Hello everyone. It's that time of year when things are getting colder and as the festive season approaches it can bring joy, but also challenges for many of our children. Action for Children have a page called 'supporting a child who finds Christmas overwhelming' here. Witherslack group have information about 'managing sensory overload during festivities' here. The National Autistic Society also have information, tips and support for preparing for the festive season, here.
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🔴 Find Bradford district's parent/carer support groups here.
🔵 Bradford district family hubs latest timetables. SEND activities highlighted in orange.
🟠 New sensory room 'The Zen Den' in Shipley. Pay as you feel. Book here.
🟡 IPSEA’s new bitesize SEND law e-learning courses are here - Bitesize e-learning
🟢 Don't forget if you're eligible book your free Flu and/or Covid vaccines now.
🔵 From January 2026 young children will be able to get a free chickenpox vaccination.
🟠 West Yorkshire Combined Authority are running an On Board Buses consultation.
🟡 Closing event for Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture - more tickets released 1 Dec.
🟢 Benny's Big Bradford Adventure story trail around Bradford City Centre. More here.
🔵 Bradford Holiday, Activities and Food programme is back. Find a club here.
🟠 Parent's Forum Annual SEND survey - share you views here.
🟡 Check out the One Minute Guides on a range of topics to support you. Find them here.
🟢 Competition for 'Dear Santa!' at Kings Hall, Ilkley - closes on 14 December. More info.
🔵 What's On in Bradford district this festive season. Read more.
Workshop on Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH)
🟢 Tuesday, 2 December (9.30am - 2.30pm)
Bradford SENDIASS are running a Social, Emotional and Mental Health workshop in partnership with the SEMH specialist teaching team. This workshop is for parent/carers of children who don't have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). To book, phone Cheryl on: 01274 513300.
One Minute Guides to Masking, Toileting, Sleep, Assessements, Reviews, Exclusions and more. Visit localoffer.bradford.gov.uk and search 'One Minute Guides'
Bradford Council proposes special needs school places
Bradford Council has set out a proposal to create an additional 450 special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) school places across the district over the next 12 months. The report going to the Council’s Executive on 2 December will show how these plans aim to meet future demand for school places.
The places will be created by expanding existing special schools as well as by creating additional places within mainstream schools in the district. The proposals could also see the upgrading of other existing buildings. The money to do this is from funding the Council receives from the Government for SEND provision. We will keep you updated on this when we hear more about this proposal.
Share your views - annual SEND parent/carer survey 2025
The Parents' Forum for Bradford and Airedale are asking for you to share your views in their annual SEND parent/carer survey and influence improvements to local SEND services. You could also win a £30 Amazon gift voucher for taking part. Closing date is, 19 December, 2025.
For any queries, contact Mahum, email:mahum@pfba.org.uk
Read about how your feedback from last year is improving and changing services across the Bradford district here.
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Bradford Council’s Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme
Bradford Holiday, Activities and Food programme is back this festive season, offering free fun, food and friendship at holiday clubs across the Bradford district.
Places are free for children who live in the Bradford district and are eligible for benefits-related free school meals or have special educational needs or disabilities (SEND).
If your child receives benefit-related free school meals, you can book their free place online now via the HAF portal. If your child has SEND but is not on free school meals, please contact your chosen club directly, by searching here. By contacting the clubs directly you can check if they can meet your child's needs and if they have spaces.
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Save the Date - Bradford district's 'SEND One Plan' parent/carer engagement session
🟠 Friday, 16 January 2026, 10am - 12pm (venue tbc)
Bradford’s SEND and Inclusion Partnership has created a clear and joined-up plan called the SEND One Plan. It brings together everything from the district’s SEND Strategy, the Written Statement of Action (WSoA) from the last inspection, and advice from the Local Government Association.
School transport in bad weather
Bad weather like snow or ice can make it really difficult for the school minibuses and taxis to reach you safely. If you are unsure if your child's transport is able to reach you, you can find out if the Passenger Transport Service (PTS) is running here. This is the page the service will keep updated once the decision is made.
Here are the phone numbers for Passenger Transport Service.
