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We became a Thrive School this year and are excited to start seeing an impact across school.

Louisa Baker and Cassie Holmes are our Lead Thrive Practitioners.

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Occupational Therapy (Children) :: South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust

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Advice on supporting your child's mental health

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Advice on supporting your child's mental health

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There are lots of way to feel calmer. Try our breathing exercises, activities and games or watch a video to help let go of stress.

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Supporting your child's language development

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Supporting your child's language development

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Supporting your child's language development

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In-depth advice and guidance about autism and the challenges autistic people and their families face. Topics include what is autism, diagnosis, communication, mental health, education, and more.

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This is an autism social and awareness group aimed at adults, parents, young people, children and anyone affected by autism. When requesting to join please answer our questions to explain how you...

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In need of a chat, some guidance or support? Join us at Dobbies Garden Centre, Stratford-on-Avon, next session Wednesday 1st March. Call Helen on 07735 650019 or email helenbritton@entrustcarepartnership.org.uk to find out more.

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Entrust Care Partnership | To meet the needs of disabled children, young persons, adults, and their families and carers through the provision of short break activities, care, support, training, advice, and brokerage tailoring services which are bespoke to the individual.

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In need of a chat, some guidance or support? Join us at Dobbies Garden Centre, Stratford-on-Avon, next session Wednesday 1st March. Call Helen on 07735 650019 or email helenbritton@entrustcarepartnership.org.uk to find out more.

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Workshops can be delivered to Schools, workplaces, charities, parent groups. At the moment all workshops are delivered on Zoom and we can accommodate up to 30. Our recent commissions include delivering our 1 day interactive Connections Workshops to all healthcare professionals across Coventry and Warks and all healthcare professionals working for Wolverhampton CC. Feedback has been 100% positive with all 500 attendees thus far saying they would recommend the workshop to a colleague. Workshops are facilitated by professionals, parents and autistic advocates, all part of the Act for Autism Team. All workshops include the 3 C Pathway. A relational approach to supporting children and young people on the autistic spectrum.

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Workshops can be delivered to Schools, Workplaces, Charities, Parent groups. At the moment all workshops are delivered on Zoom and we can accommodate up to 30.

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We are able to deliver this course to a small group of parents over an 8 weeks period. It gives a fantastic insight into how the brain develops and how it can help you support your child and their changing behaviours. Email Kayley on senco2055@welearn365.com if you are interested.

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

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Book Click here to book Solihull Approach training or event. An exciting, well-established model that really works! Welcome to the SOLIHULLAPPROACH Are you a parent? Go to inourplace to discover our range of online courses. Go to inourplace We’re all about emotional health and wellbeing! Across the UK and internationally, the Solihull Approach supports mental

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warwickshire children and families tickets

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Warwickshire Children and Families is using Eventbrite to organize 19 upcoming events. Check out Warwickshire Children and Families's events, learn more, or contact this organizer.

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Support with Bowel and Bladder Difficulties

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Support with Bowel and Bladder Difficulties

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Speak to our Helpline advisors in another language

If English is not your first language, or you would just prefer to talk to us in another language, you can contact our Helpline and ask to speak to us through the interpreting service Language Line.

What is Language Line?

Language Line is an interpretation service. Their professional interpreters offer over 200 languages. Using this service enables us to have a three-way Helpline call with you.

Please note that you will need to contact us to request this service. If you are not able to make the call yourself, you can ask someone to do this on your behalf.

Find out how to arrange for a Language Line translator for your Helpline call with ERIC.

Confidentiality and personal information

Our Helpline is a private and confidential service. This means that what you choose to share with us remains confidential.

However in rare circumstances, for example if we have reason to believe that you or someone else is at risk of significant and immediate harm, ERIC has a duty to break confidentiality and pass on information to a relevant third party.

Our privacy policy has more information on how we keep your data safe.

All Helpline calls are recorded for training and monitoring purposes.

We're members of The Helplines Partnership and adhere to their good practice standards.

We encourage a supportive and respectful environment on the Helpline. Our advisors will always treat you with courtesy and consideration. Please treat them with kindness in return.

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The ERIC Helpline Team is here to support you if you are caring for a child who has a wee or poo problem. Contact us by phone or submit a webform enquiry.

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Child Mental Health Resources for Parents

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Child Mental Health Resources for Parents

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Learning about Children's Mental Health through Film

Nip in the Bud is regularly adding new FREE resources - short films and fact sheets - to raise mental health awareness among primary school staff, teacher trainees, anyone working with children, parents, carers and young people.

Early intervention is key, so the negative impacts of these conditions can be 'nipped in the bud' and so reduce the risk of them becoming entrenched. Our films cover Expert Information on different conditions, Real Life Experience, Emotional Wellbeing and Coping with the Aftermath of Covid.

