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The Local Offer for children and young people with SEND 

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The Local Offer for children and young people with SEND 

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A source of information for parents on the Local Authority's Local Offer

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Parent/carer survey - Make your voice count.

Do you have a child or young person with a Special Education Need and/or Disability?  We would like to hear your views.

Leicestershire education, health and care services working with Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs & Disabilities have key priorities set out in the SEND and Inclusion Strategy.  A second version was published in October 2020 and has five different priorities that consider the needs that children and young people may experience between 0-25 years.  Themes included within the strategy include:

Identifying need at the earliest opportunity

Ensuring responsive, inclusive and effective provision is available

The Education, health and care plan process

Supporting children and young people when they have to move school and preparing for adulthood

Having the right information to ensure services are available to meet need and that there is good communication from services

Professionals working with SEND children and young people have the right skills and knowledge

To understand how we are doing against the priorities, a Make your view count survey has been developed to capture your views.

The deadline for completing this survey has now been extended to Sunday 21 August 2022.

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Special educational needs and disability

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Find information for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities all in one place - this is known as Leicestershire's 'Local Offer'

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Madeline explains what happened when her daughter Eleanor, who has Down’s Syndrome, started primary school.

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BBC Bitesize

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Starting secondary school with Special Educational Needs (SEN)

This film was recorded before the Covid-19 pandemic.

As a parent or carer of a child with special educational needs, or a child with an educational health & care plan the very idea of moving from primary to secondary school can feel daunting. Here are 5 top tips from an experienced inner city secondary school special educational needs co-ordinator, SENDCo, to help.

1. Create a one page profile about your child noting the difficulties and barriers they face at their primary school, and the strategies that work and that don’t work. This will help the school understand the world of your child quickly, from the people who understand them best, you. Things to consider when pulling it together; what’s currently working well at primary school? Can these strategies be replicated at the secondary school? Situations for your child to avoid, and main concerns about secondary school?

2. Visit the school on a regular school day with, and without, your child. When there, ask as many questions as you like; the school is new to you so don’t feel anything is silly to ask. What do you see are the barriers when you walk around; take notes if you need to.

3. Request a multi-agency meeting that will bring all key adults and agencies connected to the support and care of your child together in one meeting. Any key adult involved with the child would attend this meeting; class teacher, TA, parents, educational psychologist, communication interaction team, speech & language therapist etc. Your current primary SENDCo will be able to co-ordinate this with their secondary school equivalent. Bring along the one page profile, multiple copies if possible, so that it can be shared with everyone, and questions following your visit to the school.

Sample questions to ask:

Where can my child go if they are struggling/anxious/having a meltdown?

What happens at break and lunch time when it is unstructured time?

How can my child get help with reading/spelling/maths/homework?

How will support in assessments work?

Will my child get a Teaching assistant?

4. Ensure you have a named contact at the secondary school and their contact details. This can be the form tutor, SENDCo or head of year. Ask the school which is the best way of contacting them.

5. Consider what needs to be shared with your child:

Transition plan - between the professionals. Lists of multiple individuals and agencies could be overwhelming for the child.

Transition booklet – a go-to guide for the child with named staff and photos of key adults and rooms that they can keep in their bag or locker.

Avoid making your child anxious by saying things like "I don't know how it works, I don't know who to ask". Hopefully with a named contact this shouldn't happen.

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Starting secondary school with Special Educational Needs (SEN)

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SENDCo Trudi Skinner gives advice for parents of SEN children about to start secondary school.

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Children and young people with ASD, including Asperger’s Syndrome and Autism, are likely to have particular difficulties with social interaction. They may also experience difficulties with language, communication and imagination, which can impact on how they relate to others.

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An easy to follow explanation

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What is an Education, Health and Social Care (EHC) plan? (updated 2019)

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Winston’s Wish supports bereaved children, young people, their families and the professionals who support them.

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Winston's Wish is the UK's childhood bereavement charity. We support children and their families after the death of someone important.

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Some children require special educational provision because they have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of the educational facilities generally provided. These difficulties can be age related and may fluctuate over time. Many children and young people with vision impairment (VI), hearing impairment (HI) or a multi-sensory impairment (MSI) will require specialist support and/or equipment to access their learning, or habilitation support.

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Support for learning difficulties may be required for children who learn at a slower pace than their peers, even with appropriate differentiation. Learning difficulties cover a wide range of needs, including moderate learning difficulties (MLD), severe learning difficulties (SLD) and profound multiple learning difficulties (PMLD).

Specific learning difficulties (SpLD), affect one or more specific aspects of learning. This encompasses a range of conditions such as dyslexia and dyscalculia.
This also includes Developmental Coordination Disorder (dyspraxia) - see physical and sensory section.

