NHS Expands COVID-19 Vaccinations To The Most Vulnerable 5 To 11 Year Olds

The NHS vaccination programme has now begun to roll out to children aged between 5 and 11 who are most at risk of COVID-19, as the health service’s drive to protect the country from the virus continues. Children aged 5 -11 who are in a clinical risk group or who live with someone who is immunosuppressed will be able to get the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in line with advice set out by the JCVI. There are around 500,000 eligible children in the latest cohort. To find out more please visit the SEND Local Offer.

Supporting Access to the Covid Vaccination Offer for the SEND Community

Shropshire Parent and Carer Council (PACC) is part of a local working group including the Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin Clinical Commissioning Group and Shropshire Council, looking at how access to the Covid vaccination programme for all groups can be achieved.

We know that many children, young people, and adults who are part of the SEND community face difficulties in accessing health care and need reasonable adjustments to be in place. There are currently a significant number of autistic adults and adults with a learning disability who have not accessed the vaccination programme or who have only accessed part of it, and we suspect that the same will be true for children and young people, as vaccinations and boosters are rolled out to these younger groups.

We are looking to identify what are the key barriers faced by the SEND community in accessing the Covid vaccination and to work with the CCG and Council to ensure that these are addressed.

A programme of direct phone calls has been started to contact adults that are known not to have had the vaccination or boosters, but this will take time and will not at this stage apply to those under the age of 18. Therefore, we are asking anyone from the SEND community who are facing difficulties in accessing a Covid vaccination to contact PACC to talk to us about the barriers they face and what would help them to be vaccinated.

We understand that being vaccinated is a personal choice and we respect this right, however if you do wish to access the vaccination programme but it isn’t available in a way that enables you to do this please do get in touch. It is important that everyone who wants to be vaccinated can be and that reasonable adjustments are made to meet your needs. We will share this information about the barriers being faced with the CCG and Council and will work with them to put things in place to address these.  Please contact us on enquiries@paccshropshire.org.uk or ring on 07398 120311.

Shropshire Autism Strategy Update

In Shropshire, we are currently in the process of developing our Autism Strategy. The initial discussions on how to inform our approach were held within our Autism Partnership Board. The Autism Partnership Board felt that a different approach for Adults and Children’s was required, and we are currently in the process of arranging a consultation group for Children and Young People. This will include individuals who use our services (where possible), parent and carer representatives and Local Authority representatives from Early Help, Disabled Children's Team, Adult Social Care and SEND. The feedback and information gathered will inform our Local Approach for Shropshire and feed into strategy development.   Should you wish to be involved within the consultation or hear more about the Autism Partnership Board, please contact Leeona Marsh, Leeona.J.Marsh@shropshire.gov.uk.

Time to Talk Next Steps – Support for young people

In July 2021 Time to Talk Next Steps  was launched, a three-year programme to support young people with additional needs aged 16-25 years across England with confidence building and motivation for the future. 

This free virtual service is funded by the National Lottery Community Fund. It is available throughout the year and is designed for young people who are experiencing anxiety, isolation and who have limited or no plans for the future post COVID-19.  Young people, family members or professionals can make a Request for Support on their webpage here

A recent blog explains how the project aims to change approaches and to enable young people and their parents and carers to rebuild connections. You can read the blog here.

The project is being delivered in partnership with national disability charity, Contact, who provide support, information and workshops for parents and carers of young people receiving support on transition to adulthood through workshops and individual “listening ear” support.

IASS Advice Session – book now

IASS are holding their second virtual IASS Advice Session on 3^rd March. So if you feel you might benefit from speaking 1:1 via video chat to an IASS officer regarding your child’s SEND, please book on using this Eventbrite link and select your time slot. Be quick before they disappear. Tickets will be available until Wednesday 2nd March

IASS Update

Shropshire Information Advice and Support Service (IASS) provides information, advice and support to parents and carers of children aged 0 to 25, and young people aged 16 to 25 who have, or may have, special educational needs or disabilities (SEND).

We have recently held our third virtual parent meet up. We hope these meet ups can develop into a really good way for us to meet parents “face to face” virtually in an informal way, and provide the opportunity to discuss general questions or concerns regarding SEND. The Feedback that we are getting is how beneficial it is to be able to meet other parents and share experiences which is exactly what he had hoped for. We hope to be able to continue running these so keep an eye on our social media pages for information on our upcoming events.

We are so pleased with the feedback we get regarding our Facebook page. We feel it is now well established with increasing likes and followers each week (thank you!!) Our main aim regarding our social media pages is to share information we feel is current and relevant to parents, young people and professionals regarding SEND. You can follow us on our IASS Facebook page.  We have recently also entered the world of Instagram, so please follow us @shropshireiass

We also have a Facebook for Young People  To find out more about our service, please visit our website. 

