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Aiming High for Disabled Children Newsletter for October 2010.
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for Disabled ChildrenIssue 3, Autumn 2010
Children, Schools and Families
www. a c t i ve - s e f ton. co.ukA c t i v e S e f t o n i s a p a r t n e r s h i p b e t w e e n S e f t o n C o u n c i l ,N H S S e f t o n a n d t h e l o c a l v o l u n t a r y a n d c o m m u n i t y s e c t o r s
Aiming HighAiming High
Young people enjoy Sefton's Transitions Challenge
at the Crosby Lakeside Adventure Centre,
to find out more go to Page 14.
2
Are you registered with the Disabled Children’sInformation and Database? Thursday, 25th November 2010 -
9.30am - 4.30pm Reebok
Stadium, Premier Suite,
Middlebrook Exhibitions Centre,
Burnden Way, Bolton. BL6 6JW.
One of 3 of the largest FREE UK
exhibitions totally dedicated to
children with disabilities and
special needs, their families and
carers, and the professionals who
work with them.
Information on mobility, seating,
beds, communication, access,
education, toys, transport, style,
sensory, sports, leisure and much
more...
For FREE visitor entry tickets or
further information on Kidz,
contact Disabled Living on
0161 214 5959 / 5962 or by Email:
For updates visit:
Kidz UpNorth
The Disabled Children’s
Information and Database aims to
provide parents with information
on the services available both
locally and nationally for the family
and for children who may require
specialist as well as mainstream
services. Alongside this is an
opportunity to identify services that
could make a difference so they
can be best developed for the
future.
The database can include children
with:
• Developmental delay
• Physical disability
• Chronic illness / medical
condition
• Moderate to severe learning
disability
• Hearing impairment / visual
impairment
• Communication difficulties
What’s in it for my child and me?
A regular newsletter sent direct to
your home giving information
about services, events, benefits
and support available locally and
nationally.
As the register is voluntary, you
may have been given a copy of
this newsletter by a third party who
thought it would benefit you.
There is a referral form below.
Once you have returned the
referral form (or you can call the
Disabled Children’s Information
and Database on 0151 934 3853),
you will be contacted to arrange a
home visit to complete a data
collection form.
Christine Bates
Database Coordinator
Disabled Children’s Information and Database(0-18 years)
Please complete the following information and return it to the address (right) and the
Database Coordinator will contact you.
Child’s Name:
Date of Birth:
Parent/Carer Name:
Relationship to child:
Family Address:
Telephone:
Primary diagnosis:
Signature: Date:
Referral Form Sefton’s DisabledChildren’sInformation andDatabaseThe Good Shepherd Site Sterrix Lane, Litherland. L21 0DA.Tel: 0151 934 3853Email: [email protected]://www.sefton.gov.uk/dcr
Database CoordinatorChristine BatesDatabase AdministratorGlenda Foley
www.kidzupnorth.co.uk
3
Our Days Out!The Parent Carer team at Sefton
Carers Centre, with funding from
Cerebra and organisational help
from their Regional Officer for the
North-West, Emma Hayes put
together two fantastic days out for
children with additional needs and
their families during the Summer
holiday. During the days out
families enjoyed trips to the Under
Water Street Discovery Centre and
Farmer Ted’s, where a friendship
was made between Sophie and
Nathan (see picture right).
Cerebra is a unique charity
set up to help improve the
lives of children with brain
related conditions,
providing a variety of
services and taking a
holistic approach. The
Parent Carer team work
with carers of children with
additional needs and run
support groups in
Netherton and Southport.
They provide a diverse
range of services including:
advocacy; linking families into
relevant services, training and
providing general advice.
If you are the parent or carer of a
child or young person with
neurological conditions, Emma
Hayes can be contacted on
0151 932 1034 / 07771 353 738
or by Email:
If you require any further
information regarding the Parent
Carer team or register with Sefton
Carers Centre please call
0151 288 6060.
CArerS rIGhTS DAY 2010 – CArING ABOUT eQUALITYCarers Rights Day will take place
on Friday 3rd December and is all
about knowing your rights - finding
‘hidden’ carers who don’t realise
they have rights; supporting carers
to claim what they are entitled to;
and informing carers and carers
groups about what new protections
for carers in the Equality Act will
mean for them.
On Carers Rights Day there will be
a panel of senior figures
representing health and social
care at the RAFA club in Formby
for a question and answer session
with local carers.
For further information or any
questions you would like to put to
the panel, please contact
Rachael Howard on
0151 288 6084.
PAWS (Parents Autism Workshops and Support)
brings together parents of children with autism to
share experiences and explore the potential that a pet
dog might have within the family. If you are
considering getting a pet dog, then the workshops
cover the pros and cons of getting a dog to help your
child and your family.
Following the workshops, the PAWS team will offer
ongoing support to families. Please note that the
ASD FriendlyGroup Meeting UpThere's an ASD (Autistic SpectrumDisorder) friendly group happeningon a Sunday morning that alsowelcomes non-ASD children withor without disabilities. It takesplace at Alchemy at Parenting2000 in Southport. It costs £1.00and takes place from 10:00am -12:00 for children aged 6-11yrs.It’s a drop off and leave thechildren session - parents don'thave to stay.
