These blog posts include tips to help children’s and youth workers engage with, include, and create places of belonging for everyone, especially children and young people with additional needs.
“Phew! Wot A Scorcher!” screams the newspaper headlines as the temperature rises to new record levels once again, but for families with children with additional needs, the screams are all too real as they and their children struggle to cope with the heat. So, here’s some links to places that families of children with additional … Continue reading How To Help Children With Additional Needs Cope In The Heat
Are you planning a holiday club for this summer? Many churches will be running one for the first time since the pandemic started and if that’s your church too then you’ve got a golden opportunity to use your holiday club as a way to become more inclusive of children and young people with additional needs. … Continue reading Seven Ways Holiday Club Can Help You Be More Inclusive
Nothing says ‘summer’ more than ice cream. Just hearing the distinctive tones of the ice cream van evokes memories of sunny days, long holidays, relaxing in the garden, the park, or at the beach!We have an ice cream van that regularly visits our street, and a recent visit got me thinking about how our children … Continue reading How Children With Additional Needs Are Like Different Ice Creams!
I recently asked a whole bunch of parents of disabled children, and disabled people themselves, what they think of as some of the most inappropriate or downright offensive language that they have heard or experienced as a result of their own or their child’s disability. The result was a huge discussion that produced a massive … Continue reading Bad Language?
Whether you are an overworked children’s, youth or families worker, or a frazzled, stressed out, parent or carer of a child or young person with additional needs, this story is for you. It’s a story about a bumble bee and a hare, a journey God took me on at a retreat, but it’s your story … Continue reading The Story Of The Bumble Bee And The Hare: Choosing Better
Sometimes it can be hard to support our children to learn and develop, especially if their additional needs make learning extra hard. So, what can we do to help them to engage, stay focussed, and enjoy learning and developing?One way can be to use what they already enjoy doing to help them to learn. This … Continue reading Six Ways To Use Football To Aid Additional Needs Learning
Film Title: CODAYear of Release: 2021Directed by: Sian HederCertificate: 12ARunning time: 1 hours, 51 minutes CODA movie poster BBFC certification insight: “CODA is a drama in which a young woman, who is the only hearing person in her deaf fishing family, is torn between duty to them and pursuing her dreams of becoming a singer. There is infrequent strong language ('f**k'), … Continue reading CODA – A Review And Study Plan
Spring is here, the Easter school holidays are coming up fast, longer, warmer days are approaching, so here’s five fun sensory ideas to try with your children to help them get out and explore and think about Spring! See Spring is the time when all the wildlife wakes up after the winter. If you have … Continue reading Five Ideas For Sensory Spring Fun!
Guest post from Andrew Stranack, who argues that society’s continued marginalisation of disabled people means that we are missing out on a valuable talent pool. This article was originally published by Theos Think Tank on 10th March 2022, republished by kind permission, and with thanks from The Additional Needs Blogfather. One of the most inspiring articles … Continue reading Embracing a valuable talent pool: the barriers and gifts of living with a disability
Ukraine burns as the world watches on in horror. Many Ukrainians are escaping to neighbouring countries or relatively ‘safe’ parts of western Ukraine, but many millions are trapped in the living hell of cities being constantly shelled and bombed by the Russian military. As always, those who suffer most in conflict zones, whether through the … Continue reading The Toll Of War On Ukraine’s Disabled Children
Teaching Resources, Sensory Stories and SEND Information
The Additional Needs Blogfather 