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Nip in the Bud | Child Mental Health Resources for Parents and Teachers

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Nip in the Bud® works with mental health professionals of the highest standing to produce FREE short evidence-based films and fact sheets to help parents, educationalists and others working with children to recognise potential mental health conditions. The goal is to increase the prospects of early intervention and to avoid those conditions becoming more serious in later years.

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What is anxiety?

Anxiety is a feeling of worry, fear or unease. It is often experienced as a combination of thoughts, feelings and physical sensations in our body.

All children and young people feel worried sometimes. This is a normal, human reaction to things that feel stressful. For example, before an exam a young person may feel more worried than usual. But they will soon feel calmer after the stressful event has passed.

Anxiety becomes a problem when a child or young person feels stuck in it. When this happens, it can become an overwhelming experience. It can also affect their daily life and limit the things they feel able to do.

If your child or young person is struggling with anxiety, there are things you can do to help them. We've got advice to help you provide reassuring support, work on strategies together and find professional help if they need it.

What makes young people anxious?

A child or young person may be anxious for different reasons. Feeling a bit more worried sometimes is normal and there is not always a clear reason for this. But if your child is feeling unmanageable amounts of anxiety, this is often a sign that something in their life isn't quite right. They may need support to work out what the problem is.

This video by St Catherine's College is a useful way of understanding how stress and anxiety might build up in a person's life.

The following kinds of things can make some children and young people feel anxious:

finding school difficult or experiencing school anxiety

being around someone else who is very anxious, such as a parent

going through a significant change, such as moving house, parents separating or changing school

the death or illness of a close family member or friend

having lots of responsibility, for example caring for other people in their family

experiencing family stress around things like housing, money and debt

going through experiences in which they do not feel safe, such as being bullied, witnessing or experiencing abuse, or experiencing discrimination such as racism, homophobia or transphobia

not getting the right support or having their needs recognised if they have a neurodiverse condition such as autism or ADHD

Signs of anxiety in children and young people

Anxiety often affects our body, thoughts, feelings and behaviour. A child or young person who is struggling with anxiety may also behave differently or start using coping mechanisms to try to manage or avoid the anxiety. Below are some of the signs to look out for in children and young people.

Young people share their experience of anxiety.

How to help your child or young person when they feel panicky

In a very anxious moment, your child or young person may feel frightened or worried about having a panic attack. If this happens, focus on helping them to calm down and feel safe. The strategies below can help.

Breathe slowly and deeply together

Show/hide caption

A hand with five fingers spread. A pointed finger shows instructions for moving around each finger with the words 'Breathe in' as you move upwards, and 'Breathe out' as you move downwards.

Together, hold your hands out in front of you. Trace the outline of each of your fingers slowly with your other hand. Breathe in as you go up each finger, and out as you come down. Move and breathe as slowly as feels comfortable. Over time, encourage your child or young person to breathe out for one or two counts longer than they breathe in. This can help their body to relax.

If you would like to have a copy of this technique with you, you can download and print our resource.

Try using all five senses together

Show/hide caption

A picture of eyes, an ear, a hand, a nose and a mouth. Text reads next to each one: "5 things you can see. 4 things you can hear. 3 things you can touch. 2 things you can smell. 1 thing you can taste."

Connecting with what we can see, touch, hear, smell and taste is sometimes called 'grounding'. Doing grounding techniques can make us feel more present and bring us back into our body. This can reduce the intensity of our anxiety. Think together about what they can see, touch, hear, smell and taste.

For example, they might notice: five different colours; four soft things in the room; three sounds like cars going past the window or the noise of the washing machine; two things they can smell, like a scented candle or a piece of fruit; and one thing they find soothing to eat.

If you would like to have a copy of this technique with you, you can download and print our resource.

Remember, you don't need to do all of these things each time. Everyone is different, and it's about figuring out which of these strategies suits them best.

After they have calmed down, it can help to remind them that the panicky feeling did not last forever. They were able to do things that helped and the feeling stopped.

How to help your child or young person manage their anxiety

As well as managing panicky moments, your child or young person can also learn how to deal with their anxiety over the longer-term.

Many of these strategies are about helping them to understand how their anxiety works and what helps them. The more confident they feel about this, the more they will believe in their ability to cope. This can make anxiety feel more manageable.

As you think about strategies you might try, always remind yourself you're doing your best. It's natural to feel a bit overwhelmed sometimes. But remember, you do not need to try five different things at once. Have a look through these suggestions and pick one or two things you think might help.

There are some daily activities that are really important for our mental health. These are:

physical exercise, or some movement

sleeping well

eating healthily

drinking water

connecting and spending quality time with loved ones

They might sound simple, but they can have a big effect on our mood. Regular exercise can be particularly important because it can help to reduce feelings of anxiety in the body. It doesn't have to be much - walking or gentle yoga can help.

