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Back to South Tees SENDIASS

Useful Information

We have added a number of information resources on a range of SEND topics for individuals, parents/carers and professionals.  We'll be adding more useful handouts to this section over time.  Please click on the headings below to find out more:

Useful Information

Barnardo's Useful Links

Middlesbrough Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Team

Redcar & Cleveland Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Team

School anxiety and refusal

Contact Listening Service

You might be struggling emotionally and looking for strategies to help you cope. Or maybe you just need to talk to someone who understands the extra challenges you face and who can point you in the right direction to get the support you need for your family.  

To help, we offer 1-1 telephone appointments with a family support adviser for parent carers looking for a listening ear, reassurance and practical and emotional support.  

Princes Trust

We believe that every young person should have the chance to embrace exciting opportunities. So, we help 11 to 30 year-olds to find the tools and confidence to try free courses and start careers. 

Childline

Childline is here to help anyone under 19 in the UK with any issue they’re going through.

You can talk about anything. Whether it’s something big or small, our trained counsellors are here to support you.

Young Minds

We want to see a world where no young person feels alone with their mental health, and all young people get the mental health support they need, when they need it, no matter what.

Barnardos: Supporting Children and young people experiencing loss 

We are making sure vital support is available. Every year, we work with children and young people who are dealing with loss, bereavement and grief through our UK-wide services.

NDCS The Buzz

The only website for deaf young people aged 8 to 18 in the UK. This safe, online space, created by deaf young people, is entirely yours. You can read inspiring stories, connect with other deaf young people, find the latest information and support, sign up to events, ask questions and get involved.

Kooth | Home 

Kooth is an online counselling and emotional well-being platform for children and young people, accessible through mobile, tablet and desktop and free at the point of use.

http://www.parents4change.co.uk/

We are Grandparents/Carers, Parents/Carers, Siblings/Carers, Foster Parents/Carers and Adoptive Parents/Carers of children with diagnosed and undiagnosed disabilities in Middlesbrough.

We are developing ways to include families in the process of influencing change in children's disability services in Middlesbrough; to ensure that any changes being made to children's disability service are meaningful.

www.sendfamilyvoicerc.co.uk

We are a Department of Education funded forum of parents and carers of children and young people (0-25) with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Our main aim is to ensure the needs of our children are met. We bring together parent carer voices from across Redcar and Cleveland to improve engagement between services and families, to empower each other and influence policy and practice.

A new NHS telephone line, 0300 2000 000, is now available for anyone on Teesside to call if they are concerned about a child or young person's (up to 18th birthday) emotional wellbeing.

 

Open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm (excluding Bank Holidays), the line is available to anyone including parents, carers, school staff, health professionals and GPs. Children and young people worried about their own mental health can also call the number.

 

Callers will speak to mental health nurses from Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV). After discussing concerns, the nurse will consider the most appropriate next steps to best support the child or young person.

 

Help and support can come in many forms including self-help guidance, signposting to appropriate support services in the voluntary and third party sectors or referral into NHS child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS).

 

Where a child or young person is signposted to a support organisation, the nurse will contact the relevant organisation direct on behalf of the family to explain the concerns and to make sure the link is made so support is offered.

 

Lynne Brown, TEWV service manager for CAMHS in Teesside, said: "We want to speak to children and young people, or any concerned adult, about their emotional and wellbeing worries as soon as possible. Doing so means we can make sure the right support is offered early on before things build up or get worse.

 

"When ringing our 0300 2000 000 number, callers can speak direct to a mental health nurse who can provide advice and next steps guidance there and then.

 

"In many cases, that advice and guidance will link children, young people and their families to one of the many organisations across Teesside, or nationally, set up to support children's and young people's mental health.

 

"In some cases self-help might be what is needed, or in some cases support from our NHS child and adolescent mental health services will be appropriate."

 

The 0300 2000 000 telephone service is part funded by Tees Valley clinical commissioning group (CCG).

A personal budget sets out the amount of money that is available to spend on support for your child, to meet their assessed needs. This money may come from your local social services team, local education department, or in some cases from your NHS clinical commissioning group (CCG). If you receive funding from the NHS this is known as a personal health budget.

Please see information from Contact on Personal Budgets.

Appealing Against a Local Authority Decision Following Annual Review of an EHC Plan

Appealing the Needs (Section B) and/or Provision (Section F) of an EHC Plan

Appealing a Local Authority Decision Not to Carry Out an Education, Health & Care (EHC) Needs Assessment (or Re-assessment)

Appealing the Local Authority Decision Not to Issue an Education, Health & Care (EHC) Plan

Appeals about the Named School, or That There is No School (or College/Setting) Named in Section I of an EHC Plan

Challenging Decisions - Mediations and Appeals

https://www.redcar-cleveland.gov.uk/resident/adult-children-health/children-services/more-information/Pages/Short-Breaks.aspx

Click the link above to find out about Redcar and Cleveland Short Breaks.

