Week of SEND 2024

Presentation by - Claire & Claire
Children’s Therapy wanted to extend the early intervention provision for children with Down’s Syndrome. Through co-production, a monthly group for babies and children aged 6 months to 4 years & their families was created.

Initially, Children’s Therapy liaised with the Lincolnshire Down’s Syndrome Support Group (LDSSG) and its members to create several focus groups. Feedback from this process supported the design of the groups to suit the families.

The groups, based in Children’s Centres for a more relaxed feel, allow families to meet with representatives from the three therapies (Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy) each month.
Their child’s development and next steps to work on are discussed. Changes have been made along the way in response to additional feedback from the current attendees. The groups have given the parents/carers confidence in supporting their child and have allowed for peer support as well as guidance from professionals. Each month, an early year’s theme is used to introduce children and parents to a range of information including: evidence-based research and programmes to support children with Down Syndrome, vocabulary and Makaton signs, exercises to support fine and gross motor skills.

Presentation by - Elaine
Family Fund is the UK's largest grant-making charity for families raising a disabled or seriously ill child or young person, on a low income. Their grants bring practical and essential help that is often a lifeline to a family such as washing machines, fridges, bedding, specialist toys and much needed family breaks.
They also offer free digital skills support to families living in the UK who are raising a disabled child. This includes online skills workshops for parents, creative workshops for children, eLearning courses to help check benefits, save on household bills, and more.

They are a registered charity and the UK's largest provider of grants to families living on low incomes who are raising disabled or seriously ill children.

To find out more or to apply for a grant see contact details:-

Presentation by - Julie
Healthwatch Lincolnshire is an Independent Champion for patients with any concerns relating to Health or Social Care.

All comments; positive or negative are collated and sent to the providers (no patient details are included.)

They also offer a signposting service should you not be aware of what to do, or where to go.

Presentation by - Rebecca
Working with audiences at the Hub; in schools; and community and care settings across the District and County, the Hub dance programme provides creative opportunities for participation and performance on a regular basis, ensuring a varied high quality mix of contemporary offerings that are inclusive, accessible, affordable and always forward thinking.

The Dance & Disabilities programme aims to give young people and adults with disabilities an opportunity to enjoy dance in a fun and safe environment, supporting well-being and allowing them to feel more empowered in their communities.

Unify Youth Dance classes are relaxed, inclusive, and fun creative dance sessions for young people with learning disabilities, autism and/or physical disabilities aged between 10-24yrs.
The sessions focus on developing dancers to become more confident in dance by experimenting with different ways of moving through prop explorations and creative tasks.

Presentation by - Lizzie
Lincolnshire County Council's Children with Disabilities Team are part of the Special Education Need and Disability Service.

The social work team provides a statutory service for children and young people with a severe and profound disability.

Services may be available to those that are eligible after being subject of a social care assessment.

Presentation by - Ann
Portage is a scheme for teaching pre-school children with special educational needs, new and useful skills in their own homes. The basis of Portage is weekly home visiting, with the Portage worker and the parents/carers working together.

The Portage Home Visitor works with parents in their home because young children initially learn best in the security of their own home with the people who know them. The Portage Home Visitor visits the family at home weekly or fortnightly and plans activities with the parents/carers.
Every activity is written down, as is every success. Each child’s progress is reviewed at least every three months and the need for ongoing Portage is discussed.

Portage is a home visiting educational service for pre-school children with special educational needs. These may be pre-school children who have learning difficulties, delays in their development and/or physical difficulties. The Portage Teams aim to help families by working with them in their home, helping them to meet the needs of their child.

Children can be referred from birth by parents/carers or any agency involved with the child such as health visitors, general practitioners, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, educational psychologists, physiotherapists, paediatricians etc.
Each area has its own portage team.

Presentation by - Sally
The Lincolnshire Young Carers Service supports young carers up to the age of 19.

Young Carers may be helping and supporting a family member or friend due to disability, mental ill-health, illness or substance misuse.

A young carer may be providing support with:

• Cooking, housework and shopping
• Physical care, such as helping someone in and out of bed
• Personal care, such as assistance with dressing, toileting and administering medication
• Collecting prescriptions and arranging GP or hospital appointments
• Looking after brothers or sisters
• Helping with communication
• Managing the family budget
• Emotional support

Presentation by - Samantha (working carers)
The Lincolnshire Carers Service is commissioned by Lincolnshire County Council and delivered in partnership with the Care & Wellbeing Hub and Carers First.
The Care & Wellbeing Hub provides the first point of contact for the Lincolnshire Carers Service, providing information, advice, and support to unpaid carers over the telephone, and Carers First work directly with carers in local communities across Lincolnshire so they can live their lives to the fullest.
They offer services to support carers at every stage of their caring journey allowing them to find the balance they wish to achieve in their lives.
They have friendly, knowledgeable staff to offer advice, guidance and information. Their support can differ and considers what's important to the carer.

Presentation by - Lizzie
Short Breaks are for families living in Lincolnshire who have a child or young person with a disability and/ or sensory impairment.

The Short breaks eligibility criteria andinformation on how to access them are explained in the short breaks statement.

For more information please see the web link

Presentation by - Gordon
PAACT is a Lincolnshire based support group, run by parents of Autistic children. They provide support for parents, guardians and carers with children and young adults who have an Autistic Spectrum Condition and/or associated neurodivergent conditions, who suspect, are in the process of a diagnosis, or have a diagnosis.
They are a friendly, informal, non-judgemental support group, aiming to help family, friends, and professionals to access advice, support, signposting, training, and activities within Lincolnshire. There is no requirement for a formal diagnosis to access their help and support. They are run solely by volunteers and each committee member has a child/young adult with an Autistic Spectrum Condition and associated neurodivergent conditions.
PAACT offers:
• Twice monthly support meetings (daytime and evening) in Lincoln, and every other month (daytime) in Gainsborough
• An exclusive monthly swimming session (3rd Saturday of the month) at Wragby Swimming pool
• A closed Facebook and email group for support and advice
• Various activities throughout the school holidays for paid members, which are mainly exclusive only to PAACT and at a subsidised price
• Workshops/training run by Andrew Whitehouse from People First Education
• Access to ASDAN learning for those who are home educating or wanting to teach practical life skills through ASDAN's "Life Skills Challenge programme" and various "Short Courses", all designed to foster personal, social, and work-related skills, enabling learners to discover, develop and make full use of their abilities
• Monthly subscription to "paactfamily.com", a membership site where you will get short videos on everything Neurodiverse, from a wide range of speakers, weekly Q&A live sessions, monthly workshops or talks from the likes of Geoff Evans, Andrew Whitehouse, Olga Bogdashina and so on. They will also be having a podcast covering a wide range of subjects and speakers, which all involved will have lived experience from having a diagnosis to being a family member or awaiting a diagnosis
• Annual Family Membership (to access activities) is and annual Professional Membership is £20