Our Voice

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26-09-2022 EHCP and Annual Review resources from our workshop

On 26th September Our Voice will be holding a workshop on EHCPs and Annual Reviews. 

You can see the presentation from the workshop here

A Q&A from the session will be added to this page shortly. 

You can see additional information about the EHCP process in this Presentation on EHCPs from the Our Voice Parents' Conference workshop held in November 2019. 

Our Voice has produced a useful video Education Health Care Plans: Helping to plan your child's future together. This was produced in anticipation of the transfer from statements to EHCPs, and it still refers to Transfer Review meetings. However, the information it contains is still relevant if you replace the term Transfer Review meeting with Annual Review meeting.  

The Council for Disabled Children good practice guidance on EHCPs can be found here

Information from the Local Authority on EHCPs can be found here including videos giving young people's perspectives on contributing to their EHCPs here

13-09-2022 Choosing a Secondary School - for children with additional needs

Information for families of children due to move to Secondary School in September 2023 or the following year. 

Our Voice held three videoconference sessions in conjunction with SENDIASS and the Enfield SEN Team looking at the transfer to Secondary School for children with SEND. You can see the most recent version of the presentation here. 

  • For children with an EHCP the deadline for confirming your preference is 14th October  
  • For children without an ECHP applications must be submitted by 31st October. 
  • Open days will take place in September and October - details will be available in September
  • This booklet sets out the processes and gives information about all special schools and other specialist provision in Enfield. 
  • You can see the dates of open days here.

You may also find it useful to look at these resources for preparing for the transfer to secondary school. 

Information on the Contact website here and you also can Listen to Contact's podcast episode about applying to a secondary school place. 

Additional guidance:  

12-09-2022 Slings available

One of our members has 8 outgrown slings for hoisting from wheelchair to bed  (one is for shower/bath) which she would like to offer to anyone who needs them (first come first served).

Details of the items available are here

Please email us at info@ourvoiceenfield.org.uk if you are interested. 

She is happy to deliver within the local area 

02-09-2022 Free tickets for audio described performance 3rd Sept

Free tickets are available for an audio-described performance at Sadler’s Wells tomorrow, Saturday 3rd September, 7.30pm (running time roughly 1 hour) National Youth Dance Company, an inclusive dance company for young people are performing their piece Quartier Paradise by choreographer Alesandra Seutin, at Sadler’s Wells.

For the show, they are running an audio description and are offering some free tickets to young people of NYDC’s age range (13+) who are blind or visually impaired (under 16s must be accompanied by an adult and for those over 16 you’re welcome to bring a parent/guardian/friend too!) to come to the show and experience the audio description.

For more information and to request a ticket:

For more information and to request a ticket, Email Laura, Learning & Engagement Manager at Sadler’s Well’s laura.warner@sadlerswells.com or call 07729438162

(Laura will also be there on the day)!

What is an Audio Description?

An audio description is for audience members who are blind or partially sighted and uses live verbal commentary to explain visual moments of a show as it happens. During the performance, a professional Audio Describer explains what’s happening on stage. They talk through all the visual information, like sets, costumes and facial expressions. You can listen along through a discreet headset which is available to collect from the box office before the show.

Other upcoming Audio described shows at Sadler’s Wells can be found here; https://www.sadlerswells.com/whats-on/?accessibility=audio-described

About NYDC’s piece Quartier Paradis:

Following the success of their 2021 production Speak Volumes, National Youth Dance Company (NYDC) once again collaborates with internationally renowned choreographer Alesandra Seutin. Thirty-two outstanding young dancers present a new contemporary work, exploring the relationship between movement, voice and music. Quartier Paradis dives into parallel universes where there is no apparent endgame, a place built on the fantasy of an ardent greed for a power that continuously shifts. Where ritual, memories and ancestral heritage will keep you standing; revealing the alarming reality of a society locked in a cycle of tyranny. Who will eat the apple?

 

29-08-2022 Cheap cinema tickets and Autism friendly screening

Saturday 3rd Sept is National Cinema Day, with many cinema chains including Cineworld, Odeon and Vue offering all tickets for a reduced price of £3 per person (plus booking fees where applicable). Tickets do tend to sell out so it is worth booking as soon as possible.
Don’t forget you can also use your CEA card when visiting the cinema with a disabled child, to get a free ticket for an accompanying adult. See here for more information. 
Cineworld Enfield has an Autism friendly showing of ‘DC League of Super-pets’ (certificate PG) at 11 am. Adjustments are made to reduce stress and sensory input, such as low lighting and sound, and freedom to move.
More details and booking link here.

