Hello %FirstName%

PODS Family Experience Annual Survey & Lots More...

PODS Family Experience Annual Survey 

Please help us to share your experiences with our annual survey.

The evidence from this report is used in discussions with strategic and operational teams - across health, social care, education to work with services to understand the parent carer and family voice, and to improve outcomes.

To take part in the survey, please click the following link: PODS Family Experience Annual Survey 

If you wish to be entered into a prize draw to win a £50 shopping voucher, please complete your name/email/telephone details at the end of the form.

This survey will take approx 6 minutes to complete. nb. All information shared will be anonymised.

PODS PFA Open Room

Wednesday 9th August 2023 from 6pm-8pm at PODS Hub, 1 Hawksworth Road, Central Park, Telford, TF2 9TU 

This group is aimed at those parents/carers of young people aged between 14 and 25 to have a chat and share experiences over tea, coffee, and biscuits.

Loads of relevant information will be available during the group and I will be available to answer any questions or discuss specific difficulties. If you are unable to make it, please feel free to contact me on: matt@podstelford.org

To book, please click here: PODS PFA Open Room

PODS Social - Anime (12-25s)

Tuesday 15th August 2023 from 2pm-4pm at PODS Hub, 1 Hawksworth Road, Central Park, Telford TF2 9TU

PODS are hosting a Social Session for young people aged 12 years to 25 years and their siblings. All our Social Sessions have a very relaxed atmosphere but there is always a specific focus. This session is: ANIME.  

All the materials needed will be provided to all the young people booked. Young People are welcome to bring their own anime creations and/or references. Parents/carers to stay on the site during the session. All tickets are non-refundable.

To book, please click here: PODS Social - Anime (12-25s)

PODS Social - Games (12-25s)

Tuesday 22nd August 2023 from 2pm-4pm at PODS Hub, 1 Hawksworth Road, Central Park, Telford TF2 9TU

PODS is hosting a Social Session for young people aged 12 years to 25 years and their siblings. All our Social Sessions have a very relaxed atmosphere but there is always a specific focus. This session is: GAMES.

Young people are encouraged to “Bring Your Own Games” to play too. Parents/carers to stay on the site during the session. All tickets are non-refundable.

To book, please click here: PODS Social - Games (12-25s)

PODS MenSpace

Thursday 24th August 2023 from 10am at PODS Hub, 1 Hawksworth Road, Central Park, Telford TF2 9TU

A chance to put the world to rights over cake and coffee! Join us at the MenSpace group. A group dedicated to male carers.

These groups are guided by you, you can talk about whatever you want, and give us all chance to help each other out. You will also be able to influence how these groups run in the future by feeding back what you want from the group and how we can achieve this. 

To book, please click here: PODS MenSpace

Beam Parent & Professional Virtual Workshops - September 2023

Sharing from Beam...

"Shropshire Beam are pleased to provide virtual workshops for Parents & Professionals from September 2023. All virtual workshops will take around an hour.

All details are below, you need to click on the link at the appropriate time of chosen workshop. All workshops will be done via MS Teams Video call, we are unable to record sessions. The workshops are derived to be informative and engaging sessions, please be willing to participate during the sessions.

There are four workshops which will be rolled out at 4pm to enable more people to attend, please see the following details of content:"

• Wednesday 6th September at 4pm - Supporting and Understanding Self-Harm

• Wednesday 13th September at 4pm - Wellbeing Planning

• Wednesday 20th September at 4pm - Managing Anxiety

• Wednesday 27th September at 4pm - Sleep Support

• Wednesday 4th October at 4pm - Supporting and Understanding Self-Harm

• Wednesday 11th October at 4pm - Wellbeing Planning

• Wednesday at 18th October at 4pm - Managing Anxiety

• Wednesday 25th October at 4pm - Sleep Support

​iCan2 Passes 

Telford and Wrekin’s Children with Disabilities Team have been working in collaboration with local attractions to offer passes for those that are known to the Children with Disabilities Team OR registered as an iCan2 member. Aged 17 or under and a resident of Telford and Wrekin.

Please see details in the poster below:

Fodens Announcement

Sharing from Fodens...

"On the 24th of June, we joined the Parents Opening Doors open day to learn more about PODS incredible work in supporting parents with children who have additional needs. 

Our team was on hand, offering information and guidance on planning ahead for your child’s future. Plus, some lucky winners had a keen eye for our 'Guess The Number' game and took home a £50 Lifestyle Eat out voucher along with some Merrythought Bears, kindly donated by our friends at Foden Property!

Thank you to everyone that took part and well done to our winners.