If you have a teenager or young adult, reducing alcohol and caffeinated drinks such as coffee can help. This is because they can trigger the physical symptoms of anxiety.

Some children and young people will need support from a mental health professional. They may benefit from a specific diagnosis or a treatment such as talking therapy. You can find more information about this below.

Young people tell us it also helps to...

think about something you're looking forward to

imagine your thoughts leaving your brain and floating off into the sky

keep yourself occupied

have time out

reflect on how you're feeling

talk to other people you trust

remind yourself you're not alone - odds are someone in your friendship circle has anxiety or depression too

Finding professional help

You might also find helpful...

Useful helplines and websites

While we take care to ensure that the organisations we signpost to provide high quality information and advice, we cannot take responsibility for any specific pieces of advice they may offer. We encourage parents and carers to always explore the website of a linked service or organisation to understand who they are and what support they offer before engaging with them.

Whether you love the page or think something is missing, we appreciate your feedback. It all helps us to support more young people with their mental health.

Please be aware that this form isn't a mental health support service. If your child is in crisis right now and you want to talk to someone urgently, find out who to contact on our urgent help page.

At YoungMinds we take your privacy seriously. If you'd like to read more about how we keep the information we collect safe, take a look at our privacy policy.

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Supporting A Child With Anxiety | Tips and Advice

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If your child or teenager is struggling with anxiety, we've got information about signs and treatment, and practical strategies you can do together.

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What is ADHD?

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects behaviour and concentration.

Children and young people with ADHD often seem unusually restless, impulsive or distracted. They may speak or act without thinking, struggle with organisation, find it hard to focus or appear to be always on the go. Some people with ADHD do not experience hyperactivity; this used to be called attention deficit disorder (ADD), though the term in no longer used officially.

ADHD is not a mental illness or a learning disability, though children and young people with ADHD may also have other conditions or experience mental health problems.

Living with ADHD can be very challenging, for children and young people as well as for their parents and carers. But the right diagnosis, treatment and support can make a big difference to a child's learning, life skills and relationships, as well as making family life easier. There is also lots you can do as a parent/carer to help your child manage the things they find difficult.

What are the most common symptoms of ADHD?

A child with ADHD may be:

easily distracted, finding it difficult to start or finish tasks

often unable to concentrate

often restless or fidgety

very talkative, often interrupting or blurting things out

impulsive, acting before considering consequences, prone to taking risks

easily angry or frustrated, struggling to deal with emotions

finding making or maintaining friendships difficult

disorganised, for instance often losing things or being late

lacking awareness of time

Every child or young person with ADHD is individual and they may not display all of these behaviours. And many of these traits and behaviours are typical in younger children, or can follow a traumatic experience - they don't necessarily mean your child has ADHD.

Age and gender can also affect how someone with ADHD behaves. This can make it harder to spot signs of ADHD, particularly in girls, who are more likely to be undiagnosed or wrongly diagnosed with other conditions.

Typically the symptoms of ADHD develop in early childhood and they may become particularly noticeable at times of significant change, such as starting or changing school.

What to do if you think your child might have ADHD

If your child frequently experiences some of these symptoms and it's affecting their day-to-day life, discuss your concerns with your child's GP. Before doing this, talk to your child's teacher and the school special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO) about what they have noticed.

The GP may want to refer your child for assessment, as ADHD can only be diagnosed by a specialist such as a child and adolescent psychiatrist or paediatrician.

Sometimes parents are reluctant to pursue assessment. They may be worried about 'labelling' their child or about stigma, or they may prefer to watch and wait. These feelings are normal. But parents and young people who do seek diagnosis can find it helps them access the right support; understand and manage challenges; and identify individual strengths.

We have more information about getting support from the GP, CAMHS or school in our guide.

ADHD diagnosis, support and treatment

ADHD assessment is usually done through the specialist Children and Young People's Mental Health Services, commonly referred to as CAMHS.

Diagnosis is most commonly made in childhood, and in the majority of cases, symptoms affecting daily life continue into adulthood.

There is no single, definitive test for ADHD. Specialists will base clinical diagnosis on a combination of observations of your child; discussions and questionnaires (with you and your child); and information from your child's school.

They will consider how long the symptoms have been present; their impact on your child's daily life; and whether they might be due to another condition. The NHS states that approximately 60-80% of children with ADHD have at least one other condition (such as autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia, anxiety or behaviour problems), and your child may be given more than one diagnosis.

Support and treatment options

You and your child should be offered support and advice to help manage ADHD in their day-to-day life.

ADHD can also be treated with medication and/or therapies. These should be discussed with you when your child is diagnosed, and are set out in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines on ADHD.

ADHD can be treated with therapies such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). For more information about therapy, see our parent guide to counselling and therapy.

There are a number of types of medication. These are not a cure for ADHD, and many children do not take them, but they can help manage some of the symptoms. Medication must be prescribed and overseen by a specialist.

You may also be offered ADHD -focussed parent training. This does not mean your parenting is somehow wrong. It is designed to provide support and specific strategies and skills to help you and your child thrive.

Jack is still perennially late, disorganised and impulsive; but he's also energetic, original and creative. The medication is helping him make the most of all of that.

What you can do to support your child with ADHD

Be explicit and consistent about unacceptable behaviour, such as violence. Set appropriate consequences and follow them through, but try to stay calm in the moment to avoid escalation. Dealing with challenging behaviour can be very hard, and our parent guide has helpful advice.

Plan the day so your child knows what to expect. Maintaining regular sleep patterns, physical activity and mealtimes can help your child. Some people find dietary change and/or certain supplements helpful. But the NHS states that there is no clinical evidence for this, and medical advice should be sought first. Our young person's guide has helpful advice on sleep problems.

The impact of ADHD on your child's mental health

Any child or young person can struggle with their mental health and wellbeing, whether or not they have ADHD. This might be caused by things like family change, bullying, exam stress or a traumatic event.

But having ADHD may also mean your child has extra challenges - such as social difficulties, struggling to manage their emotions or getting into trouble at school - that leave them more vulnerable to low self-esteem, anxiety or depression.

Children and young people with ADHD frequently have other developmental or mental health conditions and it is important to ensure they have the appropriate support for these.

As a parent there is a lot you can do to support your child with their wellbeing and mental health:

encourage your child to talk about how they are feeling with you. Our starting a conversation guide has ideas for keeping communication open

if you feel your child may have a mental health problem or another condition alongside ADHD, discuss your concerns with their GP or ADHD specialist.

Working with school if your child has ADHD

ADHD is a special education need (SEN), and it may be referred to as a specific learning difference (SpLD). Your child is entitled to appropriate support to help them thrive socially and educationally. This could include potential adjustments in certain situations, such as extra time or rest breaks for exams, movement breaks in lessons, written instructions for tasks and a seating plan that minimises distractions.

Discuss the diagnosis and needs with the school's SENCO, taking a list of your concerns and background information to the meeting.

Your child may be entitled to an education, health and care plan (EHC plan) which details the support they need and how it will be provided. (The National Autistic Society has helpful information about EHC plans.)

Good communication between you and school can be really helpful in ensuring your child thrives in education and meets their potential. Our parent guide to support has more advice on talking to school or college.

ADHD in teenagers and beyond

If your child is a teenager or young person, their needs and the support you give may well be different from when they were younger. They may like to read our young person's guide to ADHD and mental health. But there are still many ways you can help.

Looking after your own wellbeing

Parenting a child with ADHD can sometimes be isolating, upsetting or exhausting. Sometimes parents feel judged or blamed by others (unjustifiably as parenting does not cause ADHD). It is entirely understandable if you are finding things difficult.

It's important to recognise the impact the situation is having on you, and think about ways you can take care of yourself - including getting support from other people so that you can take some time off. It's okay to ask for help when you need it, and to share your worries with someone you trust. We have advice on looking after yourself as well as your child.

Our son's challenging behaviour with ADHD had an enormous impact on the whole family, as we and his brothers bore the brunt of his anger.

Where to get further support

If you would to speak to a professional adviser or find out more about how you can support your child, these organisations can help.
While we take care to ensure that the organisations we signpost to provide high quality information and advice, we cannot take responsibility for any specific pieces of advice they may offer. We encourage parents and carers to always explore the website of a linked service or organisation to understand who they are and what support they offer before engaging with them.

This page was reviewed in March 2022. It was created with parents and carers with lived experience of supporting their child or young person with ADHD. We will next review the page in 2025. YoungMinds is a proud member of PIF TICK - the UK's quality mark for trusted health information.
Whether you love the page or think something is missing, we appreciate your feedback. It all helps us to support more young people with their mental health.

Please be aware that this form isn't a mental health support service. If your child is in crisis right now and you want to talk to someone urgently, find out who to contact on our urgent help page.

At YoungMinds we take your privacy seriously. If you'd like to read more about how we keep the information we collect safe, take a look at our privacy policy.

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ADHD Support For Your Child | Parents Advice Guide

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If your child is struggling to manage their ADHD, read our tips on what you can do to support them, how to get a diagnosis and where to find help.

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Balloon Phonics: Three-Letter Words CVC Game

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Balloon Phonics is a phonics reading game for young children who are learning their letter sounds
and it can help them with blending sounds and segmenting words. It focuses on three letter (cvc) words.

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The crucial developmental stages that young children go through in the early years of formal schooling are monumental! As an early years teacher, every single activity prepared is planned for a reason, whether it is to develop fine motor skills, to encourage crossing the midline, or simply to allow children to develop their imagination and cognitive skills. Early years teachers don't just 'play' all day - every activity is planned to help a student's developmental journey. One of these crucial brain functions is a child's working memory.

