IASS June 2023 E- Bulletin

IASS welcomes Stacey to the team

This month we are delighted to welcome Stacey Roalfe our newest member of the IASS casework team.

Stacey has worked in the world of Special Educational Needs and Disability for over 20 years. She was a Speech and Language Assistant at Penn Fields school and is a qualified Makaton Tutor.

Stacey enjoys delivering training workshops, meeting people and collaborating with other professionals across settings to ensure best practice and create opportunities for young people in the city. Her experience and knowledge will be a great asset to the IASS team.

You can “meet the IASS team” on our website here. 

An IASS workshop for parents and carers who have a child with an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP).

Join Lisa and Becki from IASS as they explain the EHCP Annual Review process:

• Who is responsible for the Annual Review
• Who should participate in the process
• What happens in the Annual Review process
• Timescales
• Outcomes following an Annual Review

Wednesday 5^th July 09.45am – 11.15am

Low Hill Family Hub

26- 28 Fourth Avenue, WV10 9LZ

Book your place via Eventbrite

IASS confidential advice 

On the following dates from 10:00am to 12:00pm IASS will offer 1:1 advice in confidential space at the Voice4Parents coffee mornings:

Tuesday 6 June

Tuesday 26 September

Tuesday 14 November

Low Hill Family Hub

26 – 28 Fourth Avenue

WV10 9LZ

This is ideal opportunity for parents and carers who are not already working with an IASS caseworker.

School exclusions:
guide for parents

The Department for Education has published a guide to help parents and carers understand the suspension and permanent exclusion system in schools in England.

This guide is designed to help parents understand:

• why your child’s school has a behaviour policy
• how to support your child
• the school suspension and permanent exclusion process
• how to challenge a suspension or permanent exclusion

A guide for parents on school behaviour and exclusion - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Wolverhampton
Family Hubs 

The first of Wolverhampton's new Family Hubs officially opened their doors in May.

Low Hill Family Hub, Fourth Avenue, and Dove Family Hub in Pendeford are among 8 family hubs which have been unveiled across the city; providing hundreds of families with help and advice from conception to the age of 19, or 25 for children with special education needs and disabilities (SEND).

The family hubs will act as a 'one stop shop' offering guidance and advice to support families through pregnancy and beyond, including infant feeding, mental health and wellbeing, health visiting support and parenting classes.

Services will also include stay and play sessions and birth registrations, and bring together wider wraparound services that can make a huge difference to people who need extra support – such as advice on benefits and welfare rights, getting into work, relationship building and stopping smoking.

Visit their Facebook page here.

Carers week: 5- 11 June

The City of Wolverhampton Council’s Carer Support Team is marking this year’s Carers Week with a range of activities for unpaid carers and the people they look after.

The theme for Carers Week 2023 is 'recognising and supporting carers in the community', and the Carer Support Team have organised a series of activities throughout the week for carers to get involved in to highlight the vital role they play in the city, to get valuable information from Wolverhampton organisations and to meet others with caring responsibilities.

For full details, please see the latest edition of the Carer and Community Support bulletin here. 

For more information, please call 01902 553409, visit Carer support or email carer.support@wolverhampton.gov.uk.

Parents and Carers wanted!
Help IASS review our
SEN Support Booklet

After the successful co-production of our revised EHCP booklet in the Autumn term we will be reviewing our SEN Support booklet during the summer term in readiness for the start of the new academic year in September.

It is most important to us that we ensure the revised SEN Support booklet contains the information that you want to find out about to help families understand how a child is supported in education through the Graduated Response and school/college based SEN support.

We’ve included a link to our current SEN Support booklet sen-support-leaflet.pdf (wolvesiass.org) so you can decide whether this is something you could help us with.

If you would like to work with us on this project please email ias.service@wolverhampton.gov.uk by Friday 9 June for further details.