You can Contact us on 01743 280019. Please leave a message on Shropshire’s Citizen’s Advice answerphone and someone will get back to you. Or you can email us at IASS@cabshropshire.org.uk

Step Up Programme for 15 – 24 Year Olds

We provide one to one support for anyone ages 15 – 24 that are not currently engaging in Education, Training or Employment. We provide a personal Key Worker to support Young People into their choice of education, training or employment using a person centred approach. At your first meeting your Key Worker will introduce themselves and tell you about Enable and what we do. They will then arrange another meeting with you, this may be a face to face meeting, telephone meeting or a virtual meeting over Microsoft Teams / Skype / Zoom if you are able to access and operate technology. They will then work with you to support you on your journey with employment, education or training. During your time with the Step Up programme we will support you with interviews, CV’s, application forms and even call companies to create a role to suit you. We can also support with funding towards CSCS cards, Driving Licences, Birth Certificates or any other expenses you might need in order to support your journey. If you find employment on our programme, if you need it, we will provide the support of a Job Coach. A job coach can travel train you if needed, to get to work and home again, and also work alongside you at work to help you settle in and feel comfortable. They can also help answer any questions you might have about work and even point you in the right direction of the canteen! How do I find you? We will come to you. Just tell us where you are comfortable. Our programme is all about you, so we don’t have an office, we work in the community. If you are familiar with your local café, we can meet there, if you like going for a walk we can meet and go for a walk, it is all about you! We will meet and greet you at a venue of your choice and we will even book the rooms, so we have a quiet space to talk together. As your journey continues we will support you finding new places, and provide support to these venues. What other support we offer? When you have achieved your goal, we will remain there to listen to you, support you, or just pop you a message from time to time to make sure you are getting on ok. Your Key Worker or anyone in the team will be there in the background for as long as you need or anyone of the team can help to support. Sign Posting support is on offer and we will make sure we contact someone before hand to let them know who you are and what support you might need. You Key Worker will liaise with sign posting organisations for you, other key workers, carers and other support networks if you want them to so everyone knows how well you are doing. Useful Contacts Step Up Email                                     step-up@shropshire.gov.uk Enable website:                                   www.enableservices.co.uk

Shropshire Parent and Carer Council’s work with Adult Social Care

Shropshire PACC have been extending their work with Adult Social Care over the past 18 months, with a particular focus on improving transition experience and outcomes.  The years where a young person prepares for and moves from Children Services to Adult Services is a period known as ‘Preparation For Adulthood (PFA)’.  PACC update us on the work they have been doing in this area. You can read about it here.

PACC Buddies Social Network Group for Parent Carer and Young People with SEND

PACC started the Buddies group about 3 years ago with the aim of offering social opportunities for young people with SEND, aged 12 and above, to enable the development of friendship groups as they grow and look for more independence from their families.  As Buddies developed, we realised that parent carers benefited as much from these social opportunities, as the young people did, and now Buddies focuses on bringing young people and parent carers together. Read more about Buddies here.

Text Shropshire Information, Advice and Support Service (IASS)

Young people living in Shropshire can now text IASS to ask any questions regarding their education or arrange to discuss any worries or concerns they might have. If you feel like your young person would benefit from talking to someone independent from school, encourage them to get in contact with IASS for free advice and support

‘Let’s Go Out’ Film Project

The ‘Let’s Go Out’ film project is funded jointly by PACC and The Hive and provides an opportunity for young people with learning disabilities or autism to learn more about film making by creating a short film, introducing places in Shrewsbury for those with a learning disability or autism to meet with friends and socialise. 

There have been two taster sessions when interested young people were able to meet the film maker and talk about what would be involved in the project. Young people will learn about creating storyboards, script writing, sound engineering, camera operation, presenting and editing. There will also be a chance for young people to act in the film. It is hoped the film will be launched in the Spring with a red-carpet event to celebrate everyone’s hard work.

Tell us what you think about the SEND Local Offer

The Shropshire SEND Local Offer  is a single place for information, services, and resources for children and young people aged 0-25 with special educational needs and / or disabilities, their families, and the practitioners who support them. It's been designed with a family’s needs at the heart of the process. We'd be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to complete an online survey to provide us with feedback on the SEND Local Offer.

The survey results will help us to understand if the information is accessible, what you like/dislike, and if there are any gaps that need addressing. We value all comments and will share with you feedback we have received, and how we have responded to the comments made to improve your Local Offer. Click here to complete the survey Thank you for your time

Follow Us

Tweet Us