For more information pleasecontact Positive Futures on 0151 285 5449 to make sure thereare places available.
Parents Autism Workshops and SupportPAWS Project is a different service to the Autism
Assistance Dog Service also offered by Dogs for the
Disabled. Pet dogs will not be able to receive public
access rights or assistance dog status i.e. entry into
shopping centres etc.
For more information contact PAWS on 01295 759 836
or by Email: [email protected]
http://paws.dogsforthedisabled.org/about/
Fun at Farmer Ted’s!
4
Intensive Interaction
Summer holiday Fun at Sefton Children’s CentresSefton children’s centres put on
fun sessions and days out for
families with disabled children and
children with additional needs over
the summer holidays.
Based on the ideas of families, the
children’s centres put on inclusive
days out and various different
sessions for families with disabled
children. The children’s centres
worked in partnership with Sefton
Carers, Disabled Children’s
Access to Childcare, Aiming High
for Disabled Children and the
Disabled Children’s Information
and Database to publicise and
deliver the sessions.
So far, feedback from those
involved in the sessions and days
out has been very positive:
“The structure to the week was
good and having somewhere for
both children to attend. It is often
hard for my children to do things
together and it was lovely to see
them enjoying the sessions."
(Parent)
“They asked what does my child
need to enjoy the session? Then
they were flexible within the
session when he wasn’t able to
cope with the environment. They
arranged for the sensory room to
be kept free for my child to go to
help him feel calm.” (Parent)
Sefton Children’s Centres are
keen to support families with
younger disabled children and
children with additional needs and
are developing those services with
Kate Hurn at Sefton Carers
Centre.
If you want to find out what’s on at
your local centre and what support
they can offer you please pop in or
give Kate a call on 0151 288 6063.
It’s that time of year again! The ‘Up on Downs’
Annual Christmas party for children and young
people with Downs syndrome is near and has
Up on Downs at Christmas!
been planned for Sunday
December 12th, 1-5pm
with Mr Stix at Crosby
Comrades Club.
For more information please contact
Donna Procter at Up on Downs on 07866 663
010 or by Email: [email protected]
What is Intensive Interaction?
Intensive Interaction is based on
developing enjoyable
communication for all and is a way
of interacting and spending time
with people with learning
disabilities and /or autism.
What is it trying to teach?
• Enjoying being with another
person.
• Developing the ability to attend
to that person.
• Concentration and attention
span.
• Learning to do sequences of
activities with another person.
• Taking turn in exchanges of
behaviour.
• Sharing personal space.
• Using and understanding non-
verbal communication, such as
eye contact, physical contact
and facial expressions.
• Using vocalisations with
meaning.
• Learning to regulate and control
arousal levels.
What is there in Sefton?
• A two day training course
running three times a year.
• Support within Merefield and
Rowan Park schools to embed
intensive interaction.
• One-off training sessions
provided at various primary and
secondary schools alongside
some resourced nursery
settings in Sefton.
• Individual support for parents to
get started with intensive
interaction at home, as well as
training within school settings in
partnership with staff.
In October the endorsed
practitioner pack will be launched
in Sefton initially piloting it with 10
workers across Children, Schools
and Families, taking approximately
6 months to complete.
Practitioners can build on their
skills in intensive interaction and
gain endorsement from the
Intensive Interaction Institute.
For more information, please
contact Jane Backland on
0151 934 3845 or by Email:
Alternatively, visit the Intensive
Interaction website:
www.intensiveinteraction.co.uk
5
Managing
Money The National Autistic Society
(NAS) and the Consumer
Financial Education Body
(CFEB) have produced
‘Managing Money’, a new online
resource developed in
consultation with people with
autism, which can be used at
home or in educational settings.
It provides impartial information,
guidance, interactive quizzes
and video content to help people
develop their knowledge and
confidence in managing money
and financial decision making.
Find out more at
www.managingmoney.org.uk
A free printed workbook called
‘Managing Money: a guide for
people on the autism spectrum’ is
also available. It can be ordered
or downloaded from
www.autism.org.uk by clicking
‘Shop’ then ‘Workbooks’ then
‘Course Materials’ then ‘Software’.
Well Young PersonProject
The Well Young Person Project is
a preventative service that works
with children and young people
around their emotional health and
wellbeing. They can work on a
one-to-one basis, in a small group
or through a family approach to
help them and their family through
any unhappiness or difficulties
they are experiencing, whether
these be in school or concerning
friendships.
The project works closely with
schools, CAMHS (Child and
Adolescent Mental Health
Service), the CAF team and other
local authority services to ensure
support is tailored to meet a child
or young person’s needs. They
also run inclusive after-school
youth groups in the south of the
borough.
When considering referrals staff
will prioritize according to the
project’s agreed criteria in respect
of:
Concerns about emotional health
and well being
Being bullied / bullying others
Difficulties with peers
Difficult family circumstances
Displays of emotional distress /
mental health needs and would
benefit from someone to talk to.
