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This session runs every Thursday afternoon from 1-2pm for children aged 0-5years.

These sessions are a drop in, no need to book.

Free Membership | Family Hubs

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This session runs every Tuesday morning 11:30-12:30pm for children aged 0-5years.

These sessions are a drop in, no need to book.

Free Membership | Family Hubs

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This session runs every Thursday afternoon from 1-2pm for children aged 0-5years.

These sessions are a drop in, no need to book.

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Hello, My name is Katherine. I have been a Family Hub Practitioner for almost 3 years. I have previously spent almost 15 years working in nursery's as a senior nursery nurse and sure start centres. I work full time, and you will often find me in Ashington and Bedlington Hub. You will find me supporting CALM Stay and Play at Newbiggin Family Hub

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Hello my name is Claire and I work within Central Family Hubs. You will see me in Bedlington Family Chill Out Sessions with Victoria. I have previously worked with children with additional needs and have years of experiance. I love working with all the different families we see come into the Hubs and enjoy supporting them in their journery as I find this really rewarding.

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Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Sensory Processing Service

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Children's Occupational Therapy Sensory Processing Service for children and young people living in Northumberland.

This service is delivered by Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and is based at Wansbeck General Hospital.

Our overall aim is to support parents, carers, education staff and other professional groups to understand how sensory processing can impact on daily life.

The service will provide information on how to modify activities and the environment to support participation in activities of daily life for children and young people with sensory processing challenges.

Our amazing senses

Our senses help us to perceive the world and to interact with other people. We have five external senses; these are known as vision, taste, touch, smell and hearing. We have a further three internal senses which are less well known. These internal senses are vestibular, proprioception and interoception.

Tap or hover over the icons to reveal the pop up.

What is Sensory Processing?

For most children the development of their sensory processing occurs as part of our typical development and they learn to respond appropriately to sounds, smells, movement etc.

We all have some sensory processing differences. For example, some of us like very strong tastes and smells and others avoid them. As long as we can manage to take part in the things we want and need to do these sensory processing differences don't matter.

For some children their sensory development is delayed or disordered, and they struggle to take part in everyday childhood activities. For example, they are so distressed by noise they can't go to a friend's party or they hit out when someone brushes up against them as they experience it as painful.

Meet the team

The team consists of a Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist, Senior Occupational Therapist, and an Occupational Therapy Technical Instructor.

Sandra

Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist

Sandra graduated from Northumbria University as an Occupational Therapist in 2002. She has experience of working in acute physical and mental health settings before going on to specialise in Paediatrics in 2008.

She has completed further post graduate training in sensory processing and achieved a Master's degree in Developmental Disorders in 2018. Sandra has extensive experience of working with children and young people who have complex health and sensory needs and enjoys supporting individuals to achieve their full potential.

Karen

Occupational Therapy Technical Instructor

Karen started working for Northumbria Health Care in 2004. She has a wealth of experience in working in health care and recently transferred to Paediatrics as an Occupational Therapy Technical Instructor.

Her goal each day is to ensure she delivers high quality care to all the children and families with whom she works. Working in the Sensory Processing Service allows the opportunity to help children and families in the local area. She finds working in the sensory processing team very interesting and rewarding.

Who is this service for?

Children and young people who are experiencing day-to-day difficulties with processing sensory information can access Northumberland's Sensory Processing website for support, strategies, and information.

If additional support is required a referral can be made to the Occupational Therapy service where parents / carers will be offered an initial telephone consultation. Referrals to the service must be completed by an approved professional and meet the following service criteria:

The Service for any child or young person aged 0-18 years, or up to 19 years if still in full time education and living in Northumberland.

Registered with a Northumberland General Practitioner.

Parent/Carer consent has been obtained for the Referral.

Sensory Processing strategies have been trialled to help improve engagement in daily living activities but have not been fully successful and further support is required.

Sensory Processing challenges continue to have a significant and ongoing impact on mental health and/or physical wellbeing in relation to participating in daily living activities.

Children / young people who are receiving support from the Children and Young People's service (CYPS) who require sensory support may be redirected to CYPS to receive support around their sensory processing needs.

How to access?

Children, Young People and Parent/Carers can access sensory processing resource information and online workshops.

Northumberland Children's Occupational Therapy Service

Child Health Centre, Woodhorn Lane, Ashington, Northumberland, NE63 9JJ

01670 564050

Referral Form

To access a parent/carer telephone triage consultation a referral will need to be completed by an approved referrer into the service, such as:

Medical Staff - Paediatric Consultant or General Practitioner.

Health Professionals such as Physiotherapist, Occupational Therapist, Community Nurse, Health Visitor or School Nurse.

Social Worker

High Incidence Needs Team (HINT)

If you have any questions or queries, please do not hesitate to contact the department on 01670 564050.

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About us - Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Sensory Processing Service

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Support and information for parents and carers of children and young people who experience difficulties with processing sensory information.

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For families and children aged 4+ years with additional needs, physical disabilies or learning disabilities.

Running every Monday 3:30-4:30pm (term time only)

This group offers play opportuinties for SEND children and a chance for parents/carers to meet other families who may be going through the same journey.

Please ring Ashington Family Hub for more information. 01670 819988

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For families and children aged 4+ years with additional needs, physical disabilies or learning disabilities.

Running every Friday 3:15-4:15pm (term time only)

This group offers play opportuinties for SEND children and a chance for parents/carers to meet other families who may be going through the same journey.

Please ring Bedlington Family Hub for more information. 01670 822714

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This programme is to support parents/carers for children with additional needs 0-25 years. It is light and informal and covers topics such as: managing children's behaviours and feelings, looking after ourselfs and advice around sleep.

Contact Ashington Family Hub for more details and information 01670 819988

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This programme is to support parents/carers for children with additional needs 0-25 years. It is light and informal and covers topics such as: managing children's behaviours and feelings, looking after ourselfs and advice around sleep and other topics parents/carers may need advice and support on.

A request for service is required for parents/carers too attend. Please click on form to fill in details. Forms or contact Bedlington Family Hub on 01670 822714

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Our lovely sensory room space for children and families to come along and have some sensory experiances and quiet time. This is avalible to book out for FREE. Please give our hub a call to make sure spaces are availble. 01670 822714

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Our lovely sensory room space for children and families to come along and have some sensory experiances and quiet time. This is avalible to book out for FREE. Please give our hub a call to make sure spaces are availble. 01670 819988

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Hello my name is Sammy and I am a Family Hub Practitioner within the Central Northumberland Family Hubs. I love working with SEND children and their families as I enjoy helping them achieve positive outcomes. You will see my run the CALM Stay and Play session at Newbiggin Family Hub alongside Katherine.

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Hello, my name is Kate and I am a Family Hub Practitioner within the Central Northumberland area. You'll see me help support and deliver in Ashington Family Hub sessions, Family Chill Out group. I love working alongside families and helping them thrive to their potentail in their development.

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A community association that supports families who have a child with a disability or additional needs, in Northumberland and the surrounding areas.

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Pathways 4 All is a North East charity aiming to improve the lives of disabled children and their families.  We provide specialist family-friendly leisure facilities at our Tim Lamb Children’s Centre, social activities for disabled children and their families, seasonal events and short break care services.

Our term-time short break care services include Saturday club activities for younger children; a Friday night youth club for teens; plus Easter and summer playscheme sessions.  We also offer a term-time supervised social activities programme for young disabled adults.

Support and social opportunities for family members are provided through our regular term-time coffee mornings and sibling activities group too.

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Pathways 4 All is a North East charity aiming to improve the lives of disabled children and their families. We provide specialist family-friendly leisure facilities at our Tim Lamb Children's Centre, social activities for disabled children and their families, seasonal events and short break care services.

Our term-time short break care services include Saturday club activities for younger children; a Friday night youth club for teens; plus Easter and summer playscheme sessions. We also offer a term-time supervised social activities programme for young disabled adults.

Support and social opportunities for family members are provided through our regular term-time coffee mornings and sibling activities group too.

In addition to the above services provided at the Tim Lamb Centre, we also have two subsidised caravans available for our member families to hire. We have one caravan based at the all-action Haggerston Castle Holiday Park, Northumberland; and the second is on the much quieter site Wild Rose in Cumbria.

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What We Do Pathways 4 All is a North East charity aiming to improve the lives of disabled children and their families. We provide specialist family-friendly leisure facilities at our Tim Lamb Children's Centre, social activities for disabled children and their families, seasonal events

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Little Miracles is a parent led support group for families of children with life limiting conditions!

Contact on- 07986 529276 or

littlemiraclesnortheast@yahoo.com

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We're rebranding to become Togetherness. We're still the same team behind the Solihull Approach and Inourplace.co.uk but we're getting having a bit of a refresh and we'll soon be changing our name along with a new approach to design and presentation.

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Information page for parents and carers, to help support your child, with ideas to encourage development through play.

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The Toby Henderson Trust (TTHT) is an independently funded charity supporting autistic children, young people and adults, their families and carers in the North East of England.

We provide relevant, appropriate and accessible support for autistic young people from two years into adulthood, whilst also empowering parents, families and carers by sharing knowledge, experience and understanding.  We acknowledge that yours or your child’s situation is unique and we encourage you to contact us to discuss how we can offer individual support.

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The Toby Henderson Trust | Autism charity providing advice & support in Northumberland

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The Toby Henderson Trust is an independently funded charity supporting children and young adults with autism, their families, and carers in the North East.

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This is a calmer session (low music, no flashing lights, smaller numbers on park) 1 carer per child/adult  included in the price.

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£10 per person This is a calmer session (low music, no flashing lights, smaller numbers on park) 1 carer per child/adult included in the price

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22% of the population in the UK have a disability. One in five of us will be affected by disability at some point in our lives.

At Northumberland Zoo, everyone is welcome. We understand that loud noises, bright lights, and large volumes of people can be stressful or overwhelming for those with a disability. A calming environment can also be better for elderly visitors or those struggling with mental health.

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22% of the population in the UK have a disability. One in five of us will be affected by disability at some point in our lives.

At Northumberland Zoo, everyone is welcome. We understand that loud noises, bright lights, and large volumes of people can be stressful or overwhelming for those with a disability. A calming environment can also be better for elderly visitors or those struggling with mental health.

We aim to be more inclusive to everyone by introducing quiet hours for those that can find busy/noisy places a stressful experience. This is not just for people with a disability but for everyone including those with a disability, as well as elderly visitors or those struggling with mental health.

We will be turning the waterfalls off in the restaurant, dimming lights and clearly stating the noisier animals. We will be making changes to make the zoo less busy and less noisy.

We will have designated quiet areas throughout the zoo to allow visitors to break from sensory-rich experiences. We will have sensory supports including:

Noise-cancelling earmuffs

Sensory friendly map (digital options as well as physical copies available)

Sunday 9th June, between 3pm - 5pm

Sunday 23rd June, between 3pm - 5pm

Sunday 7th July, between 3pm - 5pm
Sunday 21st July, between 3pm - 5pm

Pause during School holidays

Sunday 15th September, between 3pm - 5pm

Sunday 29th September, between 3pm - 5pm

The Zoo will still be open to general admission & visitors during these hours. We will do our best to inform other visitors who are on-site to be mindful of the quiet hours upon entry to the Zoo on these dates.

Please see our Accessibility page for more information on our staff training and KultureCity partnership.

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22% of the population in the UK have a disability. One in five of us will be affected by disability at some point in our lives. At Northumberland Zoo, everyone is welcome. We understand that loud noises, bright lights, and large volumes of people can be stressful or overwhelming for those with a disability.

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Sensory Rooms

We have 3 sensory rooms in a quiet area of the farm. With the help of Rhino Sensory, we have 3 completely different designed rooms, equipped with high quality equipment. They are free of charge to use. They are locked and need an access code, however the code is available in the giftshop. Please just ask a member of staff and we can give you the codes, no questions asked. They are kept locked to ensure they are used for the intended purpose only. It is working great and so far, even on our busiest days, there is free rooms for whenever someone needs.

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As a family run business, we treat our staff and visitors as part of our family.

We make great efforts to help people of all ages, abilities and walks of life to develop feelings of confidence, well-being and inclusion in the activities and animal experiences we offer.

Please see below all the ways in which Whitehouse Farm will help to ensure your visit with us is enjoyable.
Car Park and Arrival
We have plenty of blue badge parking available in our large car park which is all on the flat. The farm is fully wheelchair friendly with tarmac walkways and ramps throughout. From the car park you will enter the shop which has ramps both front and back.

We have two mobility scooters as well as two manual wheelchairs available (a small returnable deposit is required). Please contact the Centre to reserve the use of one of these items as we have a limited amount.
Changing Places Toilet
As well as having numerous disabled toilets on site, we now also are proud to say we have installed a changing places toilet. This is an adult changing facility, including a harness that reaches all points of the room, an adult changing table, a shower, a toilet and an adjustable sink. It is part of the radar key scheme or you can ask for a key in the gift shop.
Changing Places Toilets (changing-places.org) Farm Activities
We strive to ensure all our activities on the farm are accessible for all our visitors to enjoy.

Our tractor rides are able to accommodate two wheelchairs on the trailer.

We have a wheelchair accessible roundabout on our Hoglets Play Area.

Our new Castle Catapult slide has ramps to ensure you can get over the bridge.

All our animal pens are designed to ensure all visitors can see the animals and, where appropriate, feed the animals.

Our animal encounters are inclusive to all visitors whether that be cuddling a bunny, grooming a goat, bottle feeding a lamb or flying an owl.

Public Areas
Our cafe is all on level ground and all doors are wheelchair accessible. There is plenty of room between tables to ensure wheelchairs and scooters have easy access.

We have accessible toilets in our Racing Car Barn, within the Cafe and in the softplay. All these toilets have emergency alarms and accessible sinks and hand dryers.
Assistance Dogs
We allow assistance dogs on the farm. These must be kept on a lead at all times.
First Aid
Many of our staff are highly trained in First Aid. Our First Aid point is in the Cafe where a member of the team will be able to help.
Staff
We pride ourselves on our staff family and the excellent customer service they offer. Many are trained in 'Welcoming All Customers' and 'Welcome Host'.

Our staff have also completed Autism awareness training with Nic at PANDAS. This training has allowed our staff to be more aware and understanding, it has especially helped staff who may not have experience in their personal lives.
Concession Rates
We are happy to offer reduced cost carer tickets for those supporting less able customers. We ask for a professional carers employment ID, PIP/DLA letter stating carer need or a carers allowance letter as carer evidence.
Sensory bags
Sensory bags are now available to hire from the gift shop - each will include ear defenders, sunglasses, a mask, a pressure bracelet and ring, a few fidget toys and a mini poppet. A deposit of £20 will be required and they can be purchased if needed.
Sensory Audit
We have partnered with PANDAS online (promoting acceptance of neuro divergence and support). They have done a full sensory audit of the farm and all our associated activities. Please click HERE to download the audit. We are happy to discuss any queries to help support you and get the most out of your visit, please contact us via email on info@whitehousefarmcentre.co.uk or call us on 01670789998.
Relaxed Sunday Morning Sessions
Join our relaxed Sunday morning session, this is a dedicated quiet hour for anyone to access and enjoy including autistic people and those with other sensory needs. This will allow visitors to experience our handling sessions that can sometimes be very busy later in the day, such as our critter encounter. After the quiet hour, you are welcome to stay for the rest of the day. We do understand that 9am is pretty early and not accessible to all, however due to the nature of our site it is really difficult to put this quiet session at any other point of the day. We have plenty of naturally quiet days, weekdays and weekends, and we are always happy to talk. If you can't access these sessions, give us a call and we can best advice when would be most suitable for you to come.
WelcoMe
We are a proud partner of WelcoMe. Please click the link below for venue information.
WelcoMe (wel-co.me) Coming Soon
A sensory room and a cool down room in a quiet area of the farm.

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We want all of our visitors to enjoy their day as much as possible so we must ask that when visiting Whitehouse Farm Centre all children aged 16 and under be supervised by a responsible adult/carer at all times.

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Freindly and fun sessions catered for children and young adults who have physical disabilities or learning difficulties.

For more information please contact bayley.milligan@northumberland.gov.uk

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Hello, my name is Victoria and I am one of the SEND leads within Central Northumberland Family Hubs I have worked here for 1 year and I love supporting families and sharing my knowledge with them. You will find me delivering PEEP AND at Newbiggin and Bedlington Family Hubs. I also do SEND Support and Play in Bedlington/Ashington hub

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Hi, my name is Molly and I am one of the SEND leads within Central Family Hubs. I have worked here for 3 plus years. I love helping children and their families feel supported and valued with their journey through their pathway and giving advice and guidence on common challanges families may face along the way. You'll find me supporting CALM Stay and Play sessions within Ashington Family Hub. I also deliver Empowering Parents and Carers Programme which is for parents/carers of families with additional needs from 0-25years. I love this group, I find it so rewarding and inspiring of the families to share their experiances and get to know other new families which I can help support alongside the way.