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Children may experience a wide range of social and emotional difficulties which manifest themselves in many ways. These may include becoming withdrawn or isolated, as well as displaying challenging, disruptive or disturbing behaviour. These behaviours may reflect underlying mental health difficulties such as anxiety or depression, self-harming, substance misuse, eating disorders or physical symptoms that are medically unexplained. Other children and young people may have disorders such as attention deficit disorder (ADD / ADHD) or attachment disorder.

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Children with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) have difficulty in communicating with others. This can include saying what they want to, understanding what is being said to them or they do not understand or use social rules of communication.

This area also includes autistic children and young people (see the column on Autism).

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EPIC Speech and Language Therapy Service

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EPIC Speech and Language Therapy Service

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http://www.epicleics.com/salt/

We work closely with EPIC Speech and Language Therapy Service to support our pupils and ensure that we are providing a Communication Friendly Environment across the school.

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A local support and advice group for parents and carers of autistic children and young people.

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Spectrum | Leicestershire County Council

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We are a parent and carer support group, for parents and carers of children, young people and adults on the Autism Spectrum or on the Autism diagnosis pathway. We provide a welcoming and non-judgemental, informal support group.

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Developmental Coordination Disorder

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Support and advice

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The ADHD Foundation Neurodiversity Charity - an integrated health and education service.

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Supporting Social and Emotional Learning

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Resources for Emotional Literacy Support Assistants - ELSA Support

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Emotional literacy support assistants - or ELSAs - are teaching assistants trained to provide emotional and social skills support to children.

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SENDIASS - What must they do to support children and young people with SEN and their families?

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SENDIASS - What must they do to support children and young people with SEN and their families?

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What must information, advice and support services do to meet the minimum standards?

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How to prepare your child for starting school

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How to prepare your child for starting school

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CBeebies for grown ups

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CBeebies Grown-ups: Time For School: Tips for preparing your child for Reception

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BBC Bitesize

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Starting secondary school - BBC Parents' Toolkit - BBC Bitesize

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Advice for parents who have a child starting secondary school this year, with tips on the emotional and practical sides of the transition.

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NAS are the UK's leading charity for people on the autism spectrum and their families. Since 1962, we have been providing support, guidance and advice, as well as campaigning for improved rights, services and opportunities to help create a society that works for autistic people.

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We are the UKs leading charity for autistic people and their families. Since 1962, we have been providing support, guidance and advice, as well as campaigning for improved rights, services and opportunities to help create a society that works for autistic people.

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FREE support for families including children

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Footsteps is a registered charity providing support for bereaved children, young people and their families in Worcestershire following the death of a parent, sibling or other significant person in their life.We guide and support bereaved children and young people, and help them manage their grief.

Footsteps provides a service totally free of charge to bereaved children and their families in Worcestershire.

Please feel free to download our brochure here for further information, or perhaps to pass to someone who may be able to benefit from our support.

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Footsteps is a registered charity providing support for bereaved children, young people and their families in Worcestershire following the death of a parent, sibling or other significant person in their life.We guide and support bereaved children and young people, and help them manage their grief.

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Motor Skills videos and information about sensory processing disorder

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"sensory processing disorder" children "special education" "occupational therapy" "sensory integration" "fine motor activities" "gross motor activities" dysp...

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GriffinOT helps children children to achieve their full potential by providing supports their parents and educators. Our expert advice and online training is specifically designed for educators and parents who want to know how they can help their children succeed.

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Support and advice

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This website places cookies on your computer to improve your experience. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. For more details, see our privacy policy. I agree

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The British Dyslexia Association is the voice for the 10% of the population that are dyslexic

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The Children and Family Wellbeing Service provide early help services to a child, young person or family, where they are experiencing difficulties that cannot be supported by universal services, such as schools or GPs alone.

We provide support to those who have, or still are, suffering from domestic abuse or with their mental health and wellbeing, or need some extra help with SEND, parenting or supporting vulnerable young people, including those who are at risk of crime.

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The Children and Family Wellbeing Service provide early help services to a child, young person or family, where they are experiencing difficulties that cannot be supported by universal services, such as schools or GPs alone.

We provide support to those who have, or still are, suffering from domestic abuse or with their mental health and wellbeing, or need some extra help with SEND, parenting or supporting targeted young people, including those who are at risk of crime.

Call us for further information

The support we offer is free of charge and can be delivered at a location to suit your situation or online.

Call the Children and Family Wellbeing Service Triage Team on 0116 305 8727 for further details.

Request a service

Professionals making a referral on behalf of a family for Early Help and Social Care Services can complete our Multi-Agency Referral Form

If you are making a self referral

If you, or someone on your behalf, think you would benefit from one of our services, you, or someone on your behalf, can complete our online request a service form. If you're completing it on behalf of someone else, you'll need their consent.

You'll have up to 60 minutes to complete it. We'll ask you what's been tried before, and details such as full name, date of birth and name of school.

