This summer's SEND Community Offer was created in partnership with:

• Manchester Local Offer
• Manchester Parent Champions
• Manchester Parent Carer Forum
• Greater Manchester Youth Network 

Thank you to everyone who helped make the film, especially the GMYN Changemakers.

As part of the SEND Community Offer, Manchester Parent Champions and Skate Manchester have teamed up to create a flurry of frozen fun at Cathedral Gardens. Free SEND Skating Sessions are on 10th, 17th and 24th November, starting at 6pm for 45 mins. Geraldine and Jodie from the Parent Champions will be there from 5.30pm to welcome you and help get everyone kitted out to be on the ice for 6pm.

Geraldine has been chatting with Skate Manchester to ensure that their brilliant offer is inclusive and enjoyable for all our SEND families in Manchester. There are chains that can be attached to wheelchairs, the lights and music will be low and there will be staff on hand for extra help if needed. All you have to do is text 07423 264769 saying how many people will be attending, with everyone's names and ages, the first part of your postcode, and which of the dates you’d like to book on. You’ll receive a confirmation of your booking. Happy skating!

Buzz Manchester Health & Wellbeing Service have collaborated with Becca from Pop Up Percussion to bring you 24 free wonderfully fun and creative music sessions for babies, toddlers and children 0-6. Join the fun with Becca as she explores the world around us using song, movement, live instrumentation and storytelling. Find all the sessions on the Get Connected hub.

The North West’s first Core Inclusive ParaNetball Club starts this Saturday 6th November. Sessions will take place on the first Saturday of each month in Gorton, 10-11am. While it’s aimed at the under 18’s, it's open to young people up to 25 with additional needs. See this Dominoes Netball Club page for more information and to book through Eventbrite.

Do you have a young carer in your family? A sibling who helps to look after their brother or sister or a young person who helps with the care of a parent or older family member? 

Young carers in Manchester are invited to be part of a special music video raising awareness of hidden young carers and how we can all support them. The video will end with a photographic tile sequence, a little bit like the one at the end of the film Love Actually (pictured). To take part, take a photograph of your young carer, either alone or with their loved one, then complete this consent form, sending it with the photograph to kelly.hockaday@manchester.gov.uk by 30th November. You are also welcome to ask Kelly about support for your young carer.  

For many autistic children, Bonfire Night and the time around it can be noisy, unpredictable and unsettling. Here are some tips from the National Autistic Society.

Manchester City Council have a new winter web page, including details of Covid and flu vaccines, help with fuel bills, and more.

Carers Manchester have vaccination information on why the booster is important, how to get your booster jab, what to do if you've not had your first or second jab yet, flu vaccines, and letting your GP know you are a carer. 

To help with the confusion around vaccinations and entitlements, Contact have put together vaccination information for all age groups. There is also advice around disabled children, including how many doses of the Covid vaccine they should get and what to do if your vulnerable child is refused a second jab.

The free Manchester COVID-19 Helpline is available seven days a week from 9am-5pm. Call 0800 840 3858 for help with Covid questions, booking vaccinations, help to book testing and questions about when to self-isolate. Advice is from a nursing team, with a translation service available. Here is an easy read pdf of this information.

Being a carer from a Black, Asian or ethnically diverse community can bring different challenges that others may not recognise. Worries about discrimination may mean you prefer to get support from someone in your own community or you may feel more comfortable discussing difficult issues in your preferred language. Carers Manchester have put together a new web page for Black, Asian and ethnically diverse carers, including a directory of services in Manchester where you can get support. 

Do you identify as LGBTQ+? Do you look after someone? Join Gaddum and the LGBT Foundation at their friendly group for LGBTQ+ carers on the last Tuesday of every month from 6-7pm. The group currently meets on Zoom but are looking at some face to face get-togethers in the near future.

The next meeting is Tuesday 30 November.

Contact keisha.tomlinson@gaddum.org.uk to sign up.

Here is the latest North West SEND Regional Network Newsletter – October 2021.

Did you know that only 1 in 10 employers say that they consider neurodiversity in their recruitment practices, even though up to 1 in 4 people in the UK are neurodivergent? Starling are looking for 15 neurodivergent individuals from Greater Manchester with an interest in the arts to train as Neurodiversity Champions and help make organisations more neurodiversity friendly. There’ll be 1-2-1 mentoring and lots of great training. If you’re 18-30, live in Manchester, and are unemployed or economically inactive, get in touch with Katie, katie@starlingcio.org.uk.

A new programme - Time to Talk Next Steps - offers free support for young people with additional needs aged between 16 and 25. It’s aimed at those experiencing anxiety, isolation and who have limited or no plans for the future. A trained supporter will work with them to move forward. This might be linking them with people who have similar issues and interests or to local activities, as well as individual sessions to build confidence and explore the next steps. The three-year programme is being delivered by the National Development Team for Inclusion (NDTi) in partnership with Contact. Find out more about it and how young people can sign up.

Destination: Bee Network is the vision for an integrated London-style transport system in Greater Manchester, joining together buses, trams, cycling and walking by 2024, with rail by 2030. Have your say by completing the survey (open until 12th November) or taking part in public engagement events. Find out more here.