The project currently operates a
waiting list for referrals due to
demand but will accept any
referrals with parental consent.
To contact the Well Young Person
Project call 0151 934 3194 and
ask for Julie, Steph, Ray or Jo.
Alternatively, you can email:
Brief Intervention andConsultation Service (BICS)What is the Brief Intervention and
Consultation Service (BICS)?
The Brief Intervention and
Consultation Service (BICS) is a
community based service provided
by Alder Hey Children’s NHS
Foundation Trust. It is a small
service for people living in Sefton,
providing assistance, advice and
support around children’s emotional
well-being.
Who is the service for?
It works with families experiencing a
range of difficulties related to
children and young people’s
emotional well-being when there is
a child or young person in the family
aged between 0 and 16 years.
Some examples of the types of
problems the service can offer help
with are anxiety (fears and worries),
sad or angry feelings, problems
around sleep, difficulties with
relationships, and helping families to
manage challenging behaviour
related to difficulties with emotional
well-being.
How does the service work with
families?
They can work in different ways
depending on the issues. Staff can
meet with children and families and
work with them directly. They can
also work alongside other health
workers to jointly offer help and
support (this is what the
“consultation” part of their name
refers to). Sometimes working with
children and families in groups is the
most effective way to offer support
and, especially with younger
children, a lot of their work is helping
parents to manage children’s
difficulties. When they work with
families directly the service can
usually offer up to 8 appointments.
How do I access this service?
Families can only access the
service through a health
professional. This means that you
can talk with your GP, health visitor,
community paediatrician, or school
nurse about whether the service will
be helpful for you. If you prefer, you
could also ask a teacher or
someone else who knows your child
well to speak to one of these
people.
6
The Nystagmus NetworkThe Nystagmus Network (NN) is a
UK charity and support group run by
individuals and families affected by
nystagmus.
Nystagmus is an involuntary
movement of the eyes which often
seriously reduces vision. Most
sufferers encounter difficulties in
every day life, education and
employment.
The network has produced posters
to help publicise the charity, if you
would like to receive copies to
distribute on their behalf call
0845 634 2630 or Email:
Posters could be located in hospital
waiting rooms, GP surgeries, local
societies for the blind or anywhere
people with nystagmus are likely to be.
Fun day a success!
from professionals and it’s been a
great way for my son to get to know
people from different services.”
For more information please contact
Jeanette Hender, SAIS Inclusion
Consultant on 01704 882850 or by
Email:
Many children and adults with
nystagmus receive Disability Living
Allowance (DLA) to help with
everyday challenges. If you require
any help with DLA applications or
appeals, please Email:
For more information, please visit
the Nystagmus Network website:
www.nystagmusnet.org/
Children and young people’s continenceThe aim of NHS
Sefton Community
Health Services is to help children
obtain the best level of continence
possible, improving the quality of life for
children and young people with special,
physical, cognitive and or educational
needs who have delayed continence
development.
There is a Community Paediatric
Continence Service, which is provided
by two Paediatric Continence Nurse
Specialists across Sefton. Children and
young people are seen in a variety of
settings across Sefton, including home,
school and clinic. Care plans are
devised and their role is to improve
continence to the best capacity for
each individual. They also work closely
with and advise the Health Visitors and
School Nurses regarding enuresis and
continence issues.
For more information please contact
NHS Sefton Community Health
Services on 0151 286 8698 (Maghull) /
01704 383 200 (Southport)
Great fun was had as over 100
people from across Sefton attended
a special fun day at Crosby
Lakeside Adventure Centre for
children with hearing needs and
their families on Saturday 3rd July.
Taking place at Crosby Lakeside
Adventure Centre, it gave visitors
the chance to try out water sports
like kayaking and canoeing, as well
as tackling a climbing wall! There
was face painting, a magician and
many other activities to keep
younger guests entertained.
The event was primarily organised
by staff and parents at Sefton
Children's Hearing Services
Working Group (CHSWG) and
Sefton and West Lancashire Deaf
Children’s Society. CHSWG brings
Sefton parents together with
specialist services including:
audiology; education and specialist
speech and language therapy.
Feedback from the event was very
positive, with one parent
commenting: “We really enjoyed our
day. There was lots of information
Crosby Group Success at National Championships
The Crosby Horse Riding Group
enjoyed a successful trip to the RDA
(Riding for Disabled Association)
National Championships in
Hartpury, Gloucestershire in July. All
performed brilliantly, with the
vaulting team actually becoming
National Vaulting Champions 2010
before the experienced eyes of
Princess Anne. The inclusive team
included the following disabled
vaulters: Chris Sinnott; Jessica
March; Jessica Hair and Ben
Ashcroft. The non-disabled vaulters
in the team were Briony and
Heather.
HELP needed!
The Crosby Riding Group is looking
for someone to become Treasurer
for and a Trustee of the group.
Also, the group is looking for helpers
for the Monday, Tuesday and
Saturday morning if anyone can
spare their time – training is
provided so experience is not
essential.