Volunteer with us

We have many volunteering opportunities throughout the service from running stay and play groups, to assisting in reducing offending.

Whatever your skills, knowledge and life experiences, you'll have some valuable assets that would be useful to our service.

Find out more

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The Children and Family Wellbeing Service provide early help services to a child, young person or family, where they are experiencing difficulties that cannot be supported by universal services, such as schools or GPs alone.

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Speech and language therapists work in partnership with children, their families and other professionals in a variety of friendly setting

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Service description
Due to the increased demand for our speech and language therapy service, which has risen rapidly since the COVID-19 pandemic, children and young people may experience longer than usual waiting times. We are doing all we can to reach children on our waiting lists as quickly as possible while maintaining a good standard of care. We recognise that having to wait longer is frustrating but please bear with us while we manage this busy period. Our website has a range of resources that can help parents and settings to support children and young people with speech and language needs or eating and drinking difficulties. If you have significant concerns and would like to speak to someone from the speech and language therapy team, please contact the speech and language therapy office on 0116 2955256. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
We are a team of speech and language therapists and support workers who provide episodes of care to children and young people across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

We support children and young people who have difficulties with:

Speech, language and communication skills

Eating, drinking and swallowing skills

We work in episodes of care. At the end of an episode of care, parents and carers may be given strategies to support their child. Children and young people can be re-referred to the service if they need further specialist support from a speech and language therapist.

We work in partnership with a range of other agencies and colleagues including schools, Early Years settings, children's centres, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, medical teams and the voluntary sector.
How are we currently working?
Click here to find out what our service can offer.

Click here to watch a video about our response to Covid-19.
Utilising ReachDeck for text-to-speech and translations
ReachDeck, a web accessibility toolbar, is available on this website to help you understand our content and interact independently. Features of the ReachDeck toolbar, which can be launched by clicking the orange 'Speak' icon in the bottom right hand corner of your screen, include:

Text-to-speech: reads the text out loud with highlighting

Translation: translates the text into over 100 languages

Screen mask: provides a screen tint overlay

Picture dictionary: displays the meaning of a word through illustration

View this video to find out more about the ReachDeck toolbar:

Referral criteria

If your child meets any of the above criteria then they can be referred to our service by -

Who to contact if you need an interpreter or information about disabled access

Please ask the professional referring into our service to let us know if an interpreter is needed for your appointment. Alternately, requests can be made by contacting us on 0116 295 5256.

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Children's Speech and Language Therapy Service Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland | Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust

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Find out more about the children's speech and language therapy service available across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

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SEND Information, Advice and Support Service for parents and carers in Leicestershire.

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Special Educational Needs and Disability Information, Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS) Leicestershire, is a statutory service. We provide free, impartial and confidential advice and support to parents and carers of young people aged 0-25 with special education needs or disabilities as well as young people themselves. We advise on all matters relating to SEND, including education, health and social care issues.

SENDIASS staff are legally trained:

Will maintain confidentiality and will not share information without consent.

Will be non-judgemental.

Will not make decisions on your behalf or influence your decision making in any way.

Will tailor support to your individual needs.

Our aim is to empower parents/carers, children and young people to independently voice their thoughts, opinions and desires about the support they (or their children), need in place to achieve their full potential and best possible outcomes.

We do this through telephone support, direct work, support in meetings and advocacy. We ensure that children, young people and their parents / carers have the correct information about the processes / experiences that they may be going through and their rights relating to these, in order to make informed choices.
What we can help with
SEND education, health and social care issues, including:

Send processes and Send support

Educational disputes and exclusions.

One Page Profiles.

Requests for assessments and matters relating to Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs).

Annual reviews of your child's EHCP.

Disability discrimination.

Support in court proceedings, relating to the above.

Getting in touch:

SEND Information Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS Leicestershire)
Telephone: 0116 305 5614
Duty line opening times Monday-Friday 9am-3pm - answerphone service in operation outside of these hours
Email: sendiass@leics.gov.uk

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SEND Information Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS)

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Special Educational Needs and Disability Information, Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS) Leicestershire, is a statutory service. We provide free, impartial and confidential advice and support to parents and carers of young people aged 0-25 with special education needs or disabilities as well as young people themselves.

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Starting primary school - parent stories

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Starting primary school - parent stories

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CBeebies

CBeebies iPlayer

Grown-ups

TV Guide

CBBC

Bitesize

Starting school: parents' stories

All Time for School
Time for School - Starting school: parents' stories

Real-life experiences, memories and advice from teachers, parents and CBeebies presenters about starting school.

Your child's first day at school can be really nerve-wracking for both you and your little one. Here at CBeebies Grown-ups we've collected some of our favourite articles about starting school. We asked some parents to share their own personal experiences with us and some of the CBeebies presenters joined in on the action too!

