 1: Introduction to resilient parenting
Session 2: Optimism during uncertainty
Session 3: Developing mental muscle
Session 4: Compassionate communication
Session 5: Mindsets and energy
Session 6: Parenting to strengths
The first session is free, with the next ones priced at a nominal fee of £2 to support the charity.
>> REGISTER HERE <<
Details: 10am to 11am – Friday 3rd April 2020
10am to 11am – Monday 6th April 2020
Lord David Triesman – Trustee, “As a parent myself, I know that this is a particularly difficult time for parents and that many are worried about the impact that school closures and social isolation could have on the wellbeing of not only their children but the whole family. But it’s how we react that matters most. As a society, we need to build vital skills and develop the critical factors which make someone resilient and helps them thrive during this new world/lockdown period.”
About Bounce Forward
https://bounceforward.com/
Bounce Forward is a national charity that delivers inspiring and practical training programmes to support young people to reach their full potential in life. The charity believes that teaching resilience skills should sit alongside academic lessons and have spent 13 years working directly with schools and delivering research to evidence what they do.
Core principles
Resilience is not just about overcoming setbacks; it’s also about making the most of opportunities
We base our approach and training on solid research, theory and evidence
We teach skills and strategies that work in the real world
The adults matter: their role is vital in helping children and young people be resilient and thrive
‘My Main Worries’ sheet
A parent has kindly informed me that the sheet below, available free on Twinkl, was really helpful in identifying what is on her children’s minds. Although the ‘instructions’ on it refer to an anxiety rating sheet, the more generic worry questions on that particular sheet may not relate to the children’s worries at this time, as things are so different at the moment. You can just use this sheet equally effectively on its own.