If you are interesting in helping the
group with either of the above,
please call Glenda on
07931 435 627.
7
Whizz-Kidz!Whizz-Kidz aims to give disabled
children and young people
independence to support an active
childhood by providing them with
mobility equipment such as
powered and manual wheelchairs.
All services are provided free of
charge and are not means-tested.
To further enhance the young
person’s development they provide
‘Life Skills’ services.
Whizz-Kidz has a 500 strong
network of young ‘Ambassadors’,
making it the biggest network of
young disabled people in the UK. It
gives them a voice on national and
regional matters as well as
providing spaces to learn new
skills, make new friends and have
fun.
There are 14 Ambassador Clubs
across the UK where young people
meet regularly and get involved in
exciting projects that are fun, teach
them new skills and increase their
confidence. There are lots of
exciting activities to take part in,
such as the accredited ‘Skillz for
Life’ programme; learning how to
campaign; playing disability sports;
making short films, getting involved
in drama, art and music sessions
and much more. An objective of
the Ambassador Clubs is for older
members to become leaders who
run the clubs themselves, assisted
by volunteers and Whizz-Kidz staff.
Lucy, 16, attended an Ambassador
Club and told Whizz-Kidz
“Whizz-Kidz is like a second family
to me! For the first time I don’t care
what other people think of me, I
think that’s probably why I had the
most fun I’ve had for a long time!”
For more information contact Mark
Lovell, Young People's Manager,
Whizz-Kidz on 020 7798 6124 or by
Email: [email protected]
Registered Charity Number: 1070429
HomeStart West Lancs are
now working in partnership with
Sefton Council to provide
support to young families in a
number of areas of Sefton,
including Maghull, Netherton,
Thornton and Waterloo.
HomeStart aims to match a
volunteer to a family and then
provide ongoing support within
the family home.
Some examples of where
HomeStart may help:
• Listen to you
• Give practical help with
children with additional
needs
• Give practical help with
twins / triplets
• Support mums with
post-natal depression / ‘baby
blues’
• Attend appointments /
groups with mums
• Attend local children's centre
with mums
Families may on occasions self-
refer but generally they will be
referred by the local children’s
centre, health visitor, social
worker or the family GP.
If you need further information
please contact Ann Morgan on
07946 631 352 or Joanne
Levey on 07539 227 292.
Child Trust Funds reductionThe Government has announced that contributions
into Child Trust Fund accounts are to be scrapped
from January 2011. If you already have a Child
Trust Fund for your child, that money will not be
affected and you or your family and friends will be
able to continue to make payments into their Trust
Fund account. However, once the new rules come
in, your child will get no further contributions from
the government.
There will be no changes until the law has been
changed. However from August the amount
contributed by Government for babies is expected to
drop from £250 to £50 (from £500 to £100 for low
income families).
For more information call Contact a Family on
0808 808 3555 or visit their website:
www.cafamily.org.uk/northwest
Changes to the Family FundIn April 2010 the Family Fund took a first step towards
implementing a new “fair to all” criterion. The new criterion
aims to treat all families equally by taking account of all
income coming into a household, irrespective of whether
it was based on earnings or benefits.
The Fund has announced that it has increased the
income limit. It will also be applying the same limit in all
four UK countries.
This means that from 16th August 2010, any family caring
for a severely disabled child in England, Scotland, Wales
and Northern Ireland where household income is less
than £28,000 will be eligible to apply for a grant.
For more information contact the Family Fund on
0845 130 4542 / 01904 621 115 or by
Email: [email protected], you can visit the Family Fund website:
www.familyfundtrust.org.uk
8
Books, websites and other useful information
Kid Premiership Books
Six children’s books for only £15 (+ £5
p&p). Covering subjects such as healthy
eating, oral hygiene, disability and
behaviour these delightful books will
provide excellent stimulation for
promoting discussion with your children.
Order from the SPECIAL OFFERS
section of the Kids Premiership website
at www.kidpremiershop.com
Alternatively, you can contact them on
01484 668008 or by Email:
Merseyside Disability
Sports Directory
This directory outlines all sporting
opportunities for people with disabilities
across all age groups and is available
on the Merseyside Sports Partnership
website www.merseysidesport.com
by clicking ‘Download Library’ followed
by ‘MSP Documents’.
You can also access a copy by
contacting them on 0151 427 3889 or by
Email: [email protected]
Making Contact
Being able to speak to someone who
knows what you are going through when
your family is affected by disability or
medical conditions can be a huge help.
Contact A Family has been putting
families with disabled children in touch
with each other for over 25 years. Their
website complements their existing
services, putting families in contact in a
safe, easy way.
For more information visit their website:
www.makingcontact.org/
Special Needs Kids
Special Needs Kids is an information
directory and shopping site to help parents
and carers of children with special needs. It
provides information on products and
services for special needs kids; events and
campaigns; disability issues; support groups;
respite care; clothing; equipment; toys;
leisure activities and days out; holidays;
where to go for help and advice and much
more.