The teacher's story: starting school

Mum and early years teacher Susan tells CBeebies Grown-ups what it's like when you're a teacher and your own child is starting school...
Can you remember how you were feeling on the first day – what happened?
That’s the trickiest part of balancing being a teacher and being a mum – I wasn’t able to take time off work to be there... READ MORE

Parent's experience: starting nursery

Mum Emma talks to CBeebies Grown-ups about her experience of her daughter Fianna (aged two) starting at nursery…

Why did you choose the nursery that you did for your little girl?

My daughter Fianna originally went to a child minder from the age of twelve months, but just after her 2nd birthday my husband and I... READ MORE

Parent's experience: starting school

Mum Beate talks to CBeebies Grown-ups about her experience of her son Lucas starting Reception.

Can you tell us a little bit about you and your child?

Lucas is now six years old and about to start year 2. He has loved going to school, most of the time... READ MORE

Parent's experience: starting home education

Mum Alice talks to CBeebies Grown-ups about her experience of starting home education with her son...

Why did you choose to home educate?

After my son arrived our bond seemed so strong that I couldn’t think of sending him into day care, be that a nursery or a child minder... READ MORE

Parent's experience: starting school with special needs

Dad Chris talks to CBeebies Grown-ups about his experience of his daughter Harriet starting school…

Can you tell us a little bit about you and your children

Harriet is a twin who is diagnosed with Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) and was born premature at 28 weeks... READ MORE

Starting school: Cerrie's memories

CBeebies presenter Cerrie shares her own memories of school and her experiences as a mum...

What do you remember about starting school?

I couldn't read until I was eight (when my dyslexia was finally diagnosed) so my I spent my first four years of primary school in a lovely imaginative daydream... READ MORE

Starting school: Cat, Andy and Katy's memories

We caught up with some of the CBeebies presenters to see what they remember about their first days at school… READ MORE

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Time for School - Starting school: parents’ stories

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Real-life experiences, memories and advice from teachers, parents and CBeebies presenters about starting school.

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Preparing your child emotionally for Secondary School

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Preparing your child emotionally for Secondary School

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This film was recorded before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Parents share their concerns before their child starts secondary school, including forming new friendships, new routines, and being overprotective. The film offers tips that can help you and your child prepare emotionally for these changes.

Tips:

Get your child to make a list of things they like about themselves, making sure they identify the attributes behind those qualities

Don't let your worries become their worries

Don't let them feel unsafe because you are constantly talking about safety

Prepare them for all of the new and fun opportunities that they'll have by talking to them about clubs and activities and encourage them to explore what's available

Increase the independence that you give them over the summer holidays or even their last months at primary school so that the jump to secondary feels natural

Let them know that should they need you, you are there for them and will help them no matter what

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Tips that can help you and your child prepare emotionally.

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We help ensure that autistic children and young people receive an education that enables them to fulfil their aspirations and engage in society as active citizens.

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Since 2016, this group of young people, ages 15-25, have shared their voices and lived experiences to steer, influence and advise the work we do. As well as advising on AET materials and strategy, Panel members speak at events, co-deliver training and support autism education networks.

Find out how this group of young people are supporting, co-producing and advising the AET.

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Helping you support autistic children and young people since 2007

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Video outlining key features and strategies

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Dyslexia Awareness Part 1: Module 1 - About Dyslexia

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A children’s communication charity

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Parents and carers play an important role in teaching children and young people how to understand and manage their feelings as they grow up.

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How to support your child’s mental health – Place2Be

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Place2Be works with schools to help parents support their child’s mental health and improve their emotional wellbeing.

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The graduated approach is a four-part cycle

The cycle increases in detail and frequency to identify the best way of securing adequate progress for children and young people.

Where a pupil may have SEND, this graduated approach should be coordinated by the SENCO

Assess:
All pre-school settings, schools and colleges should monitor and review the progress and development of all children and young people.

High quality teaching, differentiated for each child or young person is the first step in meeting the needs of pupils who have or may have SEN

Most children and young people can make progress if they are taught in this way

Where some children and young people do not make expected progress from starting points, they may be identified as possibly have SEN

In some cases external professionals may support the school in assessing a pupil’s needs

Plan:
Where a child or young person’s progress in an educational setting or school gives cause for concern, trained staff should work in partnership with parents and carers to develop a plan to ensure make sure that children or young people with SEN or disability receive the support they need for their future learning and development

Provision designed to support the pupil's progress will be put in place, including considering recommendations by external professionals

Class and subject teachers, supported by the Senior Leadership Team should regularly assess progress for all children or young people

Where a child or young person is falling behind or making inadequate progress (given their age and starting point) they should be given extra support

Do:
If a child is identified as having SEN, an individual plan will be drawn up to support them.