This blog will highlight how to foster and develop a child's working memory through activities and games in the classroom environment.

What is a Child's Working Memory?

A child's working memory is their ability to retain small chunks of information long enough so that it can be utilised for another action. For example, in mental computation, if a child is working out 24-6, in their mind they head towards a number ending in zero (20). Then they need to remember that they have taken away 4 and know that in order to take away 6 they have to take away 2 more to get the answer of 18. The storing of the little chunks of information to get to the answer is evidence of their working memory in action.

And, it's not just mental maths that a child's working memory comes into play. A child's working memory plays an important part in other learning journeys including:

remembering multi-step instructions

developing listening skills

comprehending texts and develop comprehension skills

decoding unknown words, plus much more.

Shutterstock.com / ImageFlow

Games and Activities to Foster Working Memory in Kids

There are many learning opportunities that you can incorporate into your classroom environment to help support and develop your students' working memory. Here are some fantastic printable resources as well as simple games and activities that you can easily implement.

(1) Listening Activities

Developing listening skills in students is a critical skill for children to develop and learn! Planning listening activities in the classroom is a great way to help students develop their working memory. Especially if there is an extra layer to the listening activity, such as listening and then doing.

This listening activity, provides students with an image and then they are read a script. They need to decide if the description is accurate or not. Then, if it's not accurate, they must decide what is wrong and provide a new sentence verbally.

Here are some fantastic printable listening activities:

(2) Play Games like Memory or Snap!

Games like memory or snap aren't just good to help consolidate knowledge of new concepts taught. They are also good for a child's working memory. Children need to either remember where a particular card was for memory or remember what card was put down before their card for a simple game of Snap!

Who would have thought the simple game of Memory could provide such cognitive development for our little learners? Here's a cute Animal Memory Game.

Any flashcards that have matching objects can be used for these games - here are some printable flashcards that you may like to check out:

(3) Encourage Children to Visualise

Getting children to visualise something in their mind and then either drawing what they see or talking about what they see is another activity that will encourage them to activate their working memory! Reading out a descriptive sentence of an object is a great place to start.

Shutterstock.com / fizkes

You could also read a short story and have your students visualise the setting of the story and then draw the setting.

(4) Play a Game of 'What's Missing?'

I even remember playing this as a child and it never gets boring! The best news is that all you need are some fun items to place on a tray or even just a wooden chopping board and a tea towel.

Have students scan all the items and then place the tea towel over the top and have your students close their eyes. Take one item away and then have students lift the tea towel and try and remember what item or items have been taken away.

This is also great for vocabulary development - why not pick items that all start with the same sound to add an extra learning element to this fun activity.

(5) Play Simon Says with Multiple Instructions

Simon Says is an oldie, but a goodie! By including two or more instructions into the mix, children are having to use their working memory to remember the first action and then the second.

Our "Simon Says" Instruction Cards are a great printable resource - you can even mix and match to bring a different element to the game!

(6) Include Multi-Sensory Activities

We all know that all humans learn in different ways, so it's important to provide a variety of multi-sensory activities. This is one of my favourites as it's outdoors and the kids love it!

This game is played in pairs. Draw four dots of different colours around each of the students - making sure the colours mirror the other person. Player one jumps on the coloured dots in a pattern while player two watches. Then, when player one has stopped, player two must copy the exact same pattern! You could also do this using the game Twister.

(8) Play 'I went to the shops...'

This is a great game to challenge your students' listening and memory skills. One child starts off the shopping list by saying "I went to the shops today and bought..." something. The next child continues by saying the previous item and adding their own item! Continue around the class working through the alphabet and adding items to the list.

For older students, why not make the items topic-specific, such as items you'll find only in the rainforest?

Shutterstock.com / paulaphoto

These activities not only help students develop their working memory - but they also help with a raft of other skills.

Share your activity ideas in the comments section of this blog.

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Working Memory in Kids (Printable Resources and Activities)

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This blog will highlight how to foster and develop a child's working memory through activities and games in the classroom environment.

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Warwickshire MIND Community Autism support.

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Warwickshire MIND Community Autism support.

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Community Autism Support Service CASS - Autism support across Coventry and Warwickshire

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If you live in Coventry or Warwickshire with a diagnosis of autism, or are awaiting a diagnosis, we may be able to help you, your parents or your carer.

You can start by calling the Navigation Team and ask about available support. Our team is made up of autistic individuals and those with lived experience, including parents or carers of autistic individuals.

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Home - Community Autism Support Service CASS

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Welcome to the Community Autism Support Service or CASS for Coventry and Warwickshire.