Guidelines for parent carers and young people looking for support with tribunals or disputes

The SEND Information Organisations Group (SENDIOG) is a network of national organisations who provide free information, advice and support to children and young people with SEND and/or their families. SENDIOG members include SENDIOG members: ACE; Civil Legal Advice; Contact; Down’s Syndrome Association; Information, Advice and Support Services; IPSEA; National Autistic Society; National Deaf Children’s Society; Sense and SOS-SEN.

The Group has produced the following guidance for parents and young people to help inform and support their choice when looking for support with SEND appeals:

Guidelines for Parents Carers Looking for Support with Tribunal.pdf (councilfordisabledchildren.org.uk)

Free IPSEA resources

IPSEA's new ‘Quick Guides’ are now available on their website.

These are designed to provide simple definitions and descriptions of key terms: 
Quick guides | (IPSEA) Independent Provider of Special Education Advice

Preparing for Adulthood
Tools and Resources

The Preparing for Adulthood programme was designed and delivered by NDTi to bring together a wide range of expertise and experience of working with young people with special educational needs and disabilities and their families, at a local and national level and across government, to support young people into adulthood with paid employment, good health, independent living and friends, relationships and community inclusion.

Although funding for the project has ceased you can find helpful tools and resources on the National Development Team for Inclusion NDTi website.

Free family fun day:
Armed Forces Day 2023

The City of Wolverhampton Armed Forces Day 2023 takes place on:

Saturday 24 June from noon to 4.30pm at West Park 

It promises to be a great day of free entertainment for all the family in celebration of our Armed Forces and all they do for the City and our country. 

Find out more at:

Wolverhampton Armed Forces - Armed Forces Day 2023 (armedforceswolves.co.uk)

Family Fund:
Free Digital Workshops 

Family Fund is hosting a series of free digital workshops to make you tech savvy! Book now for June '23 Discover Digital workshops: 

• Checking your benefits online - Wednesday 7 June
• Getting Started – Wednesday 7 June
• Making a social story - Tuesday 20 June and Wednesday 21 June
• Make it work for you - Tuesday 27 June
• Staying Safe - Wednesday 28 June

Book your free place at: Discover Digital workshops - Family Fund

The Witherslack Group:
SEND Support webinars June 2023

The Witherslack Group welcomes you to join their free virtual webinars in June, covering a range of topics in supporting children and young people with SEND. Sessions include:

• Supporting Speech and Language at home-  Thursday 8 June
• ADHD & Dyslexia- Wednesday 14 June
• Eating, sleeping and personal hygiene-  Tuesday 20 June

Book your place: Autism & ADHD Webinars For Parents & Teachers - Witherslack Group

Child Bereavement UK: 
Easy read guides

In collaboration with the ‘Stop People with a Learning Disability Dying Too Young’ group, Child Bereavement UK have produced some Easy Read guides including ‘Bereavement and Feelings’ and ‘Talking about funerals’.

Download the guides at: Easy Read guides for adults | Child Bereavement UK

Family Life:
'Coping with Teens' training

Family Lives offers parents and carers its 'Coping with teens' course to help strengthen your bond with your young person and understand current challenges at their age and stage.

Course modules include understanding teen behaviour, feelings and needs, communication, risky behaviours, conflict and sensitive issues.

Access the training: Coping with teens | Family Lives

Contact Fledglings:
Adaptive Clothing

Find out more: Adaptive Daywear Clothes | Fledglings

Toileting Routine Anxiety

Many children with additional needs experience difficulties surrounding toileting. Factors which heighten a child's anxiety around the routine can include the sensory factors, environmental factors, physical and emotional effects. Discover triggers and support you can offer to overcome their fears. 

Read the article from
The Children's Bowel and Bladder Charity: 

Toilet anxiety and toilet phobia in children - ERIC

Max Card: Free or discounted attractions entry

The Max Card is free to families with children aged 0-25 who have SEND and it allows eligible children and young people free or discounted admission to more than 800 attractions nationwide.

Activities include castles, zoo's theatre performances, trampoline parks, bowling alleys and theme parks.

Check eligibility and register for yours.