The SENCO will advise and support colleagues

Small-step SMART targets are set for the pupils to work towards

Parents and carers should be included in this cycle, so that they can say what they think and make suggestions about assessments, targets and planning

Review:

Review and evaluation of the effectiveness of the support and the difference it has made to the child or young person’s progress

The SEN Code of Practice says that plans should be reviewed at least termly.

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BBC Bitesize

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Starting primary school - BBC Parents' Toolkit - BBC Bitesize

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Advice and games to help you and your child prepare for primary school, then thrive during their first year.

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Moving up! The transition to Secondary School

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Moving up! The transition to Secondary School

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Anna Freud Centre

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Moving Up! The transition to secondary school (SUBTITLED)

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Timescales when applying for a needs assessment

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Bereavement and loss

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Bereavement and loss ELSA Resources - Elsa Support

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Bereavement and loss resources are focused on death, dying or emotions around loss. This may be due to separation or divorce. Animals are covered in some resources because this may be a pupil's first experience of loss.

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This is your short cut to finding therapeutic activities to enhance
your child's school occupational therapy program.

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Every parent knows how challenging it can be when the baby is growing, especially in the first few years. It's an age where children are exploring their independence, pushing boundaries, and learning more about the world around them. While this is an essential phase for their growth, it often leads to moments of defiance that ... Read more

As a parent, I'll never forget the day when my four-year-old managed to scale our kitchen counters, raid the cookie jar, and create an art masterpiece on the living room wall, all while I was on a brief 10-minute phone call. That's the unmatched energy of children for you! While I sometimes wish I had ... Read more

Back when I was juggling a full-time job, night classes, and personal commitments, I often found myself running on empty. Every morning, despite having my day planned to the minute, I would wonder why my energy levels were consistently low. I initially chalked it up to just being "busy." It wasn't until a particularly draining ... Read more

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Every parent knows how challenging it can be when the baby is growing, especially in the first few years. It's an age where children are exploring their independence, pushing boundaries, and learning more about the world around them. While this is an essential phase for their growth, it often leads to moments of defiance that ...

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Specific Learning Difficulties including dyslexia, spelling and memory

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Video - SEN support in mainstream schools

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Video - SEN support in mainstream schools

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SEN support in schools explained

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SEN Support in Mainstream Settings- The Graduated Response

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We cover who to talk to, where to go and provide lots of helpful advice all in one place.

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Child Bereavement UK helps children, parents and families to rebuild their lives when a child grieves or when a child dies. We support children and young people up to the age of 25 who are facing bereavement, and anyone affected by the death of a child of any age.

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We help children, young people, parents, and families to rebuild their lives when a child grieves or when a child dies.

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Service description

The Children's Occupational Therapy team works with children from birth to age 16 (up to 19 years in statutory education) who have difficulty participating in everyday activities because of physical disability or a medical condition to live more productive and enjoyable lives.

We help children who are experiencing difficulties with gross and fine motor skills, visual perception, sensory impairment and sensory motor skills. We support them to become more independent with everyday activities they need and want to do including:

Getting dressed

Personal care

Play

Leisure activities

School

Referral criteria
We will offer a service to children and young people:

from birth to age 16 (up to 19 years in statutory education) registered to GP practices in Leicester City, Leicestershire or Rutland

attending school in Leicester, Leicestershire or Rutland if the occupational therapy intervention needs to be delivered in the context of the curriculum

with significant functional, independence, sensory, movement or perceptual difficulties that can be changed through occupational therapy intervention

These may be the result of:

Complex physical needs (birth trauma, genetic disorder, acquired and congenital disorder autistic spectrum disorders)

Neuromuscular conditions

Acquired conditions

DCD / Dyspraxia / ADHD

Developmental delay

Environmental circumstances

Referrals can be made by:

Parents/carers known to the service who have been discharged within 6 months

Health professionals including GPs

Education/teaching staff

Social services staff

The service is not commissioned to provide a service for:

Any young person over 16 who is not in full time education

Young people with Special needs over the age of 19 years

Children / young people who have a short-term acute illness and is expected to return to their former level of function and wellness

Patients who has had surgical intervention for an acute need and is expected to return to their former level of function and wellness

This service does not accept children and young people with the following conditions or diagnosis unless there is a significant overriding community issue e.g. unable to leave home

Mental Health including Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and ME

Rheumatology

Ayres Sensory Integration Assessment or Treatment

Who to contact if you need an interpreter or information about disabled access

Please ask the professional referring into our service to let us know if an interpreter is needed for your appointment. Alternately, requests can be made by contacting us on 0116 295 2495.

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Children's Occupational Therapy Service - Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust

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The Children's Occupational Therapy team works with children from birth to age 16 (up to 19 years in statutory education) who have difficulty participating in everyday activities because of physical disability or a medical condition to live more productive and enjoyable lives.

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Advice and support

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Dyscalculia is a specific and persistent difficulty in understanding numbers which can lead to a diverse range of difficulties with mathematics. It will be unexpected in relation to age, level of education and experience and occurs across all ages and abilities.