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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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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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special educational needs and disability

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Find all of Warwickshire's regional resources here.

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Introduction to the Information Advice and Support Service.

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Introduction to the Information Advice and Support Service.

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A short clip from the Department for Education to help children and young people with SEND and their parents learn about the service and support on offer to them from their local 'Information Advice and Support Service' and how a local IASS team can be contacted.

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Introduction to the Information Advice and Support Service

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Warwickshire Survey for SEND for parents and Carers

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Warwickshire Survey for SEND for parents and Carers

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https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/WPCV2022Survey/

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Useful Visuals to help children get back into the routine of school.

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Useful Visuals to help children get back into the routine of school.

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Child & Adolescent Mental Health & Wellbeing Free Online Trainings Growtherapy World is constantly searching the world for free trainings to share with you so you can spend more time learning and less time hunting and gathering.

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The Harbour is a Resource Provision within Studley Infants’ School that meets the needs of children who are unable to access the curriculum in a mainstream class owing to their complex needs namely Communication and Interaction difficulties including Autism.

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We appear to be living in some interesting times!

This page is providing a bank of resources helpful for those looking for activities to do whilst staying home and staying safe.

The resources are loosely grouped into those aimed at people with additional educational needs, those specific to learning about COVID 19 and the changes it is implementing in our lives and those aimed at students who attend mainstream schools.

I have vetted the resources to ensure all are free, some are usually subscription services but do not appear to be asking for credit card details - of course I am only human so do still assess for yourself, I can make mistakes.

For training options from The Sensory Projects click here and for purchasable resources click here.

Picture credit Gerd Altmann

Everyone

Make a rainbow and hang it in your window.

Go for a walk and look for other rainbows hanging in windows. People nationwide are sharing them as signs of hope.

Inclusive resources
Government list of free educational resources, including a set for special school students.

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COVID19 educational resources - The Sensory Projects

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We appear to be living in some interesting times! This page is providing a bank of resources helpful for those looking for activities to do whilst staying home and staying safe.

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Best-selling children's stories performed in British Sign Language.

Download the free app from iTunes, get your free book and visit the bookstore:

Books from just 99p

Increase your child's vocabulary with the BSL dictionary

Enhance learning with two interactive language games

Customise your experience; sign language, subtitles and narration can be turned on and off as your needs change

Why Signed Stories?

"The literacy work you are doing will be life changing for deaf children and their families."

"I downloaded every single story this morning. I am not typically an app buyer...very happy to see this resource come available. I'll be ready & waiting for your next releases."

"Downloaded & tested last night, loved The Billy Goats Gruff free story & the recap game on key vocabulary."

"It is wonderful to have exposure to good usage of sign language as well as a role model for my daughter."

Watch Signed Stories today...

Your favourite stories

Classic fairytales, folktales, modern picture books, songs and nursery rhymes

Free book!

Download 'Three Billy Goats Gruff' for free

Watch on PlayKids

Watch on Apple and Android devices, and on smart TVs

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British Sign Language - ITV Signed Stories

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Download the free app from iTunes, get your free book and visit the bookstore: Books from just 99p Increase your child's vocabulary with the BSL dictionary Enhance learning with two interactive language games Customise your experience; sign language, subtitles and narration can be turned on and off as your needs change "The literacy work you are doing will be life changing for deaf children and their families."

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Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) – Admissions to specialist settings – Warwickshire County Council

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Many children with SEND will be able to be educated in mainstream school. These schools are expected to take reasonable steps within the funding they receive to do this.

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Olaf is a three-year-old fox red Labrador therapist and a published author. He was invited to speak at the Cheltenham Literature Festival 2023. Olaf is a family pet registered with the Pets As Therapy (PAT) Charity. His job is to make people smile when, with his human mum (a specialist teacher and mindfulness coach), he visits hospitals and schools.

Every Thursday morning, Olaf goes to Battledown Special School. He enjoys his visits so much that he set his second book there! Team Olaf to the Rescue is a heartwarming story about his classroom adventures (it very cleverly rhymes!). With help from his merry band of canine mates, Olaf saves the school's Christmas celebrations and gives the children a party they will never forget. All the dogs in Team Olaf are Olaf's real friends whom he sees every day on his walks. They all play a vital role in the story, showing kindness, creativity, and bravery. Fun activities are added to stimulate the reader's imagination and memory.

Battledown School uses Makaton as part of their teaching and learning, so we included their symbols in the book to enable more of Olaf's human friends to enjoy it. We were delighted Makaton wanted to be involved in our project and are grateful to the Team for their expertise and patience. They provided symbols for the concepts/story words and explained where to place them on the page, so that the story makes sense to the Makaton reader.