26-08-2022 BSL Theatre workshop and Wicked performance

StageSeen is a bespoke theatre-going experience for deaf and hard-of-hearing young people. On the 22nd October they will be running a theatre workshop followed by a BSL Interpreted performance of Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theatre.

The show is recommended for age 7+ and has a running time of 2 hrs 45 minutes. Tickets are £15 per person but if the cost of the tickets would prevent you from attending please email Hayley@mousetrap.org.uk Please note that this is not a relaxed performance and the show features loud noises, smoke effects and strobe lighting.

You can apply for tickets here (deadline 15th September).

Approximate timings (to be confirmed nearer to the time

10 am

Arrival at the fully accessible venue near the Apollo Theatre

 10.15 – 11.45 am

Theatre workshop run by 2 facilitators with a BSL interpreter

12.15

Preshow activity in the theatre (tbc)

1 pm

Lunch break

2.30 pm

BSL interpreted performance of Wicked

22-08-2022 Rising to Reception

A programme of events for the parents/carers of children with communication difficulties who are due to start reception in September 2022. 

The Rising to Reception programme is provided by ECASS (the Enfield Communication Advisory Support Service) and their partners including Our Voice, ENAS and SENDiass. 

Children with communication difficulties can find moving to new schools challenging and this series of events aims to help you prepare for your child to start school. 

You can see more about the programme in this introductory video and the flyer (including booking links) and see here to view the timetable of events and register your interest. 

The final session will be tomorrow, Tuesday 23rd August at 10 am on the topic of the ECASS Offer in Schools. 

You can join the session on:  https://us06web.zoom.us/j/2423953204

If you have any questions please email the ECASS team at RisingtoReception@enfield.gov.uk

We recommend you register your interest (using the link above) to receive details of future sessions. 

If you have missed some of the previous sessions, you can see resources from these here.   

08-08-2022 Picnic in the Park (Zebras Charity)

Zebras Charity would like to invite the families of children with disabilities to join their free family picnic in the park on Saturday 20th August.  

Families should meet at the Zebras Hub on Lancaster Road between 10.30 and 10.45 so they are ready to leave for 11am, for Tuckers Park (just a short distance from the hub).

The picnic will be from 11am to 1 pm at Tuckers Park, and there will be free food for all adults and children attending. 

The hub is at 59B Lancaster Road (Rear of Atkinson's Estate Agents) Enfield EN2 0BU (tel 0203 4411 764)

If you would like to go along please email Harry at zebrascharityom@outlook.com to confirm you place and let him know:

o   Full name & contact number.

o   number of children and adults attending.

o   dietary requirements and any information on allergies.

Please remember to bring your own picnic blanket on the day.

This is going to be a day for families to remember and a chance to have fun, build friendships and create some great memories

04-08-2022 What's On this summer?

Our booklet on what's on this Summer holiday can be seen here - full of information on SEND playschemes, leisure activities and days out, in and around the Enfield area.

The Local Authority's booklet on playschemes and activities updated for Summer 22 is here.

You can also see a booklet on the Summer University (free activities for ages 11 -25 including some SEND-specific sessions) here.

04-08-2022 Inclusive Cycling sessions

Drop -in, all-ability cycling sessions take place at Bush Hill Park every Monday from 10 am to 3 pm. The sessions are designed for people from age 5 upwards with learning, physical and/or sensory disabilities to enjoy cycling on a range of adapted cycles, including single/tandem tricycles, side-by-side cycles for two or more people, wheelchair platform cycles and go-kart style recumbent cycles.  After being shown how to use the cycles by the friendly volunteers and staff, attendees are free to cycle around the park or green space with their friends, family or carer. Please note that one-to-one support is not available,  but parents and carers are encouraged to ride alongside the people they are supporting. As sessions are popular and there are only a limited number of bikes (particularly those suitable for children) you may have to wait for the bike that you want to use to become available.  If possible, you may prefer to visit in the afternoon which is normally quieter.

Full details at https://www.bikeworks.org.uk/all-ability-clubs/

If you have any questions, please email all.ability@bikeworks.org.uk