It has certainly been a busy first year for our expanded Engagement and Advice team, with a huge variety of work being undertaken to support parent/carers, children and young people across Norfolk. We are already starting to get things booked in for January and February, these will be advertised on our website and our Facebook page, so keep an eye on where you can access our support in the new year.
Youth Groups
We would like to celebrate the work we have done throughout December, including attending youth groups and schools and talking to children and young people about reasonable adjustments and their rights. We have attended the Sunbeams youth group in Great Yarmouth where we got crafty and chatted about the kind of support that the young people have, or would like to have, in school. We talked about reasonable adjustments and made fidget bracelets and stress balls. The young people were great at expressing their needs and what works for them. We will be returning in the new year to continue this work.
If you know of a group of young people with SEND who would love to have their voice heard and to learn more about their rights, please get in touch with us on: nsendiassengagement@norfolk.gov.uk.
Reading Cafes
We have also been working with younger children within schools, delivering reading cafes based around books with different SEND topics. This month we have delivered a reading café at a specialist unit around the story ‘Leo and the Octopus’, a book about autism. We have also delivered a reading café at a mainstream school, specifically aimed at their reception year children, based on the book ‘Super Duper You’. The book talks to children about difference and each of us having our own talents. The children and their parents spent time creating superhero masks, completing super hero puzzles and creating playdough faces of themselves and a friend. These reading cafes provide an opportunity for parent carers to ask questions and get advice around SEN processes too.
If you would like us to deliver a reading café session at your school or educational setting, please get in touch with us on: nsendiassengagement@norfolk.gov.uk.
Library Drop-in Sessions
We are organising library drop-in sessions throughout Norfolk and already have lots in our diary for the new year. These sessions are becoming increasingly popular and are an opportunity for families to chat with one of our Engagement and Advice workers in a friendly, relaxed environment. We can give parent carers next step advice around all SEND processes including SEN Support, EHCP’s, Mediation, Tribunals, Disability Discrimination and much more.
You can find more information about our upcoming events on our Facebook page or by scanning the QR code below:
