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SEND support groups for parents and carers - directory

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SEND support groups for parents and carers - directory

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SEND support groups for parents and carers - directory | Worcestershire County Council

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SOS SEN offers a free, friendly, independent and confidential telephone helpline for parents and others looking for information and advice on SEN. SOS SEN concentrates on helping people to find their way through the legal and procedural maze which is sometimes daunting to families who are trying to obtain provision for their child’s special needs.

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Find out more about our JR Initiative, The PAP Project!

SOS!SEN is an independent registered charity started in 2002 by a small group who had spent much of their lives in education or related services. We help parents secure the right educational support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

We now have a team of over 70 volunteers advising parents, many of whom have been in your shoes, seeking to get the right provision for their children.

We are able to fund the important lifeline we provide to parents through your donations for our services and our Surrey-based charity shop.

We provide a range of information, advice and support to help parents find their way through the daunting legal and bureaucratic maze of securing SEN support for their children.

Parents are not always aware of their children's entitlement to SEN provision; we help them navigate the process, with advice underpinned by current legislation and best practice.

I would like to say thank you to everyone at SOS!SEN for their direction and invaluable expertise, which helped me work through an appeal... Your workshops [webinars] on appealing against the contents of EHCP and SEND Tribunal video hearings gave me the confidence to represent myself, and succeed at a SEND Tribunal hearing, to secure needed provisions for my son...

I just wanted to write a huge and heartfelt thank you to SOSSEN. I attended the walk in session in Thornton Heath...and spoke to Sarah who was truly wonderful! I have been feeling very overwhelmed...and my head has felt like a tangled ball of wool. Sarah calmly untangled it all and gave me lots of brilliant advice and next steps to work towards...

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Find out more about our JR Initiative, The PAP Project! SOS!SEN is an independent registered charity started in 2002 by a small group who had spent much of their lives in education or related services. We help parents secure the right educational support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

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Sensory Processing

Video to explain General calming strategies and ensuring resources and environment are appropriate.

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Herefordshire & Worcestershire Health and Care NHS (HWHCT_NHS)

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Sensory Processing  - General Calming Strategies

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Whole School SEND (WSS) is a national network, hosted by nasen, dedicated to improving outcomes for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. We bring together settings, professionals, families and young people to develop inclusive practice that enables every learner to thrive.

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Get the highest quality CPD from experts at your convenience, with nasen's SEND CPD on Demand - The ultimate flexible training resource.

With individual and school subscriptions starting at just £199, boost your learning with convenient access to over 70 pre-recorded SEND CPD sessions tailored to meet the needs of the entire education workforce.

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Get the highest quality CPD from experts at your convenience, with nasen's SEND CPD on Demand - The ultimate flexible training resource. With individual and school subscriptions starting at just £199, boost your learning with convenient access to over 70 pre-recorded SEND CPD sessions tailored to meet the needs of the entire education workforce.

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A library of free SEN support, advice, & resources created by SEN professionals for parents & carers of children & young people with special educational needs.

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SEN Support, Advice, and Resources - Witherslack Group

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A library of free SEN support, advice, & resources created by SEN professionals for parents & carers of children & young people with special educational needs.

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Worcestershire SEND local offer

Welcome to our new style SEND Local Offer website. It has been co-produced with parent carers, young people with SEND and colleagues from other organisations including health and the voluntary sector. We would like to thank them all for their invaluable insights and contributions.

We have included lots of new information, which families have told us would be useful, and arranged it in age groups to make it easier to navigate. The work on the website is ongoing, and over time things will change and improve further.

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Information and advice for families with children and young people with SEN and/or disabilities.

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SENDIASS stands for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information Advice and Support Service.

It’s a free, impartial, and confidential service offering information to young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and to their parents and carers.

There is a SENDIAS Service in every local authority in England. Kids provide a number of these services. Use our search box below to find out if we offer a SENDIAS service where you live and get in touch with our experienced and supportive staff by phone or email.

We also provide information on a wide range of SEND topics for anyone to access. See our Information and Advice section below. And we have a dedicated YouTube channel that offers free information and training webinars, as well as local content in those area where we host a SENDIAS service.

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About SENDIASS SENDIASS stands for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information Advice and Support Service. It’s a free, impartial, and confidential service offering information to young people with special educational…

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Down-to-earth parenting advice you can trust.

We’re here for you, when you need us. Find answers to parenting questions in our advice articles. Or talk to a parenting coach about anything that’s worrying you. It’s all free, and no topic is too big, small, or embarrassing.

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Support for Parents from Action For Children

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Parent Talk - down-to-earth parenting advice you can trust

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We're on hand to support parents, when they need us. Find answers to your questions in our advice articles, or speak to one of our parenting coaches.

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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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We support families, parents, children and young people across Worcestershire to lead happy, healthy and fulfilled lives.

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The Starting Well Partnership supports parents, families and young people across Worcestershire. Our teams include Herefordshire Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust, Barnardos, Redditch and Bromsgrove District Councils and Action for Children.

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Autism spectrum Disorder - Umbrella pathway Worcestershire

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Autism spectrum Disorder - Umbrella pathway Worcestershire

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Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust

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Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust

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Service referral criteria are in place to ensure that this service works with the child/young people and their families who need and will benefit from further highly specialist assessment.

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Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust

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Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust

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Information on making a referral into the Worcestershire Community
Paedaitrics Service for support with ADHD

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Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust

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Our Paediatric Occupational Therapy Service provides assessment and intervention for children and young people with significant difficulties participating in and completing daily occupations at home, in an education placement, and in the community.

Our Service may offer an assessment of self-care and daily living occupations (see below for examples), where our Universal Advice offer has been followed, but there has been no improvement.
Occupation Examples: Priorities of the Service

To support with enabling the child or young person to be safe in accessing self-care and activity of daily living occupations. This may include assessment and provision of specialist equipment and/or referrals for adaptations to the home environment.

To support with the delivery of a Care Plan for the child or young person with significant needs impacting on their self-care and activity of daily living occupations.

To work in partnership with the child or young person, their parents/carers and educational setting to meet the child or young person's individual goals.

To work in collaboration with other professionals from health, social care, and education.

Who can refer to the service?

Referrals are accepted from:

Health Care Professionals (GP, Paediatrician, Speech and Language Therapist, Physiotherapist etc)

Social Care Teams (Social Worker, Family Support Worker)

SENCO'S (School or Nursery) or Teacher at Special School

Physical Disabilities Outreach Team

Local Authority Learning Support Team

Referrers should complete the referral form in full that is available on Carenotes under the referrals tab or can be downloaded directly from this page - Download our referral form

Please note ALL referrals should be sent electronically to the OT generic email address: WHCNHS.PaediatricOT@NHS.net

(If using the referral tab on Carenotes, please email the generic email address to alert the service to this referral).

Who can be referred?

Child or young person from birth up until their 18 birthday or up to their 19 birthday if attending special school (for school needs only):

With consent from the person with parental responsibility or child or young person themselves if considered to have Gillick competence.

Those registered with a Worcestershire GP.

Who have a 'Looked After' arrangement with Worcestershire Local Authority and continue to reside in Worcestershire with a Worcestershire GP OR who have a 'Looked after' arrangement with another Local Authority and are placed in Worcestershire with an individual funding agreement.

Any child or young person placed in a Worcestershire school with a GP out of county will be considered on an individual basis with liaison with their local NHS service.

For requests about home equipment or adaptations, this is determined by the County Council of the property where the child or young person resides.

We require examples of significant* difficulties that are impacting on independence, and/or participation in self-care and activities of daily living at home, in education and in the community.

It is important to evidence what support, strategies and advice has been tried and/or is already in place to support the child or young person, and the outcome and impact this has had e.g., Universal information from the website, contact with OT Advice Line.
Referrals we may consider

Child or young person who requires timely assessment and intervention around safety, equipment and moving and handling to prevent incident and injury.

Child or young person with regressive or degenerative conditions who are newly diagnosed or where there has been a significant change in their presentation impacting on self-care and activities of daily living.

Child or young person who are palliative and end of life who have lost skills and require timely assessment and intervention to prevent incident and injury.

We are unable to accept referrals for:

Reported difficulties that are in line with typical or expected development.

Please note we do not provide Sensory Integration Therapy.

Requests for specific equipment. For example, car seats, restrictive beds.

Anxiety, emotional or behavioural difficulties. Please refer to other appropriate services such as Family Front Door, Early Help, CAMHS. Please see the local offer website: Social, emotional and mental health | Worcestershire County Council and the Child and young person and Adolescent Mental Health Website: Mental health help to children, young people and their families | School Mental Health (hacw.nhs.uk)

Support with home safety which are related to the home physical environment. We require evidence of strategies that have been tried but have not been successful resulting in risk to safety, incident, and injury before considering a referral.

Support with re-housing or additional bedrooms/ bathroom facilities. Any professional that knows the child and young person or family well can support with these requests.

Requests for Developmental Co-ordination Disorder (DCD) assessment where there is no evidence of significant* motor co-ordination difficulties that are impacting on self-care and activity of daily living occupations across home, in education and the community. Please see the following link for information about DCD diagnostic criteria: Developmental co-ordination disorder (dyspraxia) in children - Diagnosis - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Wheelchair or a specialist buggy as referrals can be made by any Healthcare Professional that knows the child or young person. Please see the following link for the Wheelchair service information: Our Services | Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust (hacw.nhs.uk)

Risk of education placement breakdown or not currently attending education placement.

Child or young person who is not able to complete self-care and/or activities of daily living occupations.

Early life experiences which have had a significant impact on the above.

Safeguarding concerns where OT is significantly involved.

What happens next?

Referrals received will be triaged according to the clinical prioritisation for the child or young person.

Parents/carers and the referrer will be informed of the outcome of the referral following triage.

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Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust

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Special Education Needs and Disabilities support is available at every stage of education.

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EHCP Annual Reviews | Worcestershire County Council

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Council for Disabled Children video on Annual Reviews.

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The Starting Well Partnership offers a number of parenting groups and workshops. All sessions are free to attend and run by trained staff and volunteers from the Starting Well Partnership. These groups include two programmes for parents or carers of children on the Autistic Spectrum.

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Solihull Approach | Parenting - We're all about emotional health and wellbeing!

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Online Courses for Parents - Solihull Approach | Parenting

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Our online courses cover from conception to 19 years. They include the same content as a face to face group. Digital parenting offer available. Find out more!

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Parenting workshops, courses and groups

The Starting Well Partnership offers an exciting array of parenting groups and workshops. All sessions are free to attend and run by trained staff and volunteers from the Starting Well Partnership.

If you would like to know more about any of our groups or courses or wish to register your interest please complete the online referral form.

Use the buttons below to find out more about each group.

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A list of parenting groups, courses and workshops provided by the Starting Well Partnership organisations, including courses to help you understand your chil...

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Call for free on 0808 802 5544 from 9:30am-4pm, Monday-Friday

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We support main carers of children and young people, as well as parents. You might be a kinship carer, legal guardian, foster carer, grandparent or sibling. If you are the child or young person's main carer, we want to support you. Our advisers are trained and experienced in supporting carers as well as parents.

If you are a family member or friend, but you are not the child or young person's main carer, see our online information for advice around how you can support them. You can also encourage their parent or main carer to contact us.

If you are a professional looking for information about supporting the young people you work with, see our resources for professionals.

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Parents Helpline | Mental Health Help for Your Child

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The YoungMinds Parents Helpline, Webchat and Email provide support and help for parents and carers worried about their child's mental health and wellbeing.

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Children’s mental health - Every Mind Matters

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See tips and advice for parents and carers on how to support children and young people’s mental wellbeing, and give them the best chance to stay healthy.

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Children who Cannot Attend School (CCAS) | Worcestershire County Council

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The CCAS process and panel works with partners to support children who cannot attend school.

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Not Fine in School is a parent-led organisation empowering families & raising awareness of school attendance barriers (school refusal/ anxiety/ SEND/ bullying)

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Worcestershire Speech and Language Therapy

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Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

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Dyslexia help reading, spelling, tables, school, assessment,

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Find practical tips to assist helping your child, assistive technology, reading, spelling, at school.

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Scroll down to find our SEND Information Report.

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SEND – Special Education Needs and Disabilities | Ridgeway Secondary

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Adaptations of the curriculum for scholars with additional needs There is no narrowing of the curriculum for students with additional needs, nor is there lowering of expectations. The school is relentlessly ambitious for all students and expects all students to meet the school’s very high standards. Some students will need more support than others […]

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Building your child's resilience, self-esteem and confidence Sign up now 0 Modules For parents 0 Different Age based programmes for children "We are loving the modules, I feel I have learnt so much and already seeing differences in how I am parenting, which I feel is having a great impact on the kids already.

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Building your child's resilience, self-esteem and confidence Sign up now 0 Modules For parents 0 Different Age based programmes for children "We are loving the modules, I feel I have learnt so much and already seeing differences in how I am parenting, which I feel is having a great impact on the kids already.

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Help & Support | Health & Wellbeing Guidance | Compass

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Help & Support | Health & Wellbeing Guidance | Compass

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Information and advice on emotions, health, wellbeing and relationships for children, young people, professionals and carers/parents.

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Help & Support | Health & Wellbeing Guidance | Compass

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Information and advice on emotions, health, wellbeing and relationships for children, young people, professionals and carers/parents

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Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for children 

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Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for children 

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Help for children under 16 with disabilities - DLA rate, eligibility, how to apply, claim form.

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Disability Living Allowance ( DLA) for children may help with the extra costs of looking after a child who:

is under 16

has difficulties walking or needs much more looking after than a child of the same age who does not have a disability

They will need to meet all the eligibility requirements.

The is between £26.90 and £172.50 a week and depends on the level of help the child needs.

If your child lives in Scotland

You need to apply for Child Disability Payment instead of DLA for children.

If your child is getting DLA for children but they have moved to Scotland, you'll need to report this change so they can get Child Disability Payment instead.

If your child moves from Scotland to England or Wales

If your child gets Child Disability Payment, you must:

Your Child Disability Payment will stop 13 weeks after your child moves - apply for DLA as soon as possible after moving or your payments could be affected.

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Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for children

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Help for children under 16 with disabilities - DLA rate, eligibility, how to apply, claim form.

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FREE Expert Help for Parents and Carers from Sensory Experts.

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Parents - Hereford & Worcester Dyslexia Association 

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Parents - Hereford & Worcester Dyslexia Association 

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Study Skills: Supporting Your Child With Their Exams At this time of year, many students will be revising for upcoming exams and so the following webinar by the BDA (British Dyslexia Association) provides useful information about how to help them prepare by developing appropriate study skills.

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Hereford & Worcester Dyslexia Association

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Study Skills: Supporting Your Child With Their Exams

At this time of year, many students will be revising for upcoming exams and so the following webinar by the BDA (British Dyslexia Association) provides useful information about how to help them prepare by developing appropriate study skills. There is also a link to a helpful guide to Access Arrangements for exams that schools and colleges should provide for children with dyslexia, such as extra time, readers, scribes and the use of assistive technology.
https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/advice/educators/what-do-i-need-to-know/exam-access-arrangements
Dyslexic Thinking Skills

The link below to Dyslexic Thinking Skills is a user-friendly guide to how the dyslexic brain works and the strengths dyslexic thinking brings to individuals.
https://www.facebook.com/madebydyslexia/videos/906537180702592/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v
Can you spot a Maker a mile off?

Dyspraxia & Dyscalculia

In addition to supporting children with dyslexia, HWDA also supports learners with dyspraxia and dyscalculia. Please contact the Senior Tutors for more information on how we can help. The following videos give some useful information, too.

Follow the link below for more information about dyscalculia.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/disability-63464239?fbclid=IwAR2GKCgpjpvzjTGqZwLj734x5hW1XfsCYs2vPRYGTBNsKdY-6ThkU_tWjds
Hereford & Worcester Dyslexia Association offers FREE support and advice to all parents of children with learning needs

Our Parent Support Groups offer -

practical advice and help on ways to support at home

useful technology available and support with programs or apps

opportunities to discuss realistic expectations of provision in educational environments

opportunities to talk in confidence to those with similar experiences or appropriate expertise

free events throughout the year, with guest speakers covering a variety of related topics.

