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PODS SEND Sleep Tight Courses, Half Term Activities & Lots More...

PODS SEND Sleep Tight Course - Saturday In Person Sessions

Are you having trouble getting your child/young person to sleep at night?

We will be running our 3 week SEND Sleep Tight Course in person on Saturday’s in January starting 13th.

The course will cover; The importance of sleep, Causes of sleep issues, sleep physiology, good sleep practice and strategies. Sessions will last 1.5 hours and run weekly at 10am

Parent/carers must attend all 3 sessions in order to successfully complete the course. Places are limited and will be offered on a first come first served basis.

To register your interest please email elaine@podstelford.org

PODS SEND Sleep Tight Course - Online Evening Sessions

We will be running our 3 week SEND Sleep Tight Course ONLINE on Monday’s in November starting 6th.

The course will cover; The importance of sleep, Causes of sleep issues, sleep physiology, good sleep practice and strategies. Sessions will last 1.5 hours and run weekly at 6.30pm.

Parent/carers must attend all 3 sessions in order to successfully complete the course. Places are limited and will be offered on a first come first served basis.

To register your interest please email elaine@podstelford.org

PODS Half Term Activities

Join PODS this October half term holidays for a variety of activity sessions!

Tickets must be booked via the links below. Parents and carers are required to attend with their children/young people. For more information please email jeannie@podstelford.org.

Pumpkin Carving 

Halloween Party 

Blists Hill 

Dancerella Dance Session

Crocky Trail 

Christmas Card Design Session 

Barnardo's Support Keyworker Vacancy

Sharing from Barnardo's...

"We have an exciting opportunity for two motivated and enthusiastic individuals to join our Keyworker Service covering Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin to support the most vulnerable children with a learning disability and/or autism.

As a Keyworker, you will be playing a vital part in delivering fast pace, high-quality practice and driving the programme with appropriate external partners."

To find out more about the vacancy and to apply, please click here: Barnardo's Support Keyworker Vacancy

Family Fund Upcoming Workshops

Sharing from Family Fund...

"Our Discover Digital workshops are free and here to support parents and carers with disabled or seriously ill children to use technology. The support we provide covers everything from:

• skills workshops on how to use your iPad, from learning about accessibility features, to how to use parental controls.
• creative workshops for the whole family, using fun apps you can get on your iPad.
• social stories workshops, to help parent/carers to create quick and personalised social stories from their own home.
• money support workshops, to help families maximise their benefit entitlement."

You can find details of all the free upcoming workshops on Family Fund website here: Family Fund Free Discover Digital Workshops

The Newbold Hope Approach 2023 - Autumn Series of 4 Live Training Sessions Designed to Support Parents of Children with Difficult Behaviour

Newbold Hope are running their Autumn Mini-Series of Newbold Hope Live Online Training Sessions about Childhood Distressed Behaviours.

The 4 sessions will cover:

• Practical strategies to reduce extreme behaviour.
• Practical strategies to manage anxiety and the behaviour it can cause.
• Practical strategies to boost your child's self-esteem and self-confidence.
• Practical strategies for parenting happier and calmer teenagers.

To find out more or to book on the sessions, please click here: The Newbold Hope Approach 2023 - Autumn Series

Derwen College Christmas Fayre

Sharing from Derwen College...

"Embrace the festive spirit and get your Christmas shopping wrapped up early with a visit to Derwen College Christmas Fayre from 24 to 26 November. The three-day seasonal extravaganza offers something for everyone, including a popular Christmas Market, an audience with Santa and an array of shopping and eating opportunities. There’s even the chance to meet two adorable miniature donkeys.

The Christmas Fayre – from Friday, 24 November to Sunday, 26 November – will see a host of local artisan producers selling festive food, gifts, crafts and decorations. The market stalls will be offering unique hand-crafted present ideas alongside Derwen College’s own Garden Centre and Gift Shop merchandise. There’s also a bar and live music. There will be late night shopping on Friday until 8pm, followed by Saturday opening (10am–4pm) and Sunday opening (10am–4pm).

Santa will be reading stories, while Mrs Christmas hands out gifts and chats to youngsters from their Christmas Kitchen on all three days, booking essential at https://derwen.me/AudienceWithSanta."

PODS Buddy Scheme

A PODS Buddy offers support to parent carers that may find it difficult to make that first step to attend a family group.

