Newsletter December 2023
It's been a busy few months for everyone involved with the Parent Carer Forum, and we've thoroughly enjoyed meeting lots of parent carers and professionals at our different events. We started off the new academic year with a day of SEND Law EHCP training at Downs Syndrome Cheshire HQ. It was an extremely useful course and everyone who attended learned a lot. You can find the resources on our website. Both our Steering Group (made up of parent volunteers and SEND professionals) and our Parent Management Group have met to share experiences and plan ways of working together to improve the lives of our children and young people. Our volunteers are involved in a number of workstreams with Education, Health and Social Care and work hard to ensure that the parent carer voice is being heard. Our School Reps group continues to grow and this has provided us with another chance to meet with parent carers and hear their views. PCF volunteers and guest speakers such as Disability Positive have attended coffee mornings at Space in Chester and DSC in Northwich (you can find details of upcoming coffee mornings below) and in October we were delighted to welcome the Information Advice and Support Service and Cheshire and Warrington Carers Trust to our first virtual meeting of the year. In November we held our first in-person Forum meeting at Vicars Cross Golf Club in Chester. The event was very well attended and we were extremely grateful to all the parent carers who came along and to the members of the Local Authority Education team who presented. It was a very good opportunity to come together and learn from each other. We had a marketplace full of stalls where parents could chat to SEND professionals and we all enjoyed a lovely lunch together. We have lots planned for 2024, so please keep an eye out for updates on our website and on social media facebook.com/pcfcwac/. If you have anything that you would like to share with us then please email us at contact.pcfcwac@gmail.com or come along to one of our events. Thank you for all your support and for getting involved, we wouldn't be a forum without you!
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
We are delighted to be working in partnership with Down Syndrome Cheshire and Disability Positive to host a Sip and Learn coffee event on 14th December.
Come along to Sip and Learn on the 14th of December at 10am to catch up with other parents in an informal setting.
Cheshire and Warrington Carers are running this month's session. It is an opportunity for parents and carers to ask any questions about benefits you are applying for or receiving.
The session will run from 10am to 12pm.
No need to book. Just come along and have a chance to Sip and Learn.
Working Parents...
Are you a working parent/carer?
Does your child have SEND?
The PCF CWaC has ran a number of evening zoom virtual forums and focus groups to help support working parents, unfortunately the uptake on these has been low with only five parents engaging.
This is your opportunity to let us know what would work best for working parents.
How would you like to access our service?
What would you like to learn?
Please use the link below to complete our quick feedback form to help us help you.
In the meantime don't forget that all our virtual sessions are recorded and available through our website and on our YouTube Channel. (please use the link below to access them)
PCF EVENT - FEB 2024 - Live Well - Service Providers Introduce the Support Available for Children and Young People with SEND.
A FREE group for all Parents and Carers of children/young people
who have any Special Educational Needs &/or Disabilities (SEND)
Wednesday 7th February⋅10:00am – 2:00pm
At:
Hartford Golf Club
Burrows Hill Hartford CW8 3AP
At the meeting - You will get to hear about and have your say on the following topics:
Live Well - Meet the professionals behind the services that support your child/young person
PLUS - Mental Health Services - Update
Marketplace - Stands & Information on activities, groups and services in your area will also be available.
Free Parking, Free Lunch, Free Tea/Coffee & Cakes, Wheelchair Accessible.
November saw the first of our in-person Forums.
Thank you to everyone who attended: parents/carers, Professionals and the Marketplace. It was fantastic to see such a busy Forum with so many attending.
Disability Positive Live Cheshire Energise by Endorphins Cheshire and Warrington Carers Trust Information Advice Support Services,
Live Well, The Autism Service, LD CAMHS, www.bamboo-discover.co.uk.
With much more to come in 2024 don't forget that you can keep up to date with the latest PCF news and signposting information by checking our website and following us on Facebook.
Fancy a cuppa, lunch and a chat with other parents? Come along to our Friday parent carer lunch in our centre from 12 till 2pm . Allergies are catered for too and no need to rebook.
At Theatre Porto we are committed to supporting children, young people and families who experience disability, neurodiversity or need additional support whatever the reason!
After a successful trial of Supported Visits during our last production we have decided to offer it again for our up-coming show Little Red. We are completely aware that each person has individual needs and so our Access Co-ordinator, Natasha, is here to hopefully enable everyone to comfortably engage with our Christmas Show!
SUPPORTED THEATRE VISITS – LITTLE RED
Saturday 9th December @ 2pm
Monday 18th December @ 4pm
Thursday 21st December @ 10.30am
What is a Supported Theatre Visit?
A Supported Visit involves an individual phone call or email conversation with our Access Coordinator, Natasha, who can listen to concerns, answer questions and put the best support possible in place for your visit.
Some of this support might involve (but is not limited to):
-Access to a Performance Timeline & Sound Story - so there are no sudden surprises. Learning more about the characters and storyline of the play beforehand, especially for those who may struggle with worry or unknown outcomes. This can involve talking through particular moments in the play that involve loud sounds/ music or visual and lighting changes.
