Our Voice

This week the Local Authority are running a wide range of 'Moving on' events aimed at the parents of children in year 9 and above, exploring the issues around transition to adulthood. 

See the Moving on booklet here for information about the moving on process and details of this week's events.

The events planned are: 

Tuesday 12th October

• Understanding Transition - all you need to know about the process
• The Local offer and MyLife and how to navigate them
• The Mental Capacity Act and how it relates to young people with SEND
• My transition - hear from parents and young people about their transition experience (evening session 7-9 pm join here) 

Wednesday 13th October 

• Meet Send Services and find out about the Preparing for Adulthood outcomes and the process for moving to college 10 - 11 am - join here.
• How to support young people with behaviours of concern through transition 11 am - 12 noon join here
• Adult Social Care Personal Budgets 12 noon to 2 pm join here
• Direct Payments in Adult Social Care and Employing your own staff 6-8 pm join here

 Thursday 14th October 

• Health in Transition 10 - 11 am join here
• Vaccinations and making decisions 2- 3 pm join here

Friday 15th October 

• Ask the Parent Reps - a chance to talk to other parents about transition (with Our Voice and Carer to Carer) 11.30 - 12.30 join here
• Meet SEN services and find out about the Preparing for Adulthood outcomes and the process for moving to college 1-2 pm join here

Monday 18th October 

• Understanding Transition - all you need to know about the transition process (evening session) 7-9 pm join here

Tuesday 19th October 

• Transition surgery - ask the professionals anything you didn't understand from transition week. 11 am to 12 noon join here

The Local Authority has now published their booklet setting out the play schemes and activities for children with additional needs for the October 21 half-term. 

See the booklet here.

Please click here to view the latest information booklet for parents that gives guidance on the Secondary Transfer Process for children with Special Educational Needs and / or a disability (SEND) in Enfield. 

Contact will be running a series of parent workshops over the summer covering sleep, encouraging positive behaviour, money and handling meetings. 

See flyer here for full details and booking links.

The sessions will be: 

Understanding Sleep - 18th August

Encouraging Positive Behaviour - 19th August 

Money Matters - 24th August 

Handling Meetings - 25th August 

Further to our Short Breaks and play and leisure videoconference last week, you can see the Q&A document from this session here.

Following our videoconference last week on supporting your child with anxiety and mental health issues: 

• You can see the Presentation from the videoconference here.
• You can see the Q&A from the session, along with links to additional resources here.
• Some additional resources and sources of support can be found here.
• Information about a set of free web-based materials for children and young people with complex needs and/or learning disabilities here

The Summer Uni are offering a programme of activities for young people aged 11 - 25 (up to 19 for young people without SEND). 

You can see the details of the 'Together Unlocked' programme here and register here

The programme includes mainstream activities which should be suitable for young people with learning difficulties or minor disabilities (email the team at SUregistration@enfield.gov.uk to discuss your child's additional support needs) as well as some activities which are specifically for children with SEND. The SEND specific sessions are: 

Strike Back - Martial Arts Workshops - a chance to try Kung Fu, Tai Chi, Chi Kung and meditation workshops plus mindfulness workshops to help improve mental wellbeing. Taking place at Ponders End Youth Centre 10 am to 1 pm on Monday 26th and Wednesday 28th July, Monday 2nd and Wednesday 4th August, Monday 9th and Wednesday 11th August and Wednesday 25th August. 

Dance 4 Fun - a fun dance course teaching new skills, techniques and moves in routines which will be performed to parents and friends at the end of the week - Wednesday 4th and Friday 6th August 10 am to 1 pm venue tbc. 

Drama for all - these fun drama workshops take a new look at mindfulness, giving young people tools to manage everyday challenges though acting and improvisations. Wednesday 11th - Friday 13th August 11 am to 3.30 pm age 11 - 16 

Eat Fresh - plant-based food and cooking - this course aims to teach young people about plant-based cooking and how to eat a healthy balanced diet and guide and inspire them to produce delicious healthy meals. Thursday 19th and Friday 20th August 2 - 4.30 pm, venue to be confirmed. 

You will need to register your young person for the scheme before booking on activities. Booking opened Friday 9th July at 5 pm. 

We were joined yesterday by the MACE team for an important presentation on how to protect our vulnerable children and young people from exploitation. 

Presentation here. 

Links to the videos from the presentation are here.

Social media checklist - useful guides to help you set up settings for different apps your children might be using

Our Voice members enjoyed a presentation from Steve Dodds, Senior Estate Planning Consultant at Estate Planning Solutions, and a useful Q&A session, at our webinar on Tuesday 9th February, and again on 12th May and 15th June. 

You can see the presentation here. 

Please note that this course is now fully booked and a waiting list is in place.

Our Voice and the Enfield Psychology Service would like to offer parents and carers an opportunity to have confidential space and time away from their busy lives to reflect and feel empowered in their busy parenting/family journeys. 

A small group of parents will meet every Thursday for 6 weeks starting after the Half Term Break, where they will be guided in one-hour structured sessions online to explore their strengths and the rich resources they have developed over the years. 

There will be an additional celebration session (either online or in-person depending on circumstances at the time).

For full details see our booklet here.