Short Breaks are available for disabled children and young people aged 0 – 25 years and are intended to have positive benefits for both children and young people and their parents and carers.

 

Short breaks provide opportunities for disabled children and young people:

  • To spend time away from their parents/carers
  • The chance to develop new friendships
  • To develop their independence
  • To take part in new experiences and to have fun doing positive activities such as swimming, youth clubs, day trips with friends and much more.

 

Short breaks aim to provide parents and carers with:

  • A necessary and valuable break from their caring responsibility
  • A chance to rest and unwind
  • To spend time with other members of the family.

 

Short Breaks provision can range from a few hours a week to an allocated number of overnight breaks per year and anything in between.

Mind Your Words

The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists have developed some free, online training to ‘improve understanding of children and young people who have both mental health needs (or social emotional and mental health needs – SEMH) and speech, language and communication needs (SLCN’).

 

Contact are offering free workshops in November, please see details below:
  • Understanding Sensory Processing Thursday 4th November, 10.00 am - 12.00pm.  Click here to book
    • Learn more about sensory processing, reflect on your child’s sensory needs and identify new approaches to support you.
  • Wellbeing for Parent/Carers Wednesday 10th November, 10.00 am - 12.00pm.  Click here to book
    • Understand what stress is and how it affects you. Learn about coping mechanisms and each other’s coping styles and identify new ways of coping with stress & reducing your stress levels.
  • Encouraging Positive Behaviour Wednesday 24th November, 10.00 am – 12.00pm.  Click here to book.
    • Understand why children behave the way they do and learn ways to handle difficult situations in a calm, stress-free manner, plus top tips to help.

 

Contact also offer two types of telephone support, these calls can cover any support or advice that families may need:

ASD 1:1 Telephone support calls with a trained advisor in Autism Spectrum Conditions.

Available for parent carers of children with Autism living in or accessing services in Darlington, Middlesbrough or Redcar & Cleveland

  • The advisor will provide support from both a parental and professional point of view.
  • The advisor will offer support in communication, behaviour and sleep.
  • These are available to book here and updated on a weekly basis.

For those families wanting more general support or advice

 

1:1 TELEPHONE SUPPORT

  • A telephone call-back appointment at a time to suit you with one of our experienced support advisors.
  • Available for parent carers of children with a neurodevelopmental need in the Tees Valley area (living in or accessing services in one of the following local authorities: Darlington, Middlesbrough or Redcar & Cleveland).
  • Offering support with sleep, behaviour, wellbeing, finances, understanding the diagnosis and transition.
  • Our family support advisors are parent/carers themselves and can offer both a parental and professional point of view.
  • The family support advisors will offer a space to be heard and listened to.
  • The family support advisors are very knowledgeable and can offer you advice and signposting to other local services to meet your needs.
  • These are available to book here and are updated regularly.

 

PRIVATE FACEBOOK GROUP

 We have a friendly group on Facebook for parents/carers to join and is updated regularly with information in the South Tees area.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/contactsouthtees

 

To book for any of the above please visit https://contact-tees.eventbrite.co.uk/ or email south.tees@contact.org.uk or call our freephone number on 0800 2540 890 for more information

 

We are Contact and we are working with Tees Valley Clinical Commissioning Group to offer families living in Darlington, Middlesbrough or Redcar and Cleveland priority access to our FREE Listening Ear Service and Workshops.  We are supporting families of children with neurodevelopmental needs. 

The Workshops and Listening Ear Service are free.  Families simply register through the Eventbrite booking page.

There is a mixture of times in the day and in the evening to suit everyone. Darlington and South Tees Contact Eventbrite Page

We also have a Facebook page, a friendly community where parents carers with disabled children in the area can mutually support each other through the challenges of everyday life.  Please click here to join.

 

Contact helps parents of children with disabilities and special educational needs - whoever they are and whatever their child’s condition. We can help with your most pressing issues, like benefits and education. We guide families through services and offer a listening ear during stressful times. www.contact.org.uk

 

Find out more by contacting: south.tees@contact.org.uk or call our freephone number on

0800 2540 890.

 

Quotes from parents who have used the service:

 

“It allowed me to talk about everything that is effecting us as a family and my son's additional needs. It gave me the opportunity to release some of the stress and have routes to explore to help my son rather than feeling helpless and as a result I feel that I was able to engage better with my family as I was more relaxed”

 

“Shona was brilliant. She understood. combining her knowledge and lived experience she listened to me rant and was my sense checker. She helped me get prospective on my situation.”

 

“Being able to have a listening ear has given me the confidence that I am doing something right. It was also refreshing to speak to someone that understood how I was feeling. The practical advice and information given is a real help. I am so glad that I decided to book this appointment.”

 

“An excellent service provided to agents and carers of children with special needs, sometimes you just need someone to listen, understand and point you in the right direction and that is exactly what this service did for me.”

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