BACKGROUND
Making Sense of it All
Our parent-carer guide, Making Sense of It All, is often referred to as the “parent-carer Bible” by West Sussex parents. Designed to inform and empower parents of children with SEND from birth through to adulthood, covering a range of subjects including diagnosis, benefits & money matters, getting support for your child at school, accessing support from health and social care and transition to adult life. It also contains a directory of over 400 local and national organisations and an extensive jargon buster.
The books is available to order FREE (plus postage and packing), or to download in eBook format from our Guide page.
Fact Sheets
We have published a diverse and growing series of localised fact sheets on childhood disabilities and rare syndromes that combine clinical information on a condition with local information on relevant projects, services and support. We have also published a range of fact sheets on miscellaneous subjects that again combine clinical information with local information on relevant projects and services. Please visit our fact sheets page for further information.
Training Workshops
We deliver a range of high quality, half-day workshops for parent-carers on a wide variety of subjects including:
- Anxiety in children
- ADHD, Autism and associated subjects
- Behaviours that challenge in younger children and adolescents
- DLA, PIP and other benefits
- EHCP and support at school
- Food issues
- Wellbeing for parent-carers
- Makaton
- Sensory processing differences
- Transition to Secondary School
ALL workshops are FREE OF CHARGE and delivered online via zoom. For more information please visit our Training page.
The SEND Foundation Course
This course has been designed to provide an introduction on all the key issues parent-carers will encounter as their children grow and develop. It aims to empower parents of children undergoing or who have recently undergone diagnosis but is helpful to any parents who feel they need an overview of the following subjects and issues:
- Coming to terms with and understanding your child’s diagnosis
- Where to go for information and advice
- Handling stress and building resilience
- Gaining support from other parent-carers
- Accessing benefits and financial support
- Getting support for your child at school
- Accessing support through health & social care
- Accessing other key services and opportunities in West Sussex
The course is delivered online via Zoom. For further information and to book your place please visit our Training page.
Face-2-Face Befriending
This project provides volunteer based befriending and emotional support from an experienced and specially trained parent-carer to parents of children who are undergoing or have recently undergone diagnosis. Our befrienders undergo intensive training, are DBS checked and provided with ongoing professional support and supervision. Befriending can be delivered in person or via phone or Zoom. For further information on the project please visit our Face-2-Face page.
Umbrellas Parent Support Group
We deliver monthly support groups for parent-carers of children with SEND based in Burgess Hill, Chichester, Horsham, Littlehampton, Shoreham and Worthing, plus an online group that meets via Zoom. The groups are vital in helping isolated parents make connections with other parents in a similar situation. It also helps in signposting parents to other relevant projects and services. For further information on our support groups please visit the Umbrellas page.
Facebook Group
Reaching Families Facebook support group is the largest of its kind in West Sussex, an engaging and supportive forum of over 5,000 parent-carers providing hints, tips, discussion and advice on an array of subjects including benefits, education and schools, mental health and wellbeing and specific disabilities. Our group is also a must for up-to-date information, articles and news on SEND issues both locally and nationally. To find out more visit our Facebook page, or to join our group now please click the blue button.