Keeping the children occupied and entertained over the Christmas holidays can be a challenge, but there is help out there.
Shropshire’s Family Information Service has pulled together things to do and places to do during the holidays. You can find out what’s on through their online directory.
For anyone who is an All In member you can also check out the Actio holiday offer through their website. To find out more about becoming and All In member please visit the SEND Local Offer.
Finally for anyone who is in receipt of free school meals there are activities taking place this week through the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme
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The Christmas period, with lots of change, social interaction, expectations and demands to negotiate, can be a very exciting but often stressful time of the year for many autistic people. With the help of parent carers, the National Autistic Society have put together a list of autism friendly tips for the festive period. There is also a brief list of useful resources that they hope may prove helpful in making this festive period as special and as stress free as possible.
There is also a great video from Purple Ella, an autistic mum with autistic children, who discusses the challenges of Christmas and some strategies to overcome these challenges. You can watch Purple Ella’s Autism and Christmas on her YouTube channel
The PDA Society also has some helpful approaches to special occasions and their information can be found here.
And finally, on the Shropshire SEND Local Offer there are some tips with regards to managing sensory sensitives and overload at Christmas
NHS Shropshire, Telford and have recently launched a new app aimed at helping children and young people to better manage their asthma.
Around 5,000 children and young people are registered as asthmatic across Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin.
The new app called the 'Digital Health Passport' will help educate children and parents about the condition and is tailored to their individual needs.
In addition, the NHS has recently funded specialist nurses to support asthma education and reviews in the area, which will lead to a rise in annual asthma reviews and training offered to primary care staff and schools. There is also a plan to invest in a pilot diagnostic hub to better enable the NHS to identify more patients with asthma at an early stage.
Lynette Charles, Lead Children’s Respiratory Nurse at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, said “We are delighted to have secured funding for additional services to support children and young people with asthma in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin.
“As well as recruiting specialist nurses to help run reviews and education sessions, we are also embracing digital technology in an effort to make a real difference to young people with asthma. “The new app, which can be downloaded for free, helps children manage their asthma. It notifies them when they are due to take their inhaler, alerts them of particularly high pollen or air pollution triggers and keeps their annual review document easily accessible.”
The new app, from Tiny Medical Apps, can be downloaded here free of charge. Parents of children with asthma are encouraged to speak to their GP or practice nurse for more information.
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The newly established Shropshire Council Youth Support team provide support through working on the streets, interacting with young people and running arranged sessions in schools. To help them make sure they’re benefiting young people to the best of their abilities, they want to hear from young people and to find out what they want. It's very important that the voices of young people are not only heard but are listened to as well so that they know what their concerns are.
Please encourage as many young people as possible to complete this short questionnaire.
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Shropshire’s Parent and Carer Council (PACC) supports and empowers parent carers of children with a disability or additional need, to enable them to be actively involved in the design and delivery of services that they use through the sharing of their experience and knowledge of their family’s needs.
You can read their December newsletter here.
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Relationships can be difficult, complicated, fun, satisfying, exciting, annoying, bring out the best in us, bring out the worst in us.
We are often in one, but we don’t often spend much time on them. So, here’s the chance
- Do you feel your relationship needs some attention?
- Do you feel you are drifting a bit lately or things have been difficult?
- Would you like to meet with other parents and carers?
- Are you looking for a way forward?
Why not join a new 4 week workshop with one 2 hours session each week to explore how relationships can improve.
There are 2 different workshops on offer this Spring:
- Starts Wednesday 25th January for 4 weeks, 12.30-2.30pm in Shrewsbury
- Starts Wednesday 8th March for 4 weeks, 12.30-2.30pm in Shrewsbury
To book a place on the workshop or for further information, including the venue please contact the Parenting Team by emailing parenting.team@shropshire.gov.uk or call 01743 250950
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Autism West Midlands will shortly be advertising term-time opportunities for parents/carers to get together and join them out and about in the beautiful Shropshire countryside – meet, chat with others, get some fresh air and head space. Keep an eye on their events page to find out more. |
Every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday
For those would like some online advice Autism West Midlands are offering this virtually via video appointments. Teams works well on mobile phones. To book a 45 min advice appointment with a specialist autism advisor please visit this webpage. They will email your Team link the week before your slot, so make sure you are checking your inbox, including junk/spam to get your link.
If the dates/timings of the online advice appointments are not convenient for you, please contact Autism West Midlands to make alternative arrangements – scroll down for details
Wednesday Mornings 10am-11am & Wednesday Evenings 8pm-9pm –
1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month (term time)
Autism West Midlands online support groups meet twice a month via Zoom. This is an opportunity to talk with other parents, share ideas, and offer support. It is recommended that you have attended an online advice appointment with a member of the team before joining group sessions (info above).
If you would like to join either of the support groups, please email the team here shropshire@autismwestmidlands.org.uk
Monthly on a Thursday 7pm-8pm
This is an opportunity for dads to meet online, share ideas, celebrate their children’s achievement’s and offer support to each other with a member of Autism West Midlands present. For more information and booking details please click here.
Autism West Midlands offer advice and support over the phone and via email. Parents carers can contact the team directly to arrange an appointment including face-to-face if preferable.