Olaf's first book, Mr. Olaf the Therapist, is a mindfulness scrapbook, diarying his experiences in a mainstream school and his work in the NHS. As a PAT dog, Olaf visits Cheltenham General Hospital where he is a valued member of the Knightsbridge (Gastric) and Critical Care Teams. He has been doing this for over two years but is still banned from the staff rooms because of the doughnuts... It is a privilege and humbling to be welcomed so warmly by patients, their families, and Olaf's NHS colleagues. Olaf also shares his lifestyle wisdom with self-care activities and mindfulness questions to help us reflect on our own work/life balance.

Olaf gives all the proceeds from his books to the Pets as Therapy charity. He attends promotional PAT events e.g., Crufts and Goodwuff.

For more information about PAT and/or to buy Olaf's books, please visit Pets as Therapy.

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Makaton is a unique language programme that uses symbols, signs and speech to enable people to communicate. It supports the development of essential communication skills such as attention and listening, comprehension, memory, recall and organisation

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STARS (Studley Autism Reachout and Support) | Enjoyably Studley

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We are delighted to announce the launch of Start with Art - a new way to develop fine motor and pre-writing skills in children. Start with Art is suitable for resource teachers or therapists supporting children with additional needs and as a class programme to be used alongside traditional handwriting teaching methods. The idea for Start with Art came from my work as an Occupational Therapist working with children who were struggling with handwriting and were reluctant to practice letter formation. Through engaging in fun art activities, they became motivated to cut, colour and draw and were then able to progress easily on to letters when they were developmentally ready.

The question of when a child is developmentally ready for handwriting is one that is open to debate. However, from my experience as an Occupational Therapist and through research into the benefits of unstructured play, the evidence shows that children who begin handwriting (and formal education in general) later tend to perform better. Accurate handwriting requires good muscle control and stability within the hand and arm to hold and control the pencil, good hand-eye coordination to coordinate movement of the hand across the page and on the line, good spatial awareness to know the correct size and shape of the letters and finally an ability to recognize and draw basic shapes. All of these skills are developed in children through practice and continue to develop up until the age of 7! League tables and international statistics put pressure on schools and governments to perform in academic subjects such as reading, maths and science. In response to this pressure, some countries react by introducing academic subjects earlier and earlier in the curriculum assuming that if children learn a skill younger, they will be better at it. Yet, in examining results for European countries within international league tables ( https://www.oecd.org/pisa/pisa-2015-results-in-focus.pdf) the Scandinavian countries (in particular Finland) stand out for consistently high performance. These countries have in common that they begin formal education later (6 or 7) compared with 4 or 5 in the UK and have a strong emphasis on play and children spending time outdoors in the early years. Although there are numerous factors that may explain a countries success in academic league tables (teacher training, additional supports for struggling students, demographics of the population etc), it is significant, in my opinion that formal teaching does not begin until later in childhood (as late as 7 in Finland). With regard to handwriting and fine motor skills this is especially important:

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Start with Art - developing handwriting skills without writing letters!

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We are delighted to announce the launch of Start with Art - a new way to develop fine motor and pre-writing skills in children. Start with Art is suitable for resource teachers or therapists supporting children with additional needs and as a class programme to be used alongside traditional handwriting teaching methods.

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This is something we use in school to help children identify how they are feeling and what that feeling looks like. It then helps us to give them strategies to cope with that feeling and channel in the right way.

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The Facts

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In light of the evolving situation around coronavirus (COVID-19), some teachers may be looking for activities to boost pupils' wellbeing. The ideas below can be helpful for all pupils, but particularly if they are finding changes unsettling.

Some of these activities may need to be adapted in line with current government guidance around non-essential contact. Unless otherwise stated, all the options below have ideas for both primary and secondary age groups.

Please visit our Coronavirus: Updates page for our latest advice and guidance for schools, parents and carers on supporting children and young people's mental health.

Spread a little kindness

A range of short activities to explore kindness. Originally published for Children's Mental Health Week 2017.

Download (PDF 422KB)

News & blogs

The Duchess of Cambridge talks to teachers during Children's Mental Health Week

The Duchess of Cambridge spoke with teachers from Ribbon Academy in County Durham about supporting children in the pandemic.

Read More

Professor Jason Leitch chats to pupils at Place2Be partner school

Professor Jason Leitch, National Clinical Director of the Scottish Government spoke to pupils at Oakwood Primary School.

Read more

A message from Deputy First Minister of Scotland

John Swinney, Deputy First Minister of Scotland, shares his thoughts for Children's Mental Health Week.

Read more

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Coronavirus: wellbeing activity ideas for schools

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In light of the evolving situation around coronavirus (COVID-19), some teachers may be looking for activities to boost pupils' wellbeing. Have a look at these ideas, which can be helpful for all pupils, but particularly if they are finding changes unsettling.

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Lots of free courses and support

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Due to precautions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, all face-to-face classes are currently suspended.