For more information visit their website:
http://www.special-needs-kids.co.uk/
Education and Resources for
Improving Childhood Continence
(ERIC)
About 1 in 12 children and young people
in the UK struggle with bedwetting,
daytime wetting, constipation and soiling,
sometimes called incontinence or
continence problems (see Children and
young people's continence, Page 6). ERIC
supports children and young people, their
families and health professionals;
providing information, confidential support,
services and resources.
For more details see website
http://www.eric.org.uk/
Alternatively you can contact their
Helpline on 0845 370 8008
Monday-Friday 10am-4pm
You may be interested to read the
report: ‘Good Practice in Continence
Services’
A copy can be downloaded from the
website or you can obtain a copy free
from: Department of Health, PO Box 777,
London SE1 6XH.
Do you have a Maclaren Major Buggy Hood and Apron in
good condition that you are not using? Would you like to
recycle it? There are parents who are looking for one
and can not always afford to buy it.
If you contact Christine Bates at the Disabled Children's
Information and Database she will hold it and pass it on
to other parents. You can contact Christine on
0151 934 3853 or by Email: [email protected]
Buggy hoods and Aprons Needed!
9
My name is Diane Jonesand I am 18 years old.
I live in Southport and goto Southport College.
I like making new friendsand my favourite hobby is listening and dancing
to music.
Profile:Diane Jones
tour, going in the recording studios
and trying the radio presenter’s
headsets on! Cool!
During the summer I also went
bowling and went to my youth
club, Work In Progress, which I go
to every Thursday night where I
get to dance, cook and talk to my
friends. To finish my summer off I
went to the summer party at
Crosby Lakeside Adventure
Centre, which was my favourite of
all the activities, as I got to sing
and dance all night long with my
friends.
Partying the night away, record
numbers of disabled young
people in Sefton enjoyed an
exclusive end of summer party at
the Crosby Lakeside Adventure
Centre.
Organised by the Sefton Positive
Futures team as part of Sefton’s
Aiming High for Disabled Children
– Transforming Short Breaks
programme, the evening of
celebration was open to all young
people aged 14 years and above
to celebrate the end of Summer.
With a live band in attendance,
young people partied and danced
the night away, relishing the
opportunity to socialise with
friends with some participants
even choosing to perform with the
band, much to the delight of
everyone in attendance.
Commenting on the evening
Leanne Dunning, Development
Officer for Sefton Positive Futures
noted its success:
“This year’s event has been a
delight to see everyone enjoying
themselves and mixing with friends
they have made over the summer;
it’s proven to be a great night and
we look forward to seeing everyone
back for the October half term.”
Boogie Nights in SeftonFor further information on
additional activities, contact the
Sefton Positive Futures team
direct on 0151 285 5444 or by
Email:
log on to www.moveitsefton.co.uk
Diane’s News – Summer 2010
Our very own columnist Diane
Jones enjoys the exclusive end of
summer party at Crosby Lakeside
Adventure Centre!
The gang stretches its sea legs on
the River Mersey!
Martin has passed on his reporting
duties to our new columnist
Diane Jones.
I had a great summer with Positive
Futures, enjoying lots of fun
activities. I went to ‘Know Your
City’ and had a tour around
Liverpool. We all went on the train
to Liverpool and we had to buy our
own tickets. When we got there we
went on the ferry and it was very
windy; the seagulls kept following
us for our food!
We walked up to the Anglican
Cathedral and reached the top!
We could see the whole of
Liverpool! We then walked to
Radio City Tower and were given a
No signs of vertigo
at the top of the Cathedral!
10
Family Fun Weekyoung people even took an
opportunistic dip in the lake after
their picnic, with some getting wetter
than others!
Feedback from the week was very
positive:
“As my child has special needs and
finds it difficult to make friends it has
been nice to have quality time with
her friends away from the school
environment.” Anon
“I liked the Family Fun Week. We
met more people and got on well
with everyone.” Jackie and Callum
“‘It has brought us closer together as
a family and has been very positive
for us all.” Anon
Julie Rimmer, the Well Young
Person Project Coordinator said:
“We knew it was a great success by
the response from the families. The
whole point of this week was to
provide families with an opportunity
to have fun and enjoy each other’s
company.“
For more information please contact
Julie Rimmer on 0151 934 3194 or
by Email:
A family enjoy Family Fun Week.
With help from some good friends,
the Well Young Person Project and
Crosby High Specialist Humanities
College organised a successful
Family Fun Week. The Week
comprised of a whole host of
activities, including arts and crafts;
massages and relaxation techniques
for parents from Sefton OPERA
(Older Persons Enabling Resource
and Action) at Crosby High, as well
as a trip to the Plaza Cinema to see
Toy Story 3!
There were fantastic adventures to
be had at Croxteth Park and
Brockhole Country Park in The Lake
District. At Croxteth Park fears were
conquered as young people enjoyed
confidence building activities in the
jungle park. At Brockhole Country
Park there was a boat ride on the
scenic Lake Windermere and the
opportunity to explore some of the
beautiful surroundings of England’s
world famous Lake District; some
Disability Toolkit -http://sites.childrenssociety.org.uk/disabilitytoolk
it/index.aspx
This website is for adults, either professionals or
parents. There are case studies of good practice,
policy updates and a forum section to share
thoughts, ask advice etc.