Whilst Dyslexia is our primary focus, we will always try to help with any of the related Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD) such as Dyspraxia, (motor skills) Dyscalculia (maths and numbers) or other similar learning needs.
Contact the Support Groups at -
Worcester - Frances Browne
Bromsgrove - Sally Arblaster

Email - seniortutorbromsgrove@hwda.org.uk

Hereford - Bev Drinkwater

Email - seniortutorhereford@hwda.org.uk

PDF Downloads

Click on any of the links below to download a PDF file full of helpful information...
Supporting Spelling " Ideas to support reading " Games to play at home to support Literacy Skills " Alphabet Arc Games " 5 ways to support your child with dyslexia at home " Useful Features iPad and Word " Assistive Technology " https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/dyslexia/about-dyslexia/what-is-dyslexia
Local Area SEND Information

2022 Worcestershire Dyslexia Pathway - PDF download
https://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/council-services/childrens-services/send-local-offer/send-graduated-response
2022 Worcestershire Local Area SEND - PDF download

The Local Offer puts all the information about education, health and care services, leisure activities and support groups in one place. It has two main purposes: to provide clear, comprehensive and accessible information about the support and opportunities that are available. The following two links take you to Worcestershire and Herefordshire Local Offer guidance.
https://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/sendiass/sendiass-support/sendiass-guidance-local-offer https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/local-offer https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/support-schools-settings/teaching-children-sen-disability/2
Education Health Care Plan - PDF download
https://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/info/20546/news_updates_and_feedback_send_local_offer/1614/send_improvement_plan
Advice and Support

https://www.hwsendiass.co.uk/
Advice and support for parents struggling with schools etc
https://www.hwsendiass.co.uk/info/24/send-support-ehcps
https://www.ipsea.org.uk/
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).

https://talking-sense.org/
Non profit help with Advocacy for SEND
https://autismwestmidlands.org.uk/
Local to Worcestershire: North Worcestershire Autism Parent Group (All welcome) Facebook page

https://www.specialneedsjungle.com/
Magazine online re SEND across UK

SEN support in Mainstream Schools - PDF download

Wellbeing and Emotional Support

Mental Health

If you are struggling with your mental health, or know someone who is, visit https://camhs.hacw.nhs.uk/ if you are a child or young person or if you are an adult visit https://www.nowweretalking.nhs.uk/ The Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust have teamed up with Split Second to promote their new song, 'Reach Out', which talks about the impact of the pandemic on their mental health. Video produced by Harms Way. For more information on the campaign and ways you can support us please visit: https://camhs.hacw.nhs.uk/reachout-music
https://www.youngminds.org.uk https://www.kooth.com/ https://www.hacw.nhs.uk/search/service/wellbeing-and-emotional-support-teams-in-schools-157/ https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/child-health-development/promoting-mental-health-wellbeing#article-top
Parents - Emotionally Based School Avoidance - PDF Download
https://www.family-action.org.uk/our-voices/2022/02/10/how-to-support-your-childs-mental-health/
The following article by HWDA President, Katrina Kear-Wood, explains how occasions such as Christmas can cause sensory overload for the neurodivergent and those with ADHD and offers strategies to manage the social and emotional difficulties they may bring.

Assistive Technology and Exam Access Arrangements

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVAYB1ghjac
( BDA webinar ; Empowering potential with Microsoft)

https://www.dyslexic.com/about-us/ Its a company that sells dyslexia assistive technology.
https://dyslexia-assist.org.uk/for-children/revision/
https://www.jcq.org.uk/exams-office/access-arrangements-and-special-consideration
Access Arrangements

