Transfer of the Childcare and Family Information Team Parent Blog Bulletin

With concerns over advertising pop-ups appearing on this blog, it will be closed shortly.
Information for families will now appear in the Services for Young Children blog bulletin which is posted on or soon after the first working day of each month at: http://www.sfycblog.hants.gov.uk
It will not be possible to sign up to the new blog so, to begin with, please ‘check in’ with the blog when you can. We are investigating whether an email alert can be sent to all contacts when each monthly bulletin is published.

SfYC Service Changes

Hampshire County Council’s Services for Young Children is reviewing the service it provides following changes to government policy and reductions in funding.  We currently work to support childcare settings to develop high quality provision and ensure that young children achieve the best possible outcomes. We will continue to offer professional support to settings with less than good quality and will help childcare providers who are at risk of closure to keep open or help to develop new provision where there is a childcare need. We are also planning to continue to offer our Area Inclusion Co-ordinator  and Portage home visiting services for children with Special Educational Needs (SEN). Finally, our children’s centres will continue to operate as normal and deliver a range of high quality services to parents

We are reviewing our Childcare and Family Information Team outreach service which may change from April 2015. Families who are looking for childcare will still be able to have help from Hants Direct or can search on the website as usual and we are looking at how our children’s centres can support parents to help them find childcare and how our  Area Inclusion Co-ordinator service can help  to find childcare for older children with SEN.

Our Early Communication Support Service is also under review and we are looking at ways of ensuring that speech and language support is available for parents and  children through our local children’s centres and early years education providers. This support will be in addition to that provided by the NHS.

We will keep you informed as our plans develop and seek your help in further shaping them.

Free Parenting Support Course – For Parents Of Children With Additional Needs/disabilities 5-11 Years

Parenting has got to be one of the hardest jobs there is – and it’s tougher when you have a child with additional needs such as a disability or special educational need.

Insiders’ Guide is a parent support course that focuses on what it means to parent a child with additional needs. It aims to build parents’ resilience and wellbeing so they are well placed to enjoy the journey of bringing up their children. This course will cover things like school issues, leisure time and practical help, tips to handle tricky meetings, survival strategies and more…

This FREE course is being offered to parents in Hampshire. It will run for six weeks every Thursday starting on 8th May until 19th June (excluding 29th May) from 10am-1pm at Wells Place Centre, Wells Place, Eastleigh, SO50 5LJ (refreshments will be provided). Attendees need to be able to commit to all six sessions. Unfortunately they cannot offer a crèche but a contribution to travel costs will be available. There are 12 spaces available so if you are interested please email participation@hpcn.org.uk as soon as possible to ensure you can attend. For more information, please ring Kim on 07906 845424

[SONUS] Family sign day, Southampton

Is your child deaf? Would your family like to learn to sign? If you are a hearing parent with a deaf child this course is for you. [sonus] are running a FREE workshop with age appropriate signs on 10th April from 9.30am-12.30pm for ages 0 to 5 years and from 1.30-4.30pm for ages 6 to 10 years. It is being held at [sonus], Spitfire House, 28-29 High Street, Southampton, SO14 2DF.

This is a free event but booking is essential. If you have any questions or to book, please contact Crissy Dommett by email at c.dommett@sonus.org.uk or call 02380 220225.

SEND Local Offer

SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS AND DISABILITIES (SEND) LOCAL OFFER

What is the Local Offer?

From September 2014 every Local Authority will be required to publish information about services they expect to be available in their area for children and young people from birth to 25 who have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); and also services outside of the area which they expect children and young people from their area will use. This will be known as the ‘Local Offer’.

The Local Offer will put all the information about education, health and care services, leisure activities and support groups in one place.

It has two main purposes:

•           to provide clear, comprehensive and accessible information about the support and opportunities that are available; and

•           to make provision more responsive to local needs and aspirations.

The Government says that the Local Offer must be developed and reviewed in partnership with children and young people, parent carers, and local services, including early years settings, schools, colleges, health and social care agencies – ‘co-production’.

People and services commissioned by the Local Authority to support children and young people with special educational needs should complete a Local Offer based on a set of questions which have been developed through co-production; within the framework and guidance produced by the South East Seven (SE7) Local Authorities Government Pathfinder: http://www.se7pathfinder.co.uk/.

The following pages are Hampshire County Council’s Services for Young Children, Childcare and Family Information Team Local Offer.

http://www3.hants.gov.uk/childrens-services/childcare/parents/parents-sen/send-localoffer.htm

Employment in autism – University of Portsmouth survey

The University of Portsmouth is conducting a survey on employment in autism.

The survey takes less than 10 minutes to complete. The data will be used as a basis for a research project aimed at maximising employment opportunities for people with autism.

To take part in the survey please follow this link:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/autismemployment#sthash.gRToSRAN.dpuf

Helping families to a healthy weight this January

A scheme to help families lead healthy happy lives is starting a new programme of events for five to 13 year olds across Hampshire from this January.

The MEND programme (Mind, Exercise, Nutrition…Do It!) provides ten weeks of fun, interactive group sessions to promote healthy lifestyles and address issues arising from being overweight. It helps families to understand the complexities of things such as food labelling, different types of food, how much you need, and fun ways to be active as a family.

The programme, commissioned by Public Health at Hampshire County Council and co-ordinated by Sport Hampshire & IOW, is free to join. Children can enjoy active play sessions as well as learn with their family about healthy food choices. Parents will also be invited to discuss ways to help encourage behaviour change such as reducing the amount of time their children spend watching television, and positive goal setting and rewards.

For more information, case studies and to find out how you can get involved visit our web page: http://intranet.hants.gov.uk/hantsnetnews?id=1010

Giant print picture books

Three libraries in Hampshire now have collections of high quality early years books in dual format – giant print (75pt) and Braille. The books are available at Basingstoke, Fareham and Farnborough libraries. The idea for them came from a grandmother who was unable to read standard print books to her grandchildren, and wanted something that both child and adult could share. The result are sturdy books with delightful illustrations that would suit a whole variety of needs. Click here to go to the Access2books website or call 01525 853825 or contact your local library in the named areas.

Disability awareness event – Havant

On Sunday 1 December St Faiths Safer Neighbourhood Team are holding a free disability awareness event at the Horizon Leisure Centre, Civic Road, Havant between 11:00 – 15:00.

Come along and take part in some of the following activities:

• Meet the police
• Try on uniforms
• Learn about disability hate crime

A range of support services and charities are also attending this event and more information can be found on the attached flyer: Disability Awareness Event

Please contact St Faiths Safer Neighbourhoods Team for details. Call 101 or email: stfaiths.snt@hampshire.pnn.police.uk

Which Hampshire services do you value most?

As tough budget decisions are being made for 2014/15, Hampshire County Council asks residents which services they value the most.

Hampshire County Council wants residents’ views to help inform the final budget decisions for next year. Faced with the challenge of finding a further £90 million savings by 2015 (12 per cent of the Council’s budget), the Council is asking residents to rank services according to which they value the most.

For more information on what the Council is asking, and for a chance to have your say, please read the following and take part in the survey: Hampshire Services Survey