Mathematics difficulties are best thought of as a continuum, not a distinct category, and they have many causal factors. Dyscalculia falls at one end of the spectrum and will be distinguishable from other maths issues due to the severity of difficulties with number sense, including subitising, symbolic and non-symbolic magnitude comparison, and ordering. It can occur singly but often co-occurs with other specific learning difficulties, mathematics anxiety and medical conditions.

(BDA Definition)

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Dyscalculia - British Dyslexia Association

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What is Dyscalculia? Dyscalculia is a specific and persistent difficulty in understanding numbers which can lead to a diverse range of difficulties with...

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Video advice for parents

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Video explanation

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Understanding the Graduated Response video

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The Dyslexia Association provides advice and assistance to families to raise awareness of the condition within the wider community.

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What is Dyslexia? - The Dyslexia Association

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Dyslexia is a learning difficulty that primarily affects the skills involved in accurate and fluent word reading and spelling. Characteristic features of dyslexia are difficulties in phonological awareness, verbal memory and verbal processing speed. Dyslexia occurs across the range of intellectual abilities. It is best thought of as a continuum, not a distinct category, and there are no clear cut-off points. Co-occurring difficulties may be seen in aspects of language, motor coordination, mental calculation, concentration and personal organisation, but these are not, by themselves, markers of dyslexia. A good indication of the severity and persistence of dyslexic difficulties can be gained by examining how the individual responds or has responded to well-founded intervention.

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Developmental Dyscalculia is one of a family of specific learning difficulties

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What is Dyscalculia? - The Dyslexia Association

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Developmental Dyscalculia, like dyslexia, is one of a family of specific learning difficulties.

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We’re the UK’s leading charity fighting for children and young people's mental health.

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YoungMinds | Mental Health Charity For Children And Young People

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YoungMinds are a mental health charity for children, young people and their parents, making sure all young people can get the mental health support they need.

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Our vision

Families should have access to active support and understanding.

Our mission

We build better family lives together.

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About us

Family Lives was formed over forty years ago by volunteers, with the aim of ensuring that all parents had somewhere to turn before they reached crisis point. We know that the right support at the right time makes all the difference.

Family Lives provides targeted early intervention and crisis support to families who are struggling. The issues we support families with include family breakdown, challenging relationships and behaviour, debt, and emotional and mental wellbeing.

We know the difference being able to access appropriate, timely support can make to families in crisis, knowing there is someone at the end of the phone who will listen to them. And we know the longer term impact of early intervention with families, such as through the ParentChild+ programme, which supports the home-learning environment, and our family befriending programmes.

The expertise of our staff and volunteers is at the heart of everything we do, and we work together with them to support families through our range of services. We have always been a volunteer-led organisation and we simply could not do it without our 300+ volunteers, who work alongside our dedicated staff team. Many of our volunteers began their relationship with us as service users but have stayed to support others on their journey – a testament to the support they themselves received.

Our crisis support, provided for over 40 years through our helpline, has always been at the heart of what we do. Over the last year, demand has continued to outstrip our ability to help as many families as we want to. We have built up long-standing programmes in the areas we work in across England, providing support to thousands of families through our befriending services.

You can read more about our work in our Annual Report.

Our vision, mission and values

Our vision: Families should have access to active support and understanding.

Our mission: We build better family lives together.

Our values: We value being compassionate, collaborative and trustworthy

You can read more about our aims for the future in our Strategic Plan.

History of Family Lives

Family Lives was formally registered as a charity in 1999, and operated under the name of Parentline Plus. The charity's original formation as Parentline was founded in response to the tragic child abuse case of Maria Colwell in 1973, who was killed by her step-father. The parents that founded Parentline believed that there needed to be a dedicated organisation supporting parents, before they reached crisis point which could result in abuse. A merger in 1999 between the National Stepfamilies Association, Parentline and Parent Network built on the collective experience of these three charities, to provide a range of national and local services to support parents and families across the country.

Parentline Plus reverted back to its registered name of Family Lives in 2011. We still have senior members of staff from all three organisations working at Family Lives. Family Lives has also merged with two small organisations, Bullying UK and TeenBoundaries in 2010 and 2011 respectively, to further the expertise and reach of the organisation. In addition a merger with the respected Parenting UK occurred in November 2012, enhancing our work with professionals and practitioners in the parenting field. In 2014, Action for Prisoners' Families became part of Family Lives, working to support all those who work with families of offenders and prisoners. Currently Family Lives employs 186 staff and 236 volunteers across our central and local offices.

