7. What does the schools project look
like?
Five sections
1. Local Offer
2. Single Plan
3. Parent engagement
4. Whole school cultural change
5. Your Choice (Ofsted, workforce development, family
conversation, key working, young peoples
engagement)
17. The Parent Workshops
• The parents’ workshops are a key
element of this approach and
parents. These workshops were
written by parents, for parents and
are delivered by parents.
18. Why have the workshops?
Issues that parents have
identified
The solutions the workshops
offer
• Isolation
• Depression
• Lack of information
• Confusion
• Constant battle
• No one listens
• Family not viewed in context
• Lack of social Life
• Marriage and relationships
• Work
• Future for their child
• Siblings
• Understanding the tools and
resources
• Supporting parents to
understand the complex
world they have entered
• Building resilience
• Supporting parents to access
information
• Building their confidence
and their understanding
• Getting back to work,
accessing a social life for the
whole family, what’s on in
your area
19. Workshop 1:Understanding
This Unknown World
The importance of information, including the tools
and resources that Early Support can offer
I found out
about the
developme
ntal
journals
I found out
about the
family file
I found out
about the
principles
I found out
about the
resources
I met people
who live near
me
What a
good idea!
Why didn’t I
find out
about this
years ago?
The workshops underpin a cultural changeThey are not about better parentingThey are not about counselingThey are about creating parents who are more informed, engaged, empowered and resilient.Outcomes from these workshopsParents and their families have a better social lifeThey get on better togetherThey engage with professionals as partners They are more likely to access employmentUnderstand their world betterNot bad for a series of workshops!We train professionals for 2 – 4 years but expect parents to manage with little or no training. When schools, health centers, and children’s centers understand the impact of the workshops they realize they can not afford not to put them on. We have had councilors, pediatricians, head teachers, heath visitors and parents asking for these workshops at a strategic level – they are very very powerful.
Nikki’s Story Danny arriving - shock grief isolationAge 3 parent workshops - not alone, confidence, information, family file, developmental journalCAF - working in partnership with prof around me, transition, developmental journal in partnership with settingIntegrated plan, support with access to mainstream school and then transition into special school For me? The hard thing to evaluate from my perspective is that there was no issue in my journey that was put right. Working using the Early Support approach you do not get the impact data of solving an issue. More powerfully you get an on-going successful journey.Support groups - volunteering - led to employment at SMBC - led toSignpost inclusion - supporting families to have positive futures in their communitiesSupport groups offering emotional and practical support Parent workshops Family activities Sibling support Consultation with Solihull MBC
Early Support is the Government’s mechanism to improve the quality, consistency and co-ordination of services for disabled children (from birth through to adulthood) and their families. It is an approach based on 10 principles of best practice and is underpinned by the partnership approach.Early Support is being sponsored by the Government and is Championed by the Council for Disabled Children. It has tools, resources, training and a regional network. I have some leaflets that have our weblink and also the areas of work that are supported under this umbrella branding. Our aim is to enable as much as possible free and then support capacity building to enable communities to set up and run best practice training on their own. Today Early Support has a well established,highly evaluated series of peer led Workshops aimed at delivering these outcomes. The workshops are the mechanism that we use to support parents and carers to actively participate in their child’s life journey.They have also proven to be extremely effective as entry level Parent Carer Participation training, ensuring a steady flow of knowledgeable Parent Carers
“We were lucky in a way that our son was so complex as he met everyone’s thresholds and criteria. We had good support, and lots of practitioners involved in his care but they were all experts in the various ‘bits’ of him, and I was the one who told everyone else what was going on. I still had to go and find out things for myself though, and much of the information came from other parents” Time table of the day30 minutes Welcome and introductions20 minutes Outline of all workshops and aims for today45 minutes What are the Early Support materials?15 minutes Break (at the appropriate time)45 minutes What is this all about?20 minutes What is in this for us?45 minutes Lunch (at appropriate time)20 minutes Where to go from here...15 minutes Summary of the day Thank you and goodbye OutcomesThe importance of informationRecognise why supporting parent carers is vitalBe aware of the role of Early SupportMake sense of the jargon around supporting additional needsRecognise how the experiences of other parent carers can support youRecognise the value of Early Support resourcesThe workshops are 2 – 3 hoursThey are run by parents for parentsThey can be run by a parent professional partnershipThey are run by churches, health centresChildren’s centresSchools Nurseries
Short BreaksAiming High for Disabled ChildrenHealthSocial care Education Health and Care Plans
What does inclusion mean to youWhere does it sitTaking lessons learnt from exceptional extended schools initiatives.Early HelpTroubled Families