-Chance to visit the Venue & Theatre space before the show itself (with lights up) and a chance to explore the set and some props before the show.
- Seating- Talking through and reserving the best seating, including location within the theatre, any sensory seating needs , the opportunity to be seated before, or after, the rest of the audience (which ever is best/ makes the individuals experience more comfortable)
- The opportunity to enter both the Venue and the Theatre itself through a different door to avoid busy environments.
- Talking through any personal items a child or young person might need to ensure they feel safe and comfortable ( we will have some items to offer out as well).
- A 'Chill Out' space during the show if needed in our Cafe Workshop (another room on the ground floor of our building) where a live video feed of the show is available (so they don't miss out!)
Please find more information about Little Red and some images here:
https://theatreporto.org/little-red-live/
On our website you will also find more information regarding Accessibility here:
https://theatreporto.org/info-for-visitors/
And below is a link for our Social Story which you may find helpful as well:
https://www.theatreporto.org/access/socialstory/Social%20Story.pdf
--Please note--
Whilst our venue is described as ‘relaxed’ the light and sound in this production has not been adapted like you might typically see in a ‘relaxed’ show however we think our Supported Visits have so many benefits!
Any other questions/ enquiries please do get in touch
Autism Central Hubs
offer guidance to families, carers and personal assistants of autistic people. All of our sessions are run by Peer Educators. These are parents or carers of autistic people, who are happy to share their knowledge and experience with you. They offer group and one-to-one sessions to help you and other parents and carers find the information and services available in your area. Hubs may also run events such as workshops, drop-in sessions, coffee mornings or virtual meet-ups.
To access current events please use the link below....
This training is all free to attend for North West teams.
All NWTDT/ Pathways training is coproduced and will be co-delivered and is mapped against the capability frameworks for learning disability and autism.
The criteria for attendance at each workshop is on the relevant flyers.
Title of Webinar:
Going to College
Date: Thursday 25th January 2024
Summary of Content: Thinking about college; what options are available; how is a typical programme delivered; how are young people with SEND supported within a College environment.
Speaker(s): Cheshire College South and West, Warrington Vale Royal College, Coleg Cambria, Reaseheath College, Wirral Met College, Petty Pool College
Provider: The College Network
Time: 4-6pm
To Join: Come to Greenbank School, Greenbank Lane, Hartford, Northwich, CW8 1LD
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Title of Webinar:
Transport
Date: Wednesday28th February 2024
Summary of Content: How can the local authority support your child to access college and what can you do yourself to prepare your child for independent travel?
Speaker(s):Nicole Mellor – Transport Team Cheshire West and Chester
Provider: Cheshire West & Chester Council
Time: 4-5pm
To Join: Click here to join the meeting
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Title of Webinar:
Social Care, Day Services & Volunteering
Date: Wednesday 27th March 2024
Summary of Content: Find out how to access support to help all young people with disabilities fulfil their potential and lead as independent life as possible. This webinar will look at care and support options including housing, day care, finance, volunteering, etc..
Speaker(s): Kath Hingston - Transition Team Manager (Social Care) and Denise Garner - Service Manager Vivo LD Day Services
Provider: Cheshire West and Chester Council and Vivo Care
Time: 4-5pm
To Join: Click here to join the meeting
Reasonable Adjustments Check List
NNPCF and Contact's Working Together virtual joint conference update.
All recordings from our virtual conference are now available on Contact's website: https://bit.ly/ContactNNPCFconference
NEW FEATURE.... Discover Live Well Cheshire West.
Your new look PCF Newsletter will take you into "Live Well".
Let us help you explore what's on offer.
This month we are looking at SEN Managers.
In the link below you will find the roles and responsibilities (as of November 2023) of the SEN Managers. At the bottom of the page, you will find the contact details for the team.
USEFUL CONTACTS....
Live Well Cheshire West - www.livewell.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk
Information Advice and Support Service (IASS) - Tel 0300 123 7001
www.livewell.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/Services/1279
SEN Team - Tel 0151 337 6505
senteam@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk
Starting Well - www.startingwell.org.uk/
West Cheshire 0-16 CAMHS Tel - 01244 393200
www.cwp.nhs.uk/services-and-locations/services/west-cheshire-0-16-camhs/
IPSEA- Call-in Helpline Tel- 0300 22 5899
https://www.ipsea.org.uk/Pages/Category/service-overview
CONTACT Advice Line -Tel-0808 808 3555
https://contact.org.uk/
Get Involved with the PCF....
We are always looking for new parents and carers to join us. You can attend meetings, give feedback to influence the services your child or young person uses or help us to identify the gaps in services. Also, a chance to meet other parents and learn about what's on offer in Cheshire West & Chester.
email contact.pcfcwac@gmail.com
or join us for one of our meetings. We hope to see you soon!
Copyright © 2023 CWAC PCF, All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is:
contact.pcfcwac@gmail.com
