Discover events and activities happening in Nottinghamshire this summer!

Take a look at the SEND local offer for details, including dates, times, and locations.

A new website, www.mindsofallkindsnotts.co.uk, has been launched to provide tailored support and resources for neurodivergent people of all ages, focussing on ADHD and autism.

The website has been developed by the Integrated Care Board (ICB) as a central hub for families, carers and professionals to find accessible, trustworthy information and guidance. It has been co-produced and developed with adults, young people and their families with lived experience, as well as health care professionals and other local stakeholders.

Minds of All Kinds includes:

• clear, jargon-free explanations of ADHD, autism and other neurodivergent differences.
• local service directories and referral pathways for Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.
• practical advice for navigating education, health and social care systems.
• personal stories and lived experiences from young people and families.

Twenty young people who have completed a supported internship programme showcased their CVs and work experience portfolios to local employers at our reverse job fair recently.

In the reverse of a usual recruitment fair, young people ran stands for the employers to visit. The format worked really well and many young people came away from the event with support and advice from employers, including CV advice, 1:1 mentoring sessions, trial interviews or work experience, which will add to their skills and confidence as they look to start their future careers.

One young people said, “meeting employers in a more casual manner helped with confidence and communication.” and another appreciated  “learning about myself – employer commented about my confidence, and how many roles I have been doing.”

A local employer said, "It’s been an absolutely fantastic day. It has been a pleasure to meet the students and hear how passionate they are.”

A support service commented: “Thank you for inviting me to your event this morning, it’s a great way to showcase our talented SEND community.”

The Integrated Children’s Disability Service (ICDS) is being redesigned and will be renamed as part of the process.  

We aim to:

• enhance the experience of children, young people, families, and partner organisations.
• improve integration across teams and services supporting children and young people with SEND.
• adopt a localised approach to team working, fostering partnerships, and improving communication through a relational practice.
• create manageable workloads, develop more effective and efficient systems.
• provide a dedicated focus on assessments and a personalised approach to long-term casework and annual reviews.

Look out for more details soon.

We're making our information more accessible and readable for parents and carers.

An ‘on this page’ feature lists the pages main topics and provides links to the relevant section. All the hyperlinks are read-aloud friendly, making it clear where a link is taking you.

So far, this accessibility work has been completed on all the pages within the SEND Local Offer, and we are now focusing on making sure that our Virtual Family Hub information is accessible too.

Did you know that there is a dedicated search filter on the Notts Help Yourself directory for childcare providers with SEND experience?

In the Find Childcare section, once you have chosen the type of childcare you want to find, you can filter the search results by selecting ‘childcare provider with special educational needs experience’ from the filters.

The ICDS Specialist Support Team has officially launched the first of two new bases that provide support to disabled children, young people and their families in Nottinghamshire. 

The Hive in Netherfield will offer support to children and young people with complex disabilities in many ways: individual support sessions, family sessions, groups and short breaks.

Recently transformed and revamped, the space offers a safe space for young people to learn about themselves, socialise with other young people, grow their independence, confidence and so much more

Young people, families and staff came together to celebrate the opening of the base with fun sensory activities, face painting, exploring the new sensory room, creating artwork to be displayed, pool and table tennis challenges, tree planting and lots of cake eating.

The families felt the space gave them and their children an amazing place to be together and have fun as a family which is often the most difficult thing for them to do.

This is the first step in providing support in the community for children and young people with the most complex needs in Nottinghamshire. We are excited to develop the base further and offer wider services which will have a positive impact on their lives and confidence. We will be working with young people and their families to co-produce the support offered from the Hives in the future.

This year’s ever popular event for families of children with special educational needs and disabilities was headlined by Pulp Friction, a local group helping to develop the independence and work-readiness skills of people who have learning disabilities and/or autism.

We got to hear about the amazing work they’ve been doing – including developing a prize-winning garden for the 2024 Chelsea Flower Show.

As part of the conference parents also had a choice of workshops and information stalls offering useful tips and strategies for supporting their children; as well as opportunities to network with each other.

St Giles school in Retford was recognised by Ofsted for its “exceptional standard of education and care” during a recent inspection.

It's great to hear that “pupils love coming to school each day and cannot wait to start learning” thanks to the school's “very skilled” expert staff and “positive atmosphere.”

St Giles provides specialised education to children and young people with education health and care plans (EHCP).