Wolves IASS: February 2022 E- Bulletin

Opportunity to join the
WIASS Advisory Group

We are looking for parents and carers who have experience of using Wolverhampton Information, Advice and Support Service to join our Advisory Group.

The WIASS Advisory Group supports the continued development and best practice of our well-established service to ensure continuing high quality information, advice and support in a way that best meets the needs of children and young people with SEND in Wolverhampton and their parents and carers.

The Advisory Group meets once a term to monitor and review how the WIASS is meeting the national IASS minimum standards and the impact of the service on improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND and their parents and carers.

If you are interested and would like to know more please email elaine.westwood@wolverhampton.gov.uk

Wolverhampton Household Support Fund

Is your family struggling this winter with essential household costs, food and transport?

Until the 31 March 2022 Wolverhampton vulnerable households can access vital funds to support them over the coming months as the country continues its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. 

The fund is available for those who are considered not eligible for public funds and can help with provisions such as food, energy, water, transport, internet access, clothing and housing costs in exceptional circumstances. 

Find out if you are eligible and how access support here. 

Independent Travel Training
for Young People 

Is your child needing support in travelling independently to school, college and within the local community? Young people aged 11- 19 years can receive free independent travel training from the Wolverhampton Travel Assist team.

The one to one bespoke training programme will teach them to travel a specific route on their own in a safe and responsible way.  It will cover anything the young person needs to learn to travel safely on their own including problem solving, personal safety, road safety and appropriate behaviour. The support gradually phased out until the individual feels confident and competent to do the journey alone.

To find out more any apply for the programme click here.

Emotional Wellbeing Therapy Programme 

The Emotional and Wellbeing Holistic Sensory Therapeutic Support Service for disabled children, young people and their families is welcoming new families to take part from January to March. The eight week programme of workshops offers a range of approaches, activities and strategies to support children and young people’s mental and sensory wellbeing.

The support service is currently commissioned by HeadStart Wolverhampton and is being delivered by Include Me Too, a national charity based at the city’s Newhampton Arts Centre.  

This support service helps disabled children, young people and their siblings to better understand and manage their emotions and feelings through a series of sensory and holistic interventions.   

Furthermore, the charity also provides as part of this service access to a range of sensory holistic resources, including Include Me TOO’s FAB Sensory Therapy POD, sensory therapy workshops covering mindfulness, yoga, meditation, sensory safe spaces and grounding techniques, with a range of inclusive resources to improve mental and emotional wellbeing.  

Families will need to commit to the full eight week programme and registration can be made by contacting Include Me Too on 07940 367753 or via email im2@includemetoo.org.uk.

Wolverhampton Sports Grants worth up to £1,000

Wolverhampton local sports clubs and physical activity providers are eligible for a Covid Compliance Grant. The organisation must be a Volunteer-led and not-for-profit sports clubs and physical activity provider in Wolverhampton.

The grant offered by Wolverhampton City Council can help them to deliver activities in a Covid-safe way and encourage regular rapid Covid-19 testing.

Click here to find out more and apply for the Covid Compliance Grant. 

Wolves Tech Aid: 
Donate your old laptop or tablet

Do you have an old tablet or laptop hiding in a cupboard since Christmas? The Wolves Tech Aid is on a mission to end digital poverty for local Wolverhampton families.

Donate your un-used tech items, no matter their age, to support families in accessing vital online services and learning. To find out more and donate visit https://wolvestechaid.com/

Sense Holiday Application 

The applications are live for families with a child or young person with special educational needs and disabilities to join a Sense Holiday for Summer 2022.

They are accessible breaks specially adapted to the people who go on it. If your application is successful, you will be grouped with other people of a similar, who have shared communication styles and common interests. The application deadline is 6 February 2022.

To discover locations across the UK and apply click here.

Introduction to Makaton Signing

In February and March 2022 the Downs Syndrome Association will be hosting virtual workshops of 'An Introduction to Makaton'.

The sessions will give parents an opportunity to find out more about Makaton and learn how to use signs at home with your child.

Please email Donna Lynch (donna.lynch@downs-syndrome.org.uk)

Young Athlete Grant Scheme 

The Youth Athletics Association has a fund to support English Athletes under the age of 23 who are in full time education and active in athletics.

The charity are particularly interested in helping genuine hardship cases for promising young athletes. The grant will enable young people to purchase equipment and travel to progress their sporting skills. 

Applications close 12 February 2022. For all the T&C's and to apply click here

Speech and Language
Fortnightly Webinars

Are you the parents of a child aged 18 months to 2 ½ years who is concerned about their child’s language development? Join the 'I Can' team for their free fortnightly virtual webinars led by a speech and language therapist. 

Each webinar will talk through a range of targeted activities and approaches that you can put into practice with your child at home. You will have an opportunity to ask questions so that you feel confident in using the strategies and approaches with your child. 

Each webinar focuses on key topics to help understand and support your child's speech development including: 

- Supporting language through development during everyday routines
- Sharing books to develop language
- Using songs and rhymes to develop language
- Symbolic noises and first words

To find out more and join click here

New IASS Website

We are always looking for ways to improve and provide the best support for local children, young people and families. With this, we have exciting news of our new website due to launch in April 2022!

But we need your help! Have your say on our current website detail what you visit our site for and what you would like to see featured on our new website.

Please take a few minutes to complete our website feedback form

Wolves IASS Survey

The views of our parents, carers and young people is of paramount importance to us. It lets us know what is working as well as highlighting areas for improvement. 

The survey takes approximately five minutes and we would be so grateful if you could complete it. You can access the survey here

Read our latest feedback survey report here.

Share Your News

We aim to share uplifting stories and good news events from around our wonderful Wolverhampton area! 

If you run services or activities for children with a Special Educational Need or Disability or support their families, we would love to hear from you! 

Also, if you have a happy news story or wish to celebrate the great work of an organisation, please email ias.service@wolverhampton.gov.uk. Please attach a photo or videos and a short blurb to feature. 

We send out the e-bulletin monthly around the first Monday of the month, so we would appreciate this being sent to us by the middle of the previous week.

Our next e-bulletin will be shared on 1st March so please send any inserts by 23rd February.