Useful Links
* For details of more support groups in your area, also check the webpage of the Children with Disabilities Service |
LOCAL
autism.west midlands
|The principal provider of autism-specific services for children and adults in the West Midlands region.
Carers' Association Southern Staffordshire|
Provides advice on national issues, rights, legislation etc. and signposts to other organisations who may be able to help.
Children's Trust|
Staffordshire Children's Trust brings together all services for children and young people in the County to focus on improving outcomes for all children and young people
Lighthouse Group Southern Staffordshire |
A self-help group ran by parents and carers of young people who have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and behaviour problems.
Mediation works (SEN Mediation Service)| A specialist service that is being offered as part of arrangements to help resolve disagreements that parents may have with the Local Authority (LA), or a school, about any aspect of special educational needs (SEN) provision for their child.
Mid Staffs Mencap|
A registered charity which supports local people with learning disabilities. Their services are available to people throughout the Western side of Staffordshire (from Trentham in the North to Kinver in the South).
North Staffs Carers' Association|
Offers information, support and training for carers in North Staffs and Stoke on Trent.
NSAAA (North Staffs Asperger / Autism Association)
An association providing support, help and advice to ASD individuals, parents and carers
Ofsted| has launched Parent View, a new online questionnaire that will allow parents and carers to give their views on their child's school at any time of the year. Covering over 22,000 schools across England, the 12-question survey will help other parents as they make important choices about their child's education and provide Ofsted with information about schools that will help inform priorities for inspection. You can access the site at http://parentview.ofsted.gov.uk/| after which you'll be able to search for results for schools or if you have children attending a school, register to complete a questionnaire.
Parent Support Workers (PSWs)
All schools in Staffordshire now have a linked PSW. The PSWs offer advice, guidance and support to parents and carers in with general parenting issues and with managing children's behaviour and school attendance. They can offer up-