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While Mental Health Awareness week may have come and gone, mental health and wellbeing is more important than ever as we continue to navigate all the ongoing changes.
Our Educational Psychology Service team has various ideas and resources to share on with families who have children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
Ideas on How to Connect with Nature:
In honour of this year's theme, our EPS team pulled together their favourite outdoor activities and ideas on how to connect with nature.
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Find herbs, fruit or other safe-to-eat ingredients to create a treat at home with something you handpicked. One of our EPS team members loves picking elderflowers and creating bottles of cordial with their family.
It can be a satisfying and soothing activity that you can do on your own or with the whole family. For information on how to safely forage and find out what to look for, visit the Woodland Trust website.
- Take regular screen breaks and re-focus your attention on watering a plant, sitting outside in some fresh air or another relaxing activity where you are surrounded by nature.
- Try walking at different times of day. One of our EPS team member's favourite time to see the local nature is in the evening, sometimes after it has gone dark. It can be a nice way to notice the different movements of nature at different times of day, including spotting different animals and wildlife. Make sure to take a torch, check your route, avoid busy roads and consider which children need adult support.
One of our EPS team members creates a game with their child to spot the different animals at night time, usually by just looking outside their windows before bedtime.
- Mindful walking in the woods. You can even try to take off your shoes to feel the roots of trees, stones and smooth mud to really connect your senses to the nature around you. Our EPS team member likes to call this activity a "massage from the earth."
- Try the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique. All you have to do is look for 5 things we see, 4 things we can feel, 3 we can hear, 2 we can smell and 1 we can taste. This is great activity for the whole family to enjoy.
For more ideas on how to connect with nature, check out the top tips from the Mental Health Foundation.
Mental Health Support for Parents and Carers:
It's so important to look after your mental health and wellbeing as a parent and carer. Luckily, there are various resources in our local communities for parents and carers to focus on their mental health.
To get started, check out this support and advice from Mind on how to support yourself as a parent and carer.
Mental Health Support for Children and Young People:
There are so many great places for young people to access mental health support.
To get started, check out the free advice and support service for emotional and mental wellbeing from i-Rock East Sussex. They have virtual and in-person appointments for young people aged 14 to 25 years old in East Sussex.
The Inspireable Instagram project for young people also shared some great resources for mental health support for young people as well as ideas on where to connect with nature locally, including places with different types of disabled access.
For most families, this past year has meant spending more time together which can be enriching. But, this may also mean more challenges for brothers and sisters of a child who has additional needs.
For this term's Coffee and Chat Sessions, the Communication, Learning and Autism Support Service (CLASS+) teamed up with the Sibling Service to highlight helpful tips, advice and resources for parents and carers to use for siblings.
We’ve gathered tips, advice & resources for brothers and sisters of a child who has autism or additional needs from CLASS+ team and our Sibling Service for parents and carers.
Make sure to keep an eye out on our Facebook page @CLASSPlusEastSussex for more resources.
For further advice and support, you can contact the CLASS+ Advice Line on Monday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 01273 336887 or you can call SENDIASS on Mondays to Fridays from 9.30am to 2.30pm on 01273 772289.
Looking for some new activity ideas to keep your family busy over the May half-term?
Look no further, as we’ve rounded up 5 May Half-term activity ideas for families with children and young people who have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to enjoy together!
Whether its frolicking with the farm animals or jumping back in time to admire the South’s history, there are many ways for families who have SEND to have a fun filled day!
For up-to-date information on activity resources and ideas, follow our ISEND Facebook page at @ISENDEastSussex and our @eastsussexigo page.
As we continue to ease out of lockdown, there has been many new opportunities, resources and information for families with children and young people who have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
Stay up-to-date with the latest news, support and resources:
As we continue to adjust to the "new" normal, there are various resources, activity ideas and more that have become available.
Make sure to follow our Facebook pages to stay up-to-date with the wealth of resources we have in our SEND community, from surveys to activity ideas for half-term to bespoke events for parents and carers:
@ISENDEastSussex
@igoEastSussex
@CLASSPlusEastSussex (for families with children with autism)
You can also follow us on our new Twitter page for quick updates and resources for schools and families @ISENDEastSussex!
There is also a new Instagram project for young people who are neurodiverse to get involved with and contribute to for a social media community.
Get involved:
Share your views with the latest consultation on new provision for pupils with SEND. Take the 10-minute survey before it closes on 20 June 2021.
To get involved and share your voice, check out the East Sussex Parent Carer Forum and see the latest updates, information and news from the Forum here!
You can also follow them on Facebook at @EastSussexParentCarerForum.
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