During this period we are continuing to support our existing learners, and also offering a new range of online learning opportunities. Please use the Find a Course button below to browse and book your place.

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Adult and Community Learning (ACL) - Warwickshire County Council

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Due to precautions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, all face-to-face classes are currently suspended. During this period we are continuing to support our existing learners, and also offering a new range of online learning opportunities. Please use the Find a Course button below to browse and book your place.

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Guidance on the special educational needs and disability (SEND) system for children and young people aged 0 to 25, from 1 September 2014.

Applies to England

Documents

Details

This statutory code contains:

details of legal requirements that you must follow without exception

statutory guidance that you must follow by law unless there's a good reason not to

It explains the duties of local authorities, health bodies, schools and colleges to provide for those with special educational needs under part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014.

The code, which applies to England, is for:

headteachers and principals

governing bodies

school and college staff

special educational needs (SEN) co-ordinators

early years providers

other education settings

local authorities

health and social services staff

Other SEND guides are also available.

Thank you for your feedback

Report a problem with this page

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Guidance on the special educational needs and disability (SEND) system for children and young people aged 0 to 25, from 1 September 2014.

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A little guide to some of the acronyms in SEND.

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special educational needs and disability

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Find all of Warwickshire's regional resources here.

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Here is our very own Padlet page for SEND at Studley Infants' School.
I will try and share any useful information and support I come across on here with you.

My name is Kayley Ship and I am the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities co-ordinator at Studley.
My email is senco2055@welearn365.com

If you need any support, please do not hesitate to contact us.

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Special Needs Kids, Childrens Disability Products, information and services

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Special Needs Kids, Childrens Disability Products, information and services

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Information on products and services for special needs kids, events and campaigns, disability issues, support groups, respite care, clothing, equipment, toys, leisure activities and days out, holidays, where to go for help and advice, and much more. Want to borrow money for the short term?

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SEND Local Offer - Warwickshire County Council

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Warwickshire County Council provide a range of public services across the Warwickshire area.

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The Thrive Approach® is appropriate for anyone working with children and young people - such as in education (early years settings through to primary schools, secondary schools, special schools and pupil referral units), social care, healthcare, local authorities and community groups, as well as for parents and carers.

Based on established neuroscience, attachment theory and child development, the Thrive Approach provides training and an online profiling and action-planning tool to equip adults with the knowledge, insights and resources needed to develop the relationships that help children and young people to flourish and learn.

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Home - The Thrive Approach to social and emotional wellbeing for children and young people

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The Thrive Approach® is appropriate for anyone working with children and young people - such as in education (early years settings through to primary schools, secondary schools, special schools and pupil referral units), social care, healthcare, local authorities and community groups, as well as for parents and carers.

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Warwickshire SENDIAS (Special Education Needs Information Advice and Support Services) supports parents and carers of all Warwickshire children with special educational needs and disabilities, from 0 - 25 years of age. It is a free, confidential and impartial service for parents and carers, children and young people up to 25 years. Warwickshire SENDIAS offers independent support for parents and families who have children and young people with a SEND. We also provide this independent advice directly to young peoples aged 16 to 25 years with a SEND.

Our experienced team of local advisors offers impartial, confidential advice and support on all matters relating to SEND. Our aim is to enable you to make informed decisions.

Find our latest newsletter here

Find our annual report here

How does the service work?

The type and range of support offered includes:

Information regarding the local offer, local policy and SEN/disability law from independently trained staff;

Advice for parents/carers, children and young people on gathering, understanding and interpreting information and applying it to their own situation;

Personalisation of personal budgets;

Information on the county council's processes for resolving disagreements, its complaints procedures and means of redress;

Signposting children, young people and parents to alternative and additional sources of local and national information, advice and support;

Who is the service for?

The service is for parents who have a child/children up to the age of 25 that has/have Special Educational Needs and young people aged 16-25 who have Special Educational Needs. young people 16 and over can access the service in their own right or with the support of their parents.

How much does it cost?

This service is free.

To speak to a member of our team please call 024 7636 6054, alternatively you can e-mail [email protected] or contact us via post to KIDS, Exhall Grange Specialist School, Easter Way, Off Pro Logis Park, Coventry CV7 9JG.

Want to volunteer? If you are interested in volunteering with us send us an email to let us know.

For local vacancies, visit our careers website

Warwickshire's Local Offer for SEND brings together information about education, health and care services for children and young people from 0 to 25 with special educational needs and disabilities. It can be accessed here:

Follow us on social media:
Events
PAN disability football - fantastic opportunity for all abilities

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special educational needs and disability

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Warwickshire SENDIAS (Special Education Needs Information Advice and Support Services) supports parents and carers of all Warwickshire children with special educational needs and disabilities, from 0 - 25 years of age. It is a free, confidential and impartial service for parents and carers, children and young people up to 25 years.

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https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/acl