Information, Advice and Support - IAS Service for Windsor and Maidenhead

Shared from I.P.S.E.A
School suspensions and exclusions can often be a symptom of unmet or unidentified need for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
Following new guidance from the Department of Education, our website has been updated regarding the suspension and permanent exclusion of pupils from local authority maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units: https://www.ipsea.org.uk/.../category/exclusion-from-school
Last year, we saw a 14% increase in the number of families who contacted IPSEA because their child or young person had been excluded or suspended from school.
If you need advice about your child's legal rights, please contact our advice services: https://www.ipsea.org.uk/Pages/Category/service-overview

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Shared from - For families with disabled children

Traveling by train this summer? 🚆🚂
If you or your child needs extra support, Passenger Assist is a free service available across the National Rail network.
You can request assistance for your journey, including:
🚉 Help navigating the station
🚆 Support getting on and off the train
🦽 A boarding ramp, where needed
🔄 Help changing trains
🧳 Assistance with carrying luggage (subject to luggage limits)
💚 Support for people with non-visible disabilities
If your journey involves more than one train company, any train company can arrange assistance for your entire journey, making it easier to travel with confidence.
While it's best to book in advance, train companies now accept Passenger Assist booking requests up to two hours before your journey. If you haven't booked, you can still ask for help when you arrive at the station – staff will do their best to assist you.
Find out more about Passenger Assist, how it works and how to book on the National Rail website: https://www.facebook.com/nationalrailenq?locale=en_GB

National Rail National Rail is your support team for rail travel around Great Britain. Plan your journey, find cheaper fares and get discounted attraction entry.

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GEMS Virtual Coffee Morning, where we will be joined by Creative Courage Coaching to explore how we can help children develop confidence, resilience, and self-belief.

📅 Date: Tuesday 29 September
🕛 Time: 12:00pm – 1:00pm
💻 Location: Online via Teams
🎟️ Spaces: Limited to 25 families

Creative Courage Coaching is passionate about helping children build unshakeable confidence, resilience, and self-belief for life. This coffee morning is a fantastic opportunity to learn more about their approach, hear practical ideas that can support your child, and ask any questions you may have in a relaxed and informal setting.

Whether your child has a diagnosis of autism or ADHD, is currently on the assessment pathway, or is suspected to be neurodivergent, you are very welcome to attend.

This session is available to families who:
• Live in East Berkshire, or
• Are registered with a GP in East Berkshire,
• And have a child who is autistic or has ADHD (diagnosed, on the pathway, or suspected).

If you would like to book a place, simply reply to this email or contact us at [email protected] with the following information.

Your Full Name:
Your email address:
Local authority: Slough/RBWM/Bracknell
Childs condition: Autism/ADHD/BOTH
Childs pathway: suspected/waiting assessment/diagnosed.

As spaces are limited to 25 attendees, we recommend booking early to avoid disappointment.

GEMS workshops are now available to book for the autumn term!
Latest additions include:

The popular 3-Part Autism Course, covering:
• Understanding autism
• Sensory differences, anxiety and behaviour
• Practical strategies to support your child
• An overview of the assessment process
• Signposting to further support and resources

Sleep and Autism & ADHD, exploring:
• Children's sleep cycles and sleep needs
• Common reasons for difficulties settling and night waking
• Practical strategies to reduce stress around sleep
• Tips to help your child settle to sleep and stay asleep

You can view all of our upcoming workshops and book your place here:
https://www.gems4health.com/workshops/

Department for Education are holding consutation events on EOTAS - you can book a free place here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/cc/eotas-online-events

EOTAS Online Events This is a collection of the EOTAS Online Events. All SEND Reform: education other than at school - proposals and consultation events will cover the same content and questions so please only sign up once.

Special Educational Needs and Disability Register

The Special Educational Needs and Disability Register is a list of children and young people from the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead (RBWM) who have special educational needs or a disability. All local areas must have a register by law, but being a part of it is voluntary. Parents, carers or guardians can register on behalf of a child or young person. Young people can register independently if they are over the age of 13. To be added onto the register, the young person must live in RBWM and be under 25 years of age.

The SEND Register helps the borough support children and young people with disabilities or complex needs by:
• Giving you relevant information, advice and support that is targeted directly to your child or young person's needs.
• Giving you information from other agencies which specialise in working with children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities.
It also provides the following benefits:
• The register accurately reflects the range of disabilities and special needs of the resident population aged 0 to 25 years.
• Having a better understanding of your needs, the register helps us to plan services for the future of all children and young people with special needs.

To register, please complete the SEND Register online form and send a proof of diagnosis to: [email protected]

Coffee morning for those living with or supporting others with multiple sclerosis (MS)

A two-hour event every Thursday for individuals with MS as well as families and carers supporting people with MS. There is an occasional bingo event or quiz. This is an official MS Society event and the Society covers the cost of tea, coffee and biscuits.

Hosted by the MS Society https://www.mssociety.org.uk/support-and-community/near-me/east-berkshire-group/maidenhead-thursday-coffee-morning

Braywick Nursery, 41 Braywick Road, Maidenhead SL6 1DX

Weekly on Thursdays

10.30am to 12.30pm

Maidenhead Thursday coffee morning Home Support and community Near me East Berkshire Group Maidenhead Thursday coffee morning Add bookmark Run by MS Society Maidenhead Thursday coffee morning A two-hour event every Thursday for pwMS and carers. Coffee, tea and biscuits are provided. There is an occasional bingo event or quiz. This is...

Witherslack Group have put together a Day to day SEN Support pack . You can access it via: https://www.witherslackgroup.co.uk/campaigns/day-to-day-support-pack/