These posts have some link to the Coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, whether providing information and resources to use, thoughts and reflections about church and school during this time, or challenging us to think about what the ‘new normal’ might be like.
The Disabled Children's Partnership (DCP), a campaigning body that I represent Urban Saints on, recently released the results of the latest in a series of surveys of families in the UK that have children and young people with additional needs. The results are stark, the impact of the last 18-months of the COVID-19 pandemic has … Continue reading Then There Was Silence…
We’ve been warned about it, we’ve seen it coming, maybe we’ve experienced it in our own family situation, but now the evidence is all too clear and stark. We might be coming towards the end of lockdown restrictions, ‘Freedom Day’ as some seem to like to call it, but we are only just fully understanding … Continue reading Coming Out Of Lockdown: The Child Mental Health Cost And What We Can Do About It
As part of its ongoing research partnership with Pears Foundation, the Disabled Children's Partnership (DCP) of which I'm a member, surveyed roughly 300 parents in June 2021 in our final survey as part of the series. I had the privilege of being one of those parents. The findings, released today, reveal that whilst the rest … Continue reading Left Behind – Children With Additional Needs As We Emerge From The COVID-19 Pandemic
Who knew that when global pop icon Madonna’s third hit single, ‘Holiday’, hit the airwaves in 1983 that the words to this upbeat pop classic would become so iconic for the world some 38 years later. As we arrive at the second COVID-19 summer many families are looking for a much-needed holiday, but with so … Continue reading Holiday! Celebrate! – A Song For Additional Needs Families In 2021
We are surrounded by noise, whether it is the noise of people around us, the constant noise of technology, the noise of kitchen appliances, the noise of cars and trucks, emergency vehicles, planes and trains. There is noise everywhere and perhaps that is one reason why we've become less good at listening… listening to each … Continue reading Leaving Lockdown: Learning To Listen To Each Other, Our Children, And Ourselves
James is in his late teens, is autistic, has learning difficulties, epilepsy and anxiety, and so he came in towards the bottom end of category ‘six’ in the Government’s COVID-19 vaccination first phase priority groups: Adults aged 16 to 65 years in an at-risk group.Last week it was James’ turn to have his first COVID-19 vaccination. … Continue reading COVID-19 Jabs And Young People With Additional Needs
Research from the Disabled Children’s Partnership exposes that most disabled children still cannot access life-changing health appointments and vital therapies as a result of lockdown. This cannot go on, and there are calls for a COVID-19 recovery plan for disabled children. Disabled children deserve better. The Disabled Children’s Partnership research exposes a huge gap in … Continue reading The Longest Lockdown – A Report From The Disabled Children’s Partnership
We will soon be at the anniversary of the beginning of the first COVID-19 lockdown, which began with Boris Johnson’s address to the nation on the 23rd March 2020. A year on, and still in the third lockdown, every day seems the same; many of us are feeling a weariness, an overwhelming sense of exhaustion. It … Continue reading Are You Feeling Exhausted?
The third International Day of Education (January 24) will be marked on Monday 25 January 2021 under the theme 'Recover and Revitalize Education for the COVID-19 Generation'. This day, celebrated globally, shines a light on the need to create and sustain educational opportunities for every child, and for these opportunities to be lifelong.When it adopted the … Continue reading The International Day of Education In A Global Pandemic
The first case of COVID-19 was reported in the UK on 31st January 2020, an unfortunate anniversary that is rapidly approaching. While, rightly, the key focus at this time is the continued battle against the Coronavirus pandemic, there is another dangerous health crisis developing which has the potential to last for very much longer and to … Continue reading Looking After Mental Health During Lockdown
An additional needs Dad and Son baking adventure...
Special Education Teaching Resources, Sensory Stories and SEND Information
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