Our commitment to diversity, equality and inclusion

Words are easy, actions much harder, but Family Lives wants to be clear that discrimination of any kind for any reason is an affront to our values and beliefs. We recognise that many of our colleagues, service users and friends within the wider community experience disadvantage and discrimination, and acknowledge that we all have a part to play to bring about systemic change. We will continue to work together to ensure that equality, diversity and inclusion are not simply three words but are experiences shared by all - and we are committed to the personal, organisational and community work that must take place to make this happen.

Also in this section
Explore all (9)

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Family Lives - Our vision and mission | Family Lives

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Family Lives supports families to help them make happier relationships, happier families and a stronger society.

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Independent Provider of Special Education Advice (known as IPSEA) is a registered charity (number 327691) operating in England. IPSEA offers free and independent legally based information, advice and support to help get the right education for children and young people with all kinds of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

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(IPSEA) Independent Provider of Special Education Advice

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Independent Provider of Special Education Advice (known as IPSEA) is a registered charity (number 327691) operating in England. IPSEA offers free and independent legally based to help get the right education for children and young people with all kinds of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
Why families need IPSEA

By law, children with SEND are entitled to educational support that meets their individual needs. Since IPSEA was formed in 1983, we have helped to improve educational support for thousands of children with all kinds of SEND. We do this by providing free and independent legally-based information, advice and casework support.

Our unique range of services has been developed to ensure that families understand their children's legal rights and entitlements and that they are empowered to enforce those rights to secure the right education for their child.

How we help

IPSEA has a suite of free downloadable guides, resources and template letters available to parents and carers. These guides are complemented by a free Advice Line and Call-in Helpline which provide legally based information and next step advice on any educational issue that is a result of a child's SEND. IPSEA's Tribunal Helpline gives next step advice on appeals and disability discrimination claims to the SEND Tribunal and is also the gateway to our Tribunal Support Service where a referral can be made for more extensive casework support from a volunteer, including representation at the hearing. Our advice services are delivered by a national network of around 100 highly-trained volunteers, supervised and supported by IPSEA's Legal Team members.

IPSEA provides legal training for parents, school staff, parent carer forums, support groups and other organisations in order to increase their knowledge and understanding of the SEN legal framework. The proceeds raised from our training courses helps fund IPSEA's core services (Advice Line, Tribunal Helpline and Tribunal Support Service).

We also work to challenge unlawful SEND policy and influence policy development at both a local and national level. Our policy work is informed by information and evidence captured through our training and advice services, and has been instrumental in shaping law and policy in the field of special educational needs and disability.

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Independent Provider of Special Education Advice (known as IPSEA) is a registered charity (number 327691) operating in England. IPSEA offers free and independent legally based information, advice and support to help get the right education for children and young people with all kinds of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

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World leading mental health charity for children

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We work with professionals to improve the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people. Learn about our training, services, research and more.

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Parent tips for talking about mental health

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Parent tips for talking about mental health

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Anna Freud Centre

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Mental Health advice for supporting your child/ teenager and their mental health.

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Are you a parent or carer who is concerned about the mental health of your child or teenager? Do you just want some hints and tips on parenting? MindEd for Families has advice and information from trusted experts and will help you to understand what problems occur, what you can do to best support your family, and how to take care of yourself. MindEd for Families is written by a team of specialists and parents, working together. You do not need to register to use these resources.

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Top tips, expert advice and fun activities to help you support your child's wellbeing and learning in a changing world. Parents, we've got you.

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Top tips, expert advice and fun activities to help you support your child's wellbeing and learning in a changing world. Parents, we've got you.

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5 ways to support your child's mental health

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5 ways to support your child's mental health

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BBC Bitesize

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An easy way to understand wellbeing is to say it's 'feeling good and doing good'.

Here are five ways you can help children keep their wellbeing topped up - and your own, too.

For many, it's going to be harder to get outside and move around, but we still need to keep active. When we move our bodies, it has a positive effect on how our brain works, as the brain starts releasing chemicals that make us feel good.

* Host a home disco. Play the family's favourite dance songs and have a boogie for ten minutes.

* Watch BBC Super Movers videos. These short films can get the whole family moving (and learning). Learning routines (or just attempting them) means your child's brain and body (and yours!) are keeping active and engaged.

* Blow up a balloon. Once you've tied it, see how long you can keep it up in the air while passing it between you.

Having more time at home together may also put additional stress on family relationships so give everyone in the family a chance to refuel. It can be as simple as curling up on the sofa together and watching a film or some cartoons - and then chatting about your favourite bits.

Having these sorts of conversations can help to make the positive buzz of watching (and laughing) together last for longer. It'll also improve your child's ability to reflect on their experiences and talk about their preferences.

Stories are another great way to help children recharge as they lose themselves in wonderful fictional worlds. There are likely to be some old favourites they want you to read again, as they'll take comfort from hearing a familiar tale (for children, knowing how it ends is a good thing, not a spoiler alert!).