List of Resources for Parents and Children
https://www.patoss-dyslexia.org/Tutor-Index-Landing https://learn.microsoft.com/en-gb/training/modules/dyslexia-technology/dyslexia-spelling-punctuation-grammar https://www.madebydyslexia.org/learn-dyslexia/ https://www.barringtonstoke.co.uk/dyslexic-reluctant-readers/ https://www.nessy.com/en-gb/science-of-reading https://www.nessy.com/en-gb/dyslexia-explained https://www.dyslexia.com/about-dyslexia/dyslexic-achievers/all-achievers/ https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2022/03/16/how-we-help-schools-and-colleges-support-pupils-with-dyslexia/ https://www.thedyslexiashop.co.uk/ https://dyslexiaassociation.org.au/support/ https://www.thesendcast.com/tag/dyslexia/
https://www.sensorydirect.com/
Sensory products based in Worcester

https://keystagefun.co.uk/
Apps to help with spelling, punctuation, maths KS1 - KS2 but may help some KS3

https://www.teachyourmonster.org/
Reading and maths apps

https://www.cricksoft.com/uk/about
Clicker and Docs plus

https://www.listening-books.org.uk/
Often free or yearly one off subscription
https://www.dyspraxia-ed.co.uk/about-dyspraxia/
https://readeasy.org.uk/
A charity to help adults learn to read, you can search for closest scheme.

https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/dyslexia-is-my-superpower/

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Parents - Hereford & Worcester Dyslexia Association

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Study Skills: Supporting Your Child With Their Exams At this time of year, many students will be revising for upcoming exams and so the following webinar by the BDA (British Dyslexia Association) provides useful information about how to help them prepare by developing appropriate study skills.

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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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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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Neurodivergence Zone | Worcestershire County Council

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Information on children, young people and neurodivergence for families and professionals.

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Ambitious about Autism is the national charity for autistic children and young people. We stand with autistic children, young people and their families to champion rights, campaign for change and create opportunities.

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Our Forum uses parental voice to influence change through events, discussion groups and working groups. We gather the views of local families and work with the council, educational settings, health providers and other agencies to highlight where local services are working well, or challenge when changes or improvements need to be made.

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The Starting Well Partnership supports parents, families and young people across Worcestershire. Our teams include Herefordshire Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust, Barnardos, Redditch and Bromsgrove District Councils and Action for Children.

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Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust

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Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust

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Introducing the new Starting Well Partnership in Worcestershire

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Helping you support autistic children and young people since 2007

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Worcestershire Paediatric Occupational Therapy Referral Guidelines and Criteria

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Worcestershire Paediatric Occupational Therapy Referral Guidelines and Criteria

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Referral Guidelines and Criteria

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Advice and guidance for parents and carers to help them support a child or young person experiencing poor mental health or wellbeing.

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Dance Mat Typing for 7 - 11 year olds

Learn how to touch type with the BBC Dance Mat Typing game. It’s a fun introduction to touch typing game for kids and covers levels 1, 2, 3, 4.

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Learn how to touch type with the BBC Dance Mat Typing game. It’s a fun introduction to touch typing game for kids and covers levels 1, 2, 3, 4.

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Typing Academy: Learn touch typing with our free typing practice

Learn to type with 10 fingers and practice your typing skills online. We offer everything you need to master touch typing with ease. www.typing.academy

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TypingAcademy: Learn touch typing with our free typing practice

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Learn to type with 10 fingers and practice your typing skills online. We offer everything you need to master touch typing with ease.

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Your Space Children and Young People’s Hubs

YourSpace - ONSIDE’s new service for Children and Young People

onside-advocacy.org.uk

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YourSpace Children and Young People’s Hubs

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YourSpace - ONSIDE’s new service for Children and Young People

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Here4You - No young person should ever feel alone

Here4You.uk support young people's mental health by signposting youth, parents and teachers to immediate help and resources.

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Here4You - No young person should ever feel alone

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Here4You.uk support young people's mental health by signposting youth, parents and teachers to immediate help and resources.

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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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Children’s mental health - Every Mind Matters

See tips and advice for parents and carers on how to support children and young people’s mental wellbeing, and give them the best chance to stay healthy.

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Children’s mental health - Every Mind Matters

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See tips and advice for parents and carers on how to support children and young people’s mental wellbeing, and give them the best chance to stay healthy.

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Mind

If you're 11-18 years old, this page lists organisations and services that can offer you support and information. All of the contact numbers listed here are helplines, unless we've noted what they're for instead.