🔴 PTS Home to school taxis: 01274 436692
🔵 PTS Minibus for children or adults:01274 438889
🟠 PTS Adult or Looked after children:01274 437275
Emotionally Based School Avoidance support sessions
🟠 Wednesday 14 January to Wednesday 4 February (1pm to 2.30pm), at Barkerend East Family Hub.
Parent/carer support sessions for Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA) are delivered by Bradford Council's friendly and supportive Educational Psychology Team.
You’ll find a safe space to share and listen to other parents, get ideas to help and learn more about what you can do to support your child, and what you can expect from school.
You need to be able to attend all four sessions. To book, e-mail: EBSA@bradford.gov.uk
*More dates are coming up at other Family Hubs in the New Year.
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Update about Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plans
The SEN assessment team are currently updating Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans for children who are due to start in reception or Year 7 in September 2025 with their updated school places. This will be by 15 February 2026. For young people who will move from Year 11 to post 16 placements, plans will be updated by 31 March, 2026.
The team try to place your child in the school you ask for. However, if this is not possible, an alternative school will be found to meet your child’s needs outlined in their EHC Plan. If you have any questions after receiving the plan, you can contact the SEN assessment team for more information.
For further support on any Education related queries, you can contact Bradford SENDIASS on 01274 513300 or email: BradfordSENDIASS@barnardos.org.uk
There are One Minute Guides on Annual reviews, Personal Budgets and SENDIASS on the Local Offer website.
West Yorkshire Combined Authority 'On Board Buses consultation'
West Yorkshire Combined Authority are looking for your views about their new bus designs for West Yorkshire. The consultation is asking about accessibility, seat fabrics, and features such as flooring and audio alerts telling you the journey progress and stops and display screens.
This is a great opportunity to give your thoughts online here, or in-person on 16 December 2025, 11am - 1.30pm at St George’s Conference Centre, 60 Great George St, Leeds LS1 3DL. Email to book an in-person place: hello@forumcentral.org.uk.
Closing event for Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture 'Brighter Still'
🟢 Myrtle Park, Bingley
🔵 20 and 21 Dec 2025, 4pm
The closing event for Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture will take place at Myrtle Park, Bingley. Currently Sold Out but do watch out for another ticket release on 1 December. The event will be BSL interpreted and have audio description.
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Story Quest: Benny's Big Bradford Adventure
Story Quest is a free fun way to get your child excited about reading and writing. This exciting story trail guides you and your family around Bradford city centre while you complete fun activities, discover fascinating facts and travel through time to uncover local history.
Benny's Big Bradford Adventure is a one hour story trail around Bradford City Centre starting at Forster Square Station and ending at City Library.
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Togetherness Parenting Courses
These courses are for everyone in the Bradford District, including parents with children any age, parents-to-be, and any person who wants to have better relationships with loved ones. Completely free with the code BDPARENTS. There is a library of 17 courses, including
Flu Vaccines
The flu vaccine aims to protect children against the most common types of flu viruses.
Children should be offered the flu vaccine at school, but otherwise you can book your child’s flu vaccine at your GP, pharmacy or the NHS App.
You can also get a free flu jab if you are the main carer for a disabled person, or receive a carer's allowance, or live with someone who has a weakened immune system.
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Free online information session on Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder
🟢 2 December, 2025
The North East and Yorkshire Regional Mental Health Team are hosting a free online information session about Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder in children and young people. The session will take place on Microsoft Teams with an experienced panel of multi-disciplinary professionals including a speech and language therapist, occupational therapist, and dietitian. Register here.
In the meantime, helpful resources are available here or ARFID Awareness UK.
Become a parent/carer ambassador!
Meet online or in-person and help to support SEND work in Bradford district. If you are interested in becoming an ambassador, email: SENDT&C@bradford.gov.uk
Spread the word about SEND news!
If you've been forwarded this newsletter, you can sign up or share the link with friends and family to receive to the Bradford district's Special Educational needs and disabilities newsletter straight to your inbox. You can also 'like' our Bradford Local Offer Facebook page. for all the latest news and info.
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