Our friendly PODS Buddy would meet you at the door, walk in with you, and stay with you at the family group, to make sure you are comfortable and not alone.

All our Buddies are parent carers, and have all had to make that first step, so they know how you’re feeling and are there to support you.

For more information or to enquire about having a PODS Buddy, please contact kerrie@podstelford.org or call: 07309 753044.

SEN Magazine - September/October 2023 Issue

In the September/October 2023 issue of SEN Magazine, you will find articles on the following:

• Liberating dyslexic talent
• Dypraxia
• Sleep and ADHD
• Symbols, fans and sensory bottles
• Comics for dyslexics

To read those articles and the magazing in full, please click here: SEN Magazine - September/October 2023 Issue

PODS Widgit Workshop - **Spaces still Available** 

Thursday 12th October 2023 from 10am-11am at PODS Hub, 1 Hawksworth Road, Central Park, Telford, TF2 9TU

PODS is holding a Widgit workshop for the members to understand how to use Widgits for the benefit of our children/young people. We will be covering topics like:

• Making daily time table / routines 
• Making social story
• Supporting language development
• Supporting transitions

This will be helpful as a lot of the children/young people are visual learners

To book, please click here: PODS Widgit Workshop

PODS Code Club

Wednesday 11th October 2023 - Wednesday 15th November from 4pm-5pm at PODS Hub, 1 Hawksworth Road, Central Park, Telford, TF2 9TU

PODS Code Club is running sessions for children from 7-13 years old during Term Time. The children will be learning to code in SCRATCH. Along with learning how to code, the children will also be building upon their skills like problem solving, collaboration and communication. 

Session costs are non-refundable, parent/carer/PA must remain on site for the duration of the session. Please ensure every child/young person attending has a ticket, those attending without a ticket will be turned away. Adult tickets are NOT required.

To book, please click here: PODS Code Club

Blists Hill Family Group

Thursday 26th October 2023 from 10am-12pm at Blists Hill Victorian Town, Telford, TF7 5UD

Come and join us at PODS Family Group in Blists Hill Victorian Town for a chat, relax and meet with friendly faces. Ask us for some advice or just enjoy a walk around the village. Please note a facemask is required in some parts of the village. Tickets are available at a subsidised cost of £3 per person. PODS will provide 1 tea/coffee/soft drink to each person booked, however you will have to purchase your own other refreshments if required.  

Places are limited and booking is essential, open to all PODS members living in Telford and Wrekin. Please note that the tickets are non-refundable. Children, of any age, are welcome however if they are under 2 years old, no ticket is required. We will be meeting at the entrance at 10am, please let us know if you will be late or can no longer make it so as the group can enter on time.

To book, please click here: Blists Hill Family Group

tivities

PODS MenSpace

Tuesday 10th October 2023 from 12pm-2pm 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

PODS PFA Open Room

Tuesday 10th October 2023 from 6pm-7.30pm 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)

Wednesday 11th October 2023 from 6pm-7.30pm 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.  

Tickets cost £3 per young person attending. 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)

'Design a PODS Christmas Card' Competition & PODS Christmas Card Design Session

With Christmas fast approaching we are running our popular Christmas card competition again.

We would love for you to get creative and get involved, this can be as a family or your child/young person. We will choose 4 winning designs, that will then be made into our Christmas cards to be sent to all our families.

You can also join us for our popular PODS Christmas Card Design Session on Saturday 4th November from 10am-12pm at PODS Hub. Each person booked can submit as many designs as they want to. We will have juice, tea, coffee and biscuits too. 

Please note that each person attending needs to be booked. 

To book, please click here: PODS Christmas Card Design Session

Please submit your entries to kerrie@podstelford.org by 5th November.

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.

Information from Telford & Wrekin Community Champions

World Sight Day - 12th October

The International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness share that World Sight Day is on Thursday, 12th October 2023, and they are focusing the world’s attention on the importance of eye care in the workplace.

They provide some tips on looking after your eyes:

National Cholesterol Month

October is National Cholesterol Month. Cholesterol is a fatty substance which is needed in the cells of your body. Too much cholesterol in your blood can lead to a build-up in your arteries and this increases your risk of having a heart attack.

Heart UK provide some budget friendly heart health tips: Heart UK

Courses - Baby First Aid and Accident Prevention Courses

Action for Happiness Calendar -  Optimistic October 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.