Shropshire office - 01952 454156
Mon, Wed, Fri - Wendy Cowton 07900784186
Weds, Thu, Fri - Emma Hegenbarth 07881109480
Tue, Wed, Thu - Dawn Lewis 07706309382
Email shropshire@autismwestmidlands.org.uk
Helpline 0121 450 7575
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My name is Sharon Graham, and I am the Designated Social Care Officer (DSCO) for SEND. I am based in the Shropshire Disabled Children’s Team but work across the whole of Children’s Social Care.
My role is quite new; I have been in post since February 2022. Not every local authority area has a DSCO, there are approximately only 40 DSCO’s in England.
My job is to implement the SEND reforms and support joined up working between Social Care, health, education, the voluntary sector and other SEND partners to ensure that children and young people aged 0-25 with SEND achieve the best outcomes they possibly can.
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Help and support is on hand for those who are worried about money or struggling with day to day living this winter.
Shropshire Council has been working with partners to bring together key resources into one place, to help residents across Shropshire affected by the cost of living crisis.
The Cost of Living Help website offers a wide range of information and advice on:
- Money
- Energy costs and advice
- Food
- Information and support for those who care for others
- Help getting work
- Mental health and wellbeing
- What benefits/financial support you could claim from your council
- Warm welcome locations – nearly 60 locations where residents can just turn up for a chat and find out what support there is in their local area.
In addition to the above support, there is a handy 16 point Cost of Living Checklist that can help you focus on the things that can help reduce costs and increase your income as well as supporting your mental health.
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More than 80 community spaces and council buildings are now offering a Warm Welcome to Shropshire residents this winter.
The colder months can be a lonely and challenging time for many people, especially those who may be worried about the cost of energy bills.
Please know you are not alone. There are lots of community spaces open during winter where you can spend as little or as long as you like during their opening hours. Keep warm, meet new people or catch-up with friends and find out what kind of support is on offer in Shropshire. Some places, like council libraries, will also have books, toys, games, free WiFi, interesting talks and more.
Each location will bear the Shropshire Warm Welcome logo and is free to enter, warm, safe and inclusive.
You can find your nearest Warm Welcome here.
“Ahead of the winter months, make sure your child is up to date with vaccinations”, say health bosses at NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin.
If unsure, parents and carers are advised to check the record of immunisations within a child’s red book or call their GP practice to see if vaccinations have been missed. Children are offered a range of vaccinations before they start school to protect them from common but preventable infectious diseases, such as measles and polio.
Routine immunisations are given at ages eight weeks, 12 weeks, 16 weeks, one year, and three years and four months old (40 months).
Alison Bussey, Chief Nursing Officer at NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin said: “It’s so important that we protect our children as best we can from nasty infectious diseases. These include common illnesses that can cause a child to become quite unwell.
“One in ten children in England are not up to date with their vaccinations. This is a worrying statistic, and the NHS are keen to ensure all children are protected from common infectious illnesses. If your child has recently started school, it’s particularly important to check they are up to date with all vaccinations.
“Practice Nurses at your GP practices are trained to deliver these routine vaccinations quickly and as painlessly as possible. If you’re concerned, please advise members of staff of any additional needs and they will do all they can to reassure you and make reasonable adjustments.
“I would like to encourage all parents and carers of children under the age of five to check their child is fully immunised. Just contact your GP practice today.”
Get ready for winter by stocking up medicine cabinets at home, is the message from health experts at NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin.
A new campaign launched this week recommends that medicine cabinets at home are kept #stockedandlocked – stocked with essential medicines and products, as well as locked and out of the reach of children.
Both pharmacists and GPs advise that medicine cabinets should include painkillers, such as paracetamol and ibuprofen, indigestion treatments and a first aid kit containing a thermometer, plasters and bandages.
These over-the-counter treatments are available in high street stores and supermarkets and are often cheaper than prescriptions.
Pharmacists also offer free help and advice on many minor illnesses, such as colds, coughs or fever, and can recommend the most effective medications to safely treat symptoms at home without the need to see a doctor.
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Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin NHS. Have been chosen as a pilot site for the delivery of the national NHS England Asthma care bundle. One element of the pilot is the development of asthma friendly schools. Our asthma friendly schools project aims to improve care for children and young people aged between five and 18 with asthma in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin schools. We do this by raising awareness of asthma with school staff and providing information, training and support.
To be recognised as an Asthma Friendly School, each school must address a set of criteria that establishes an Asthma Friendly environment and meets current legislation from the Department of Health guidelines.
These criteria are:
- An Asthma Policy
- Asthma training for school staff
- An asthma register
- Children to have immediate access to their own inhalers
- Purchase of an emergency inhaler and spacer
Benefits to becoming and Asthma Friendly School, include:
- Improving asthma awareness and management in the school
- Improving support to students with asthma encouraging an inclusive environment
- Supporting responsibilities for the health, safety and wellbeing of students and staff
- Ensures the school is implementing current and best practice asthma management strategies
- Enables the school to promote its self-evaluated status to ensure that the community is aware of the school's commitment to Asthma Friendly strategies.
Ask your child’s school if they are an Asthma Friendly school.
Shropshire Council’s Public Health team are reminding parents of the symptoms of scarlet fever and advice amidst a rise in cases both locally and nationally.
Scarlet Fever is usually a mild illness and causes a variety of symptoms including:
- sore throat
- headache
- fever
- a fine, pinkish or red body rash on lighter skin and a less visible rash on darker skin, with a sandpapery feel.
To find out more please visit this webpage.
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