If you would like any advice on Wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney, Trusts or issues around transitioning into adult care do please contact Sophie or Louise on 01952 726111 or info@fodens.co.uk"

Short Breaks Newsletter - July 2023

Please click on the following link to view the newsletter: Short Breaks Newsletter - July 2023

Update from Jayne, Strategic Co-ordinator

There has not been a formal update from PODS Parent Carer Forum for a while - but Jayne is back now and we've also had the opportunity to meet as a 'Strategic Board' (ie the Parent Carer Forum team). First piece of work we looked at was the OFSTED and CQC SEND Report. We had picked up conversations with families and the feedback from Reps regarding the process and the final reporting earlier in July.

We are proud to be the officially recognised Parent Carer Forum and are more than happy to work with wider parent carer voice groups in Telford & Wrekin (and were nominated by us to be part of the SEND inspection). We sit at the most senior level of decision making and commissioning teams, we have links across Education, Health and Social Care. We are delighted to welcome new 'parent reps' to our team and some of these came to our steering group meeting earlier this month for which we are very thankful. Some formal training will take place in September/October, diaries allowing!

The OFSTED and CQC SEND report highlighted some of the great work happening locally, but we know as a Parent Carer Forum, who are representing the local community - on the ground - that there is a mix of views and experiences. We are continuing to represent your voices and working with the services and assure you that there is a detailed 'action plan' - think about our 'What's working well' and 'What would be even better'...

These action plans, the Self Evaluation Framework and the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment and various strategies and policies - all of which have an input from our local parent carers and we thank you very much for your input into these and for helping us to 'Make A Difference'.
What we will be doing from September is sharing this update, together with a you said - we did/doing - and where your voices are represented - ensuring there is clearer evidence of our work areas and more opportunities for you to get involved.

We have started this week, sharing our annual survey - asking your experiences of services you access locally for your families.

You might remember our work with the 'Working Together' Charter - this is a local piece of work to embed the principles of co-production in ensuring improves outcomes for families, children and young people - this is picking up pace now and I was very pleased to be able to share some of the work we've been able to demonstrate with a team of SEND health leads this last week, and I'm already building up a list of schools to take this into from September!

Thank you for reading and sending Best Regards to all.

Jayne Stevens
Strategic Co-ordinator: PODS Parent Carer Forum
jayne@podstelford.org

PODS Picnic in the Park - New Venue!

Monday 7th August 2023 from 10am-4pm at Charlton High School, Apley Avenue, Wellington, Telford, TF1 3FA

Come and join us at our Picnic in the Park, it's open to everyone! We have lots of fun activities available on the day, including, A Gaming Van, Bouncy Castles, a Photobooth, Face Painting and much more!

We look forward to seeing you there!

Information from Telford & Wrekin Community Champions

World Hepatitis Day - 28th July

'We’re Not Waiting’ is the campaign theme for World Hepatitis Day 2023, taking place on 28th July.

This will bring the global community together to call for the acceleration of hepatitis elimination efforts and to celebrate those who are already taking action in their own lives and in their communities. Visit the campaign page to see some resources including videos and posters that can be used to raise awareness- Campaign materials 2023 - World Hepatitis Day

The Hepatitis C Trust has a confidential helpline for information and support. This is staffed by people with personal experience of hepatitis C diagnosis and treatment. They can be contacted on 02070896221- Open Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri, 10.30am to 4.30pm. Their email address is helpline@hepctrust.org.uk 

National Schizophrenia Awareness Day - 25th July

Rethink Mental Illness share that one in 100 people will experience schizophrenia. Despite being so common, the stigma surrounding schizophrenia remains high due to a lack of understanding.

Schizophrenia is a very complex condition that can affect how a person thinks, feels, and experiences the world around them. While the word is made up of schizo (to split) and phrene (the mind), schizophrenia does not mean split personality. 

People with a diagnosis of schizophrenia can often experience very different symptoms, including:

• Audio hallucinations (hearing voices)
• Delusions
• Disorganised thinking
• Changes in body language or emotions

For some people, schizophrenia will be a life-long condition that will need day-to-day management. This can be a combination of medication, talking therapies (such as CBT or actively engaging with hallucinations) and a good support network. Visit the NHS page to find out more: Schizophrenia

Green Spaces are Go

Autism Friendly Cooking

Action for Happiness Calendar -  Jump Back Up July 2023

Please note the above material is subject to copyright, please contact PODS before sharing any of the information in this PODS Ebulletin.

Thank you for reading our latest Ebulletin, please stay safe & well. 

Kerrie Seagrave, Member Support Co-ordinator

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.