Useful Websites for Disabled UsersAskability - http://www.askability.org.uk/
This website is for children and young people and
uses widget symbols throughout, therefore making it
a much more accessible website for disabled children
and young people. There are sections on the site
with news and sports updates, weather forecasts and
interactive games. Sefton is currently exploring the
option of buying into this website and having a Sefton
link with local information and events on it. We would
welcome your feedback on the website and if you
think it would be beneficial to have a Sefton page on
it. Please email your thoughts to
11
Summer 2010 is over and Sefton
Resource Centre has just finished
another successful Playscheme. A
range of summer activities were
provided for over 100 young people
aged between 6 and 18 years. It
was aimed at children and young
people with moderate, severe
and/or complex needs.
The children and young people
were allocated a place at one of the
6 sites in Sefton. Throughout the
programme the activities that took
place off-site included water sports;
trips to theme parks; theatre;
bowling; swimming, an opportunity
to play in the snow at the Chill
Factory and also to have a relaxing
time at SPACE in Bootle. The
young people had a great time and
for some it was the first time they
have taken part in such activities.
Also on offer were action packed,
fun and exciting days on site where
the young people could socialise,
interact with their peers and make
new friends whilst taking part in arts
and crafts, baking, sport activities, a
talent show and much more!
A number of staff went to work
within Positive Futures services
allowing more children/young
people to access their provisions.
As well as employing staff, the
centre successfully enlisted help
from over 70 volunteers of all ages
Things get messy at the
Playscheme!
The Playscheme gets a big thumbs-up!
Time to Play!
to our family"
"My son thoroughly enjoyed his
days with the scheme mixing
with his peers away from family,
which is important"
For more information please
contact Sefton Resource Centre
on 0151 330 5860.
and abilities; they gave up their time
to help ensure the children had a
summer of fun.
Funds from Aiming High for
Disabled Children allowed the
centre to provide more days over
the summer holidays, enabling them
to offer additional days to young
people. Further to parents request
there was the opportunity to provide
3 planned, action-packed fun days
over the 4 weeks.
The Playscheme received some
very positive feedback:
"The Playscheme is great in
every way. I think it is an
excellent facility"
"As in previous years the
Playscheme is of crucial benefit
We are in the process of gathering
feedback from all our summer
schemes and activities. Yours and
your children's feedback is
important in terms of helping us to
plan future holiday provision and in
our continuous efforts to make
improvements to the service.
If you feel you haven't had an
opportunity to feed back about
your experiences this summer
please email us at
with your responses to the
questions below. Responses will
be published in the next issue of
Aiming High for Disabled Children.
Questions are as follows:
1) Did you access any summer
schemes or activities?
If Yes, which ones?
If No, why not?
2) What was the most positive
aspect of the scheme that you
used?
3) What suggestions do you have
with regard to future summer
programmes?
4) Are there any other comments
you wish to make about summer
holiday provision?
Tell Us About Your Summer
12
With the only long faces present this
summer belonging to the horses, the
Shy Lowen Horse and pony
sanctuary in Sefton proved a perfect
summer day out.
Organised by the Sefton Positive
Futures team as part of a summer
long run of holiday based activities,
disabled children and young people
were able to attend day trips to the
pony sanctuary in Sefton throughout
the school holidays.
With a range of activities on offer
at the Sanctuary, participants
enjoyed working with the ponies
to help with all the daily tasks
including grooming, feeding and
riding at the stables. Free to
come along and join in, young
people are positively
encouraged to continue their
involvement at the stables once the
school term commences with many
participants choosing to continue
their involvement and volunteer at the
stables independently.
The Sefton Positive Futures
programme runs a range of holiday
activities for disabled children and
young people in accordance with
My Little Pony Gallops into Sefton
Sefton school holiday times as well
as a range of after-school and
weekend activities. For further
information, contact the team direct
on 0151 285 5444 or by Email:
add Sefton Positive Futures on
Facebook.
Great fun at Blackpool Pleasure
Beach this summer!
Summer Fun in Sefton Enjoying a fun packed summer
holiday, disabled children and young
people in Sefton have been enjoying
a range of activity days and outings.
Organised by the Sefton Positive
Futures team as part of their holiday
based activity programme for disabled
children and young people, a range of
activities were offered to young people
and their families. Activities on offer
ranged from outings to Farmer Ted’s
to Underwater Street and the Yellow
Submarine to caring for a pony at the
Shy Lowen Horse Sanctuary.
Growing in popularity for young
people, lots of children and young
people attended the Summer 2010
holiday programme of activities, which
saw a 60% rise in attendance over the
course of the summer. There were
more and more disabled children and
young people trying out new and
exciting activities that they previously
may not have attempted.
Positive Futures received the
following praise from children, young
people and parents:
“It is often hard for my children to do
things together and it was lovely to
see them enjoying the sessions”
"The selection of activities offered was
excellent in my opinion - very varied
and challenging. Brilliant!"
“Our family really enjoyed it, also
thanks for all your support otherwise
we would not have had the money to
go.”
“Thank-you for a great 6 weeks -
inviting me, everyone helping me and
especially inviting me to the disco!”
Sefton Positive Futures provide a
range of holiday and term-time
activities for disabled children and
young people. For further information,
contact the team direct on
0151 285 5444 or by Email:
Alternatively you can log on to
www.moveitsefton.co.uk or add the
team on Facebook at Sefton Positive
Futures.
Play Scheme
at MerefieldOne of the new initiatives of the
summer was a two week pilot play
scheme ran by Merefield School.
The pilot scheme was funded by
Aiming High for Disabled Children
(AHDC) Short Breaks, targeting
children and young people who
attend the school with severe
learning disabilities and complex
needs. The types of activities on offer
included daily hydrotherapy pool
sessions, sensory room sessions, a
visit to the beach and some retail
therapy at Liverpool One!
This is the first time that a school
has run a specialist play scheme
and this enabled the children to have
their very specialist needs met whilst
still having fun with their friends.
Parents said:
“Just a huge thank-you to all the
staff who worked with my daughter
during her days at the club, she
loved it!”
“A holiday club based at school is
ideal as both the staff and
surroundings are familiar to the
children”
For more information, please
contact Positive Futures on
0151 285 5444 or by Email:
add Sefton Positive Futures on
Facebook.
Children and young people at the
Shy Lowen pony sanctuary
13
The Positive Futures team is proud to say that they often receive positive feedback, but an
email was sent to them by a parent of a young man who had taken part in their summer
activities, which has moved us to publish the email in its entirety.
I am contacting you to give my sincerest than
ks to you and your team for organising t
he wide
range of activities that Positive
Futures arranged for children d
uring the Summer holidays. I also
wish to pass on my thanks to all t
he members of staff who took such good
care of my son and
enabled him to have probably the best schoo
l holidays he has ever had.
From my initial contact by email to your team
the service has been absolutely
fantastic. My email
was responded to almost immediately by Lean
ne and my son was allocated all the trips and eve
nts
that I had requested. I followed this email up with a telephone c
all and spoke to Colette. I
explained that my son was very clingy w
ith me and lacked confidence so I was not sure how many
events he would actually attend.
Colette explained that the first
event he was going to, the biking session, w
as one that parents
could stay with the children so this would be an ideal
first event for him . At this event bo
th
Colette and Leanne did everythin
g they could to put him at ease. This g
ave him the confidence to
attend the arts and crafts sessi
on the next day without me and after that
he was on a roll! He
didn’t need his mum with him anymore! To see the
way my child has grown in confidence due to
this has given me the most immense pride and I feel so gratefu
l to your staff. If he had not ha
ve
enjoyed that very first session i
t could have all been so different
.
My son has a condition called cong
enital myotonic dystrophy; this displays
as muscle weakness,
tiredness, learning and behaviour
al difficulties and unfortunately
a general apathy and disinterest
in life. However he so looked forward to his Positi
ve Futures events. I tend to be
very over-
protective of him and sometimes focus on thing
s he cannot do rather than what he can; I nev
er
thought he would be capable of rowing a boat but he
did several times and loved eve
ry minute of it!
He attended the ‘caring for a po
ny’ session at the Shy Lowen
sanctuary and when I picked him
up he said he had the best day o
f his
life! He has never said any such
thing before and it made me cry.
Anyway I could ramble on and on but I just want to say a huge
thank-you from my son and me to all of your staff for acting
in such
a wonderful, caring manner towards my son and to Pos
itive futures
for organising these events.
14
Transitions Challenge 2010Sefton’s Transition Challenge
recently celebrated 5 years of
success. Transition Challenge is
an activity week designed and
delivered by the Transitions
Coordinators from Sefton Children,
Schools and Families and staff at
Greater Merseyside Connexions.
This innovative project is aimed at
school leavers with severe
learning disabilities aged 16-19
years. The programme runs over
the course of one week and
concentrates on activities within
the community which address the
young person’s needs holistically
i.e. leisure activities,
independence skills, further
education etc. It offers young
people the opportunity to make
new friends, sample what is on
offer in their local community, raise
their aspirations, self-esteem and
above all have fun!
Transition Challenge was first
delivered in Sefton in 2006 and
has run successfully each
subsequent summer to date. This
year eleven young people from
Rowan Park, Merefield, Presfield
and Crosby High took part in the
project.
Transition Challenge aims:
• To access events in the
community.
• Build self-esteem and
confidence.
• Enable young people to meet
others in the same situation
and make new friends.
• Get a taster of the kind of
activities they can do socially,
vocationally or for their
personal development.
The activities delivered during the
week included:
• Team games and icebreakers
with staff from the Youth Service
at Formby Youth Club.
• Art sessions run by resident
disabled artists at Bluecoats in
Liverpool.
• Water sports and raft building at
Crosby Lakeside Adventure
Centre.
• Taster sessions at Southport
College.
• The Growing Business in
Southport - a unique supported
employment scheme based
within a garden centre setting.
The Travel Training Team helped
the young people to plan the trip
into Liverpool and Merseytravel
provided free travel passes for the
group to get there.
It was a fun and busy week with
lots of the young people making
new friends and finding out about
activities they can become involved
with in their community. This will
hopefully help support them into
the next phase of their lives.
Connexions Chief Executive Kieran
Gordon added, “This is a fantastic
example of how partnership
working can make a massive
difference to the lives of young
people and their families. Through
working in partnership with Sefton
Council’s Transition Coordinators
the programme goes from strength
to strength. Leaving the supportive
environment of special needs
education can be a daunting
experience for some young people
and this programme not only helps
young people to make new friends
from other areas, it also enables
them to access some of the many
services and activities that exist in
the local area.”
For more information, please
contact the Transitions Coordinators
on 0151 934 3830 or by Email:
Concentration is required as
the group paddle to the centre
of the lake.
Bombs Away!
15
PACTS: Supporting and connecting families of childrenwho have a disabilityWhat have PACTS done so far?
PACTS have links with the Three
Area Forums within Sefton, and
work closely with the Area Forum
Coordinator and Parenting
Commissioner. They also have
representation on the Cheshire and
Merseyside Child Health
Development Programme, enabling
working partnerships with the
Liverpool and Wirral forums.
Parent Representatives have also
been directly involved with
delivering Disability Awareness
Training in Sefton. There is
currently Parent Representation on
the Aiming High Operational
Steering Group; Holiday Planning
Group; Children with Additional
Needs working group and the
Clinical Pathways group for children
with complex needs.
Parent’s Training
To enable parents to feel skilled and
able to equally participate in
strategic groups and panel
meetings, a programme of training
was developed and delivered
through Parent Partnership.
Currently 9 parents have completed
the first round of training and a
further 8 are waiting to begin, with
the view to this continuing to be a
rolling programme.
How do you become a parent
representative?
• Express an interest.
• Complete a skills analysis form.
• Show evidence of relevant
training and / or skills and
experience.
• Be authorised by wider
membership of the Parent’s
Forum.
What would I be expected to do
as a Parent Representative?
• Represent parent / carers views
at meetings.
• Feedback to forum / setting.
• Bring decision making back to
forum.
• Get backing from setting.
• Pair up with a buddy for each
meeting.
• Use the Parent Representatives
Toolkit.
• Work under direction and
support of the Co-Chairs.
The Parent’s Forum is a friendly
group of parents who meet to
discuss real issues that affect
disabled children and young people
with additional needs living in
Sefton. The Parent’s Forum was set
up to make sure that your views
and concerns are heard by those
who plan and manage the services
for you and your child / young
person. As parents or carers, it is
easy to feel your worries and
concerns are not being taken
seriously. The forum will listen to
your experiences and ideas and
works best at tackling generic
issues that affect a number of
people and can signpost you to
areas where you can receive help.
Please note that the forum is
unable to operate as an individual
advisory or support service.
If you have an issue that you would
like to raise with the Parent’s
Forum, or are interested in joining
and require further information such
as dates and locations of upcoming
meetings, please contact Sue Neal
at Sefton Carers Centre on 0151
288 6060 or by Email:
If your child attends school / nursery please give details below
Telephone:
Email:
What’s the best way to contact you?
Telephone Email Post
Parent / Carer contact details
Name:
Child’s Name:
Address:
Please return to Susan Neal, Sefton Carers Centre,
27-37 South Road, Waterloo, Liverpool. L22 5RF.
0151 288 6060 Email: [email protected]
Application to join The Parent’s Forum
16
Are you moving?Don't forget to let us know your new address for you to continue to receive Aiming High for Disabled Children
Please contact Christine Bates, Database Coordinator, Sefton's Disabled Children's Information and
Database on 0151 934 3853 or by Email: [email protected]
Members of the
DCATCH team and
Elizabeth Jarmen's trainers.
Communication is the Key!
The DCATCH team recently
welcomed Elizabeth Jarmen and
her colleagues, to launch the
Communication Friendly Spaces
project in 16 childcare settings
across Sefton.
Communication Friendly Spaces is
an approach that focuses on the
environment to support
exploration, learning and
interaction for all children.
Staff will learn how their individual
setting can be adapted and
developed to create child-centred
environments using resources and
equipment already available in the
setting.
Managers from the settings
showed their commitment to the
initiative when they attended a
session at the Crosby Lakeside
Adventure Centre. Visioning
statements from this will be further
developed by lead practitioners
from each setting during the
further 2 days of training.
Following the training, the process
of embedding the practical aspects
of the project in the settings will be
supported by teams from Every
Child a Talker, Early Years and
DCATCH, as we head towards the
National Year of Speaking and
Listening in 2011.
For more information, please
contact the DCATCH team on
01704 882036 / 01704 882038.
