Wokingham Borough Connect
 Hello to all families!
Welcome to our new SEND Local Offer newsletter.
We want to make it easier for you to get the information you need, so alongside our SEND Local Offer webpage and our Local Offer Directory, which have a range of information and support services, this newsletter will bring news and updates about what's on offer locally for children and young people with additional needs, directly to your inbox.
This issue includes:
- Information about two NHS services in Berkshire
- An update from Wokingham Borough's SEND youth forum Say YES
- Details of what’s on for children, young people, parents and carers
- Information about how we plan to improve our online SEND Local Offer
NHS Berkshire Healthcare CYPF Speech and Language Therapy have introduced a new phone line for families to call if they have a concern about their child’s communication.
To use the service, the child must be aged five or under and be registered with a Berkshire GP. It is also available to those working with children.
The speech and language therapists can be reached at (0118) 904 3700 on Tuesday and Thursdays from 9am to 3.30pm.
Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is launching a new Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS).
The CAMHS Learning Disability Team will offer a specialist mental health service for children and young people aged five to 17 years old, who have a moderate or severe learning disability and a significant or suspected mental health need.
The service will be accepting referrals from 29 January 2024. More information about this service can be found in this information leaflet.
Say YES (Youth Engagement Squad) is Wokingham Borough’s SEND youth forum, run by Me2 Club. It gives young people an opportunity to have their say on local services, meet new friends and enjoy a takeaway! It is open to any young person in the borough with additional needs, aged eight to 25 years old, and their siblings. The group meets at Addington School, Woodley, but young people can also join in with the sessions virtually.
Here’s what Say YES members have been up to at their recent meetings:
- In November 2023, Julia, our new Local Offer Co-ordinator, visited the group to ask young people about our SEND Local Offer webpages. Young people had lots of helpful feedback for Julia about how the webpages can be improved, including making it easier to search, and making it less wordy.
- In January 2024, Karla and Lucy from the new CAMHS Learning Disability Team visited the group to ask young people about the leaflet they are designing to tell young people about their service. Young people gave feedback about what they liked and had ideas for how to improve the leaflet further.
For more information about Say YES, or to book onto the next session, please email ramona@me2club.org.uk
Wokingham SENDIASS drop-in sessions
Wokingham SENDIASS provides free, confidential, and impartial advice to parents, carers and young people up to the age of 25 with SEND. Throughout February and March, they are running fortnightly drop-in sessions. Parents and carers can come along to these sessions to chat to one of their advisors.
SEND Voices Wokingham
SEND Voices Wokingham is the independent parent carer forum for the borough. It ensures that families and carers of children and young people with SEND have a voice and participate fully in the development of services.
Membership is free.
Throughout the spring term, they are offering many events and training sessions for parent carers in Wokingham Borough, including:
- SENDIASS training courses
- A Zoom update with Wokingham Borough Council on SEND services and the Safety Valve programme
- Parent carer participation groups
More information
You can also find more local support, training, organisations and charities on the training and resources for parents and carers page of the SEND Local Offer.
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The Reading Well website provides information, stories and advice to support children’s mental health and wellbeing. Books have been chosen and recommended by leading health professionals and co-produced with children and families. Included on the list are books to support children with understanding disabilities, ADHD, ASD, Dyslexia and OCD.
The booklist is targeted at children in Key Stage 2 (aged seven to 11), but includes titles aimed at a wide range of reading levels to support less confident readers, and to encourage children to read together with their siblings, parents and carers.
The books are available to borrow from local libraries.
Support groups and clubs
The A Team: Awesome Autism and ADHD group for girls
The A Team is a monthly group for girls aged eight to 18 years old, with ASD/ADHD, who live or attend a school in Berkshire. Organised by local charity Parenting Special Children, the group meet up to socialise, have fun and try new things. The group meets at Lower Earley Baptist Church.
ASD Family Help Teen Club
The Teen Club is a monthly club for young people aged 12 to 18 years with special educational needs, such as aspergers, autism, dyslexia, anxiety, OCD, ADHD and learning difficulties. No diagnosis is required. This group meets at Wokingham Baptist Church.
You can also visit the SEND Local Offer to find more support services and groups for children and young people.
Upcoming activities and events
SEN and autism family friendly indoor climbing sessions
Dinton Pastures Country Park are offering quieter climbing sessions on their indoor climbing wall, with less crowds, and no music. The next sessions are Thursday 1 February and Thursday 29 February. More details can be found on the Dinton Pastures website.
Winter mini reading challenge
Children can get involved with the Winter Mini Challenge. Organised by The Reading Agency, the challenge runs until Monday 19 February, with children needing to read three books to complete it. It is free, online, and children can unlock rewards for finishing books.
Trainmaster: an hour of train themed activities
Trainmaster hold regular events, which include activities such as a giant hands-on train track, electric trains, a ride on train, crafts and fancy dress. There will be an event at Farley Wood Community Centre, Binfield on Sunday 4 February. It is for children of all ages and aims to be a fully inclusive event. Tickets can be booked on the Trainmaster website.
Local events during February half term
Character drawing with illustrator Rikin Parekh
Aimed at children aged five to eight years, illustrator Rikin Parekh will be at Wokingham Library on Wednesday 14 February to show how he draws human and animal characters from his books. Visit the libraries event page for more information and to book.
Steve Antony Rainbowsaurus book tour
Aimed at children aged three to seven years, author and illustrator Steve Antony will be visiting Wokingham, Winnersh and Woodley Libraries on Friday 16 February for an interactive reading of his latest book Rainbowsaurus and a draw-along. More details can be found on the libraries events page.
Heart Trail at Lightwater Country Park
The Heart Trail is organised by Wokingham charity First Days. Families can visit Lightwater Country Park from 10 to 18 February, and follow the approximately 1km trail around the lakes to find clues. There is also a sweet treat at the end of the trail!
Wokingham Borough’s SEND Local Offer, which is published online, gives children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, and their families, information about what support is available in the local area.
We want to get our Local Offer right for families, and over the next few months we'll be making improvements to the online webpages.There will be more details to follow!
In the meantime, if you have suggestions or feedback about the Local Offer, you can get in touch via our Local Offer contact form.
A new SEND Local Offer Coordinator started in October 2023 to support with improved access for children, young people and their families to information regarding Wokingham Borough's SEND Local Offer.
A new, permanent SEND Team Manager has been recruited and started in January, alongside a new area SENCo (special educational needs coordinator).
All schools have a SENCo whose role is to oversee the SEND policy, co-ordinate support and work with parents, teachers and other professionals.
Both will work closely with schools and families to provide effective support to children and young people with additional needs and/or disabilities.
A new Preparation for Adulthood (including Post-16) Lead will be starting in February 2024.
They will support with developing and improving pathways to employment, supported internships, post-16 education for children and young people with a range of additional needs and/or disabilities.
Keeping you up to date with SEND improvements
Last month we launched 'Right Spaces, Right Places' - a newsletter to keep you up to date with the changes and improvements being made to the SEND service. You can read the first edition here and sign up for future editions here.
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