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Advice and guidance for parents and carers to help them support a child or young person experiencing poor mental health or wellbeing.

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Kooth is your online mental wellbeing community. Access free, safe and anonymous

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Melo :: Onside, Worcestershire & Herefordshire

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Individual Support Melo Practitioners will provide a broad range of interventions designed to develop coping skills and techniques for individuals as well as family support. They will be a constant presence and point of contact for children, young people and families through their time within the service.

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Revising for your GCSE or National exams can be tricky. Just finding the motivation to get started can be tough enough, but when you throw in note-taking, textbooks and study planners, it can get a bit overwhelming! Thank goodness we've asked our Mind Set coaches to talk about about the revision techniques that really helped them. Watch this short video and then read a recap of their tips and advice below

Video Transcript Video Transcript

Rohan You need structure in your day for revision. It really helped me to get my head down.

Lauren So when I first started revising for my GCSEs, all I did was re-write out the notes I already had. About three months into it, so I wasted three months of revision time, I was no further on with my knowledge or anything, than what I was to begin with, because I wasn't doing active revision. I was just writing everything that I could see.

Rohan I had this technique, which was called look, say, cover, write, check, which essentially meant that you know, you look over the content, you cover over it, you say out loud, you write it down and then you check it. Going through that, it really helps you just solidify information in your head.

Baxter So I have dyslexia and reading in my head, it didn't really help. So reading it out loud really helped me remember key words.

Jacintha Doing active recall or testing yourself with flashcards can be very helpful, especially if you do it with friends, as revising can be quite an isolating event.

Milly Before an exam I think it's really fun to test your peers and what you know. Playing them games helps with that active recall before the exam and helps you see what key information you couldn't remember.

Niall For me, I put a mind map at the start of each jotter, just so I kind of know what I need to revise, so I can like tick it off, what I've done and what I need to do.

Rohan I love using mind maps because at the start of every topic, I like to write down everything that I know and then fill in any gaps later on.

Milly When I've been revising, I do like to use drawings, for example, the wall cycle. I like to draw that out and use words underneath to explain what's going on.

Jacintha If you struggle to study alone, doing video calls with a couple of friends when revising can really help. You can all go through the same exam paper and exam questions, and help each other with your answers. Make sure to choose your friends carefully so you don't distract each other.

Nung With my sensory overload that I've experienced quite often, I revise in smaller chunks, and kind of focussing on it for like 20 minutes, giving myself a break and then come back to it. But also, I have like a fidget toy that always had on me, because it helped me to focus.

Lauren I used sticky notes for stuff like French and English lit, so I would write down quotes, I would write down French tenses, verb endings, anything you can think of.

Jacintha I found it so helpful to embed Spanish in my daily life. For example, saving my parents under madre and padre in my phone, instead of mum and dad. Also, watching Spanish shows with English subtitles helps you get used to the language and the accent.

Shay I think everyone revises differently, and it's really important to remember that while you're doing your own studying. Find out what your own weaknesses are and work on them.

Jacintha There are lots of ways to revise, so figure out what's best for you.

Many people wonder how to revise effectively. Lauren found that one of the best revision techniques for her was active revision, which she found more helpful than just writing out notes. To revise more actively, you can try using flashcards, mind maps or similar techniques to help you practise recalling the information. Rohan used a technique called: look, say, cover, write, check, which essentially meant that you look over the content, cover over it, you say it out loud, you write it down and then you check it. Active revision techniques like this can help you solidify information in your head.

Jacintha suggests experimenting with different revision techniques. She says, "Doing active recall, or testing yourself with flashcards, can be very helpful, especially if you do it with friends." Milly liked to use drawings. She would draw out the water cycle and then use words underneath to explain what's going on, whilst Niall would put a mind map at the start of each notebook, so he knew what he needed to revise. He would then tick off what he'd done and what he needed to do.

If you want to learn more about why variety might just be the key to study success, then our study smart guide might be worth taking a look at.

Shay says that everyone revises differently, and it's really important to remember that while you are doing your own studying. Breaking your work into smaller chunks might work well for you, like Nung, who experiences sensory overload and found this way of working worked for her. Baxter has dyslexia and found that reading over notes in his head didn't help him. Instead, he would read notes out loud which helped him remember the key words.

Video Transcript Video Transcript

Josh Revising is a skill, and there are loads of ways that you can up your game.

Dr Vanessa Make sure you know which topics you need to revise for each subject. Check with your teacher about your exam board specification for this year and use that as a revision list. Separate your revision notes into subjects right at the start.

Dr Colton Use exercise books, textbooks and revision guides. Don't rely on your lesson notes only ,in case you've missed something.

Dr Vanessa Making flashcards, rather than just re-reading your notes helps you practise remembering the information, just as you will need to do during the exam.

Dr Radha Movement breaks are brilliant. Give your brain extra stimulation by moving your body and working your muscles.

Josh Keep a log of what you feel you have achieved, even if this is just crossing off a checklist. You'll be amazed how far you have come. Mock exams the best form of practise. Aim to do as much revision for those as you do for an actual assessment. Try and replicate exam conditions, so set a timer and go for it.

Dr Colton Every subject is different and your teachers will have really good advice on how to maximise your time. So take on board what they're saying to you and incorporate it into your personal study.

Dr Vanessa Be as proactive as possible with your revision. Use lots of different methods of materials. Check in with your teacher that you're revising the correct topics and keep track of your progress. People are not naturally good or bad at exams. It comes down to technique and practise at the end of the day.

We also spoke to our panel of experts to hear what they had to say about revision methods, staying well and making the most of your time.

Our expert, 'Anxiety' Josh Fletcher, suggests keeping a log of what you feel you've achieved - even if it's just ticking off a checklist. He says you'll be amazed at how far you've come! Whilst Dr Radha recommends movement breaks, which she says are brilliant for giving your brain extra stimulation by moving your body and working your muscles."

Memory expert, Dr Loaiza, says her tip is to make flashcards rather than just re-reading your notes. This will help you practise remembering the information - just as you will need to do during the exam. Dr Anna Colton wraps things up nicely by saying "Every subject is different and your teachers all have really good advice on how to maximise your time, so take on board what they're saying to you and incorporate it into your personal study."

Video Transcript Video Transcript

Dean McCullough Hello. I'm Dean McCullough from BBC Radio 1. And here's how I would create my chilled out revision playlist. I'm talking songs that are going to get you in the mood, but are not going to distract you so I would create songs that are going to make me feel good, make me feel empowered, but are not going to distract me.

And here are some of the artists that I would include: I am obsessed with Arlo Parks, there's something about her music and lyrics that takes me to a happy place. And that's kind of what you need when you're revising. I also love Olivia Rodrigo. Holly Humberstone and you know what, I'm gonna put Blossoms in there because, let's be honest, you need music that's going to make you feel energised, we wouldn't wanna be falling asleep when we're revising, so a bit of Blossoms in there, I'm all right with that.

And then I do like my chilled out pop. I'm gonna throw Ed Sheeran in here. Ed Sheeran for me, I can have him on in the background. I feel like he's not too distracting, unless we get into Galway Girl and then suddenly I'm in a bar. So yeah, I'm going to keep those guys in there as well. And if you want someone else to do all the hard work for you, genuinely head on to BBC Sounds. There are loads of relaxing playlists on there. You've got the Radio 1 relax stream which is 24/7 of really chilled out, beautiful tunes - there's something in there for everybody. Or you can listen to the Chill show. There are bands and artists and DJs from all across the world whose job it is to create these playlists exactly for this and I believe there is a revision playlist on there as well. So go and check it out.

You should always tell someone about the things you're worried about. You can tell a friend, parent, guardian, teacher or another trusted adult. If you're struggling with your mental health, going to your GP can be a good place to start to find help. Your GP can let you know what support is available to you, suggest different types of treatment and offer regular check-ups to see how you're doing.

If you're in need of in-the-moment support you can contact Childline, where you can speak to a counsellor. Their lines are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

There are more links to helpful organisations on BBC Action Line.

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Smart revision and exam advice for your GCSE or National exams from students.