It's helpful for children (and adults) to have a healthy balance of emotions in a day. Fears and anxieties about the current situation may, at times, overpower our positive emotions unless we make a conscious effort to re-address this balance.

Here are a couple of ways you can help your child to achieve this balance:

* Make a 'Top Times' scrapbook. Help your child to create a scrapbook of memories, with printed out photos, drawn pictures, saved tickets and other bits and pieces stuck in to help them remember. These don't have to mark occasions; they can capture smaller moments of joy, like throwing a ball for a dog or seeing a rainbow.

Once you've built a collection of pages (and maybe several scrapbooks), you can enjoy looking through them together.

* Create a gratitude jar. Another way to take in the good stuff is to write down a little note when something's gone well and keep it in a jar or box. Younger children may prefer telling you what to write so you can record the experiences for them. As they get older, they may want to write their own notes.

You can encourage them by doing this alongside them. The great thing about a gratitude jar is you can revisit it on days when you need a little boost to remind everyone of the things you've been grateful for.

Building gratitude habits doesn't mean we diminish the struggles that children (and we) experience. It's really important to talk about these difficult moments too. But, having a time in the day when you focus on the positive can be useful in helping children to keep their thoughts balanced.

Having more time at home offers an opportunity to set some goals about new things you and your child want to learn. It could be something that helps encourage their independence when they return to school, like tying their own shoelaces or buttoning up their coat. Or it could be something that helps at home, such as how to put their clothes away or helping out with washing up. When children feel they're contributing to family 'work', it can enhance their sense of belonging. If your child is capable of doing things for themselves, give them as many opportunities as you can to practise these skills.

Whatever the learning goals, it can be helpful if children understand they can improve their skills and abilities. This is often referred to as a 'growth mindset' since it's about realising we all have the ability to change the way we think and do things. So, whether it's tying shoelaces, learning to spell, or even how to hop on one leg, the way adults talk to children about the learning will influence those children's beliefs.

Here are two ways to encourage your child to adopt a growth mindset:

* Add the word 'yet'. Changing the way you talk about intelligence and ability can help your child understand that learning is a process - our skills and traits aren't fixed from birth. When your child claims "I can't do this" (whether they're talking about a new hobby, homework, or anything else), say: "You can't do it yet".

Adding and emphasising this tiny word subtly reinforces the learning process and may help them to try again.

* Practise (and fail) with your child. Trying new things can be scary, but it's often less daunting when you do it with others. As a family, you might decide to try something new and celebrate your learning and your failures when it doesn't work (the first, second, or even the ninety-ninth time!).

Being able to support your child's wellbeing also involves taking care of yourself. As a starting point, try and eat nutritious healthy food; it's a great idea to turn cooking into an activity the whole family takes part in. Life can often feel very busy and parents give themselves a hard time about being unable to do everything perfectly. Remember, though, there are no 'perfect parents'.

We all get things wrong, we all have days when we struggle. And while it may be true that you might not have done everything 'perfectly', you've probably done more things to support your child's wellbeing than you realise. So, try and focus on what you're doing well - it's not you being boastful, it's actually really helpful for your child to do this. Children can learn a lot from hearing adults respond kindly to themselves when things don't work out - and then from seeing the grown-ups try again. Notice how you speak to yourself about your mistakes. If you can cultivate kindness towards yourself, your child is more likely to practise this when they get things wrong too.

It might also be useful to take a moment and think about the activities, people and places that help you to feel brighter and refuelled. Even if you can't do these things at the moment, perhaps there are new ways that you can connect with the things that matter to you, like chatting with friends on the phone instead of meeting up. No matter how busy you are, try and squeeze in a little time for yourself. It's likely to help you with the many joys and challenges that parenting can bring.

Dr Hazel Harrison is a Clinical Psychologist with a particular focus on mental health and wellbeing.

For further information check out the rest of Starting Primary School which has lots of ways to help prepare children for different aspects of school life - both practically and emotionally.

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Five ways to support children's mental health

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Clinical psychologist, Hazel Harrison, suggests five ways you can support your child's mental health.

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A range of information leaflets about a range of Occupational Therapy strategies

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Blossom Children's Occupational Therapy leaflets: Please feel free to print, save and share these leaflets. The content of these leaflets must not be duplicated without Blossom's permission.

Other helpful leaflets and information:

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ResourcesBlossom Children's Occupational Therapy leaflets: Please feel free to print, save and share these leaflets. The content of these leaflets must not be duplicated without Blossom's permission. Introduction to Sensory Processing ADHD & Occupational Therapy Calm Toolkit Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) Heavy Work Sensory Processing and Trauma Sensory Circuits Sensory Light Room Masking Interoception Handwriting Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Other ...

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If you would like support from the school nursing service please speak to Mrs Vicky Harrison (SENDCO) or you can self-refer using the phone number on the website.

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Public health (school) nurses - Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland

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Local School Nursing information for parents of children across Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland.