Hello %FirstName%
Book Now For Our March Wacky Warehouse Family Group & Lots More...
Wacky Warehouse March Family Group
Sunday 31st March from 9.30am-11am
Our massively successful new family group continues at the Wacky Warehouse on the last Sunday of each month and is open to all families living in Telford and Wrekin who are currently or wish to become a member of PODS. All places must be prebooked as we have limited spaces available. Please book only the childrens/young persons spaces for those over the age of 2. Adults are not required to be booked but will receive a drinks voucher for either a Tea, Coffee or Soft Drink, these can be upgraded to Hot Chocolate etc for only 50p. There will be free unlimited juice for all the children. Members of staff will be around for advice and support, also Max cards and Ironbridge passes will be available. Look forward to seeing you all there. To book your tickets, please CLICK HERE
SEN Magazine's February Newsletter
In SEN Magazine's February Newsletter, you will find articles on Dyslexia Assessments, Autism and Wellbeing, A Grown-Up's Guide to Teens with Down's Syndrome and many more.
Half Term Fun at Messy Church
Please see the poster below for details on Half Term Fun at Messy Church!
Telford and Wrekin - Young People's Forum (YPF)
An opportunity for our young people aged 11-19 to have a voice too.
Your Child's Speech and Language - Have Your Say!
In March 2018 children’s communication charity I CAN and the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists published a report called Bercow: Ten Years On. The report gave an overview of what support was like for children with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) in England in 2018. You can find out more about Bercow: Ten Years On at www.bercow10yearson.com
As the one year anniversary of the report approaches, feedback on the experiences of parents and carers of children with SLCN in 2019 is needed. The survey is for all parents and carers with children aged 25 and under. It should take you no more than 5 minutes and is completely anonymous. The results of the survey will be used to raise awareness about the need to improve support for children with SLCN.
Please complete this national survey to gather your views regarding Speech & Language for your child or young person. To take part in the survey, please CLICK HERE
The survey is open until 3pm on Friday 15th February.
Little Rascals SEN/D Family Play Session
Little Rascals Foundation will be holding it's first SEN/D family play session on Saturday 2nd March 10am to 12pm. This exclusive session will be held at Little Rascals Club House, behind 'Ego at the Grapes', Bicton Heath, Shrewsbury, SY3 5BH. Just £5 per family which includes soft play access, arts and crafts, games and juice and snack for children.
They are hoping to make these regular sessions so please go along and support them. Hot drinks and cakes will be available to buy. Diagnosis not needed. Whole family welcome!
Autism Act: 10 Years on Survey
The Autism Act says the Government has to review its autism policy from time to time. This is happening this year, giving us a vital opportunity to uncover what has and has not changed over the last decade and to campaign for further improvements to support for autistic people. We want as many autistic people and families to engage in this survey to help us tell Government what needs to change. This survey is gathering information regarding children and adults as part of the wider Government review that was shared a few months ago - this is your chance to Make A Difference. You can part in the survey here: Autism Act: 10 Years on Survey #ParentParticipation #YourVoice #ParentCarers #MakingADifference
PODS Volunteer Group
Do you have some time to spare? No matter how small, if you would you like to get involved, we are looking for more people to join our Volunteer Team to help with fundraising activities and Inclusive events. If you're interested please contact Elaine Pearce by email: elaine@podstelford.org or go along to the next meeting on Wednesday 13th February at Donnington Community Hub, St Matthews Road, Donnington, Telford, TF2 7PR. We look forward to seeing you!
Weekly Update from Jayne Stevens (Participation Co-ordinator)...
Morning! Has anyone seen any signs of Spring Springing yet... lovely blanket of snowdrops outside of Attingham Park yesterday - wish I'd been able to stop to have a closer look but child (adult) was having none of it so off we tootled homewards instead 'Sigh'. On another note regarding Sunday I saw my Doctor yesterday morning - if you're part of TelDoc they now offer extended times for appointments (late nights and weekends) - I was most impressed!
We had a brilliant family group at Admaston last week - lots of families and some familiar faces that we hadn't seen for a while and it demonstrated to me that whilst our children might be growing up our families still need the information we provide and the chance to have their say about services. We are also welcoming more and more new families into the PODS forum and it was great to see new families at the Child Development Centre (really good to have a slot in the hub on a Tuesday!) and it's great that we can all work together - share our experiences and hope for the future. I was invited to a SENCO Network meeting this week too - not been for a long time, and it was encouraging to see so many in a room (must have been 40+ in there) talking about the SEN Support, the High Needs Funding review and hubs model - there will be more about this at our SEND Event on 27th February too (hope you've got your tickets!). We've also had our National Network of Parent Carer Forum meeting - it's always great to meet up with other forums across the West Midlands - sharing and discussing key issues and how our input makes a difference, and I'm excited that our Parent Rep training has been deemed such a success that I'm going to deliver a one-day Participation workshop in Coventry at the end of March - this is proper out of my comfort zone, but I've done training to help me with this - so putting that training to good use, for the benefit of development in another area - and also towards sustainability of the forum (the fee will go into the PODS pot!).
This week, it's a focus on Early Help with a strategy meeting today and the Child & Family Board meeting on Thursday. In between it's our Steering Group meeting - bringing our Reps together to discuss the key issues and share experiences from their networks, and a SEND Joint Commissioning meeting - that covers how the LA/CCG work together to commission services effectively. Oh, and Thursday we have our Family Group and we have been given some tickets for a 'Night at the Dogs' - not everyone's cup of tea I know, but we've had a request for it, and we try to make sure that we keep everyone happy - if you have any suggestions for events or family groups - we'd love to hear them! Thank you - Jayne Stevens (Participation Co-ordinator).
Come and join us at our New Look Family Groups throughout 2019!...
Thursday 14th February 2019: PODS 'Night at the Dogs' Family Group at Monmore Green Dogs, Sutherland Avenue, Wolverhampton, WV2 2JJ. To book your place, please click here.
Wednesday 20th February 2019: Face 2 Face Family Group from 9.30am-11.30am at Hollinswood Community Centre, 7 Downemead, Telford, TF3 2EW. To book your place, please click here
Friday 22nd February 2019: Face 2 Face Family Group from 9.30am-11.30am
Dawley Town Hall (opposite Langley School/CAMHS) New Street, Dawley, Telford, TF4 3JR. To book your place, please click here
Sunday 24th February 2019: PODS Family Group from 9.30am-11.00am at Wacky Warehouse, Bridge Builder Pub, Wrekin Retail Park, Arleston, Telford, TF1 2DE. ***SOLD OUT***
Thank you for reading our latest bulletin.
Kerrie Seagrave
Project Administrator on behalf of PODS Parent Carer Forum.
We hope you enjoyed reading our latest e-bulletin - we hope you continue to find it useful. If you have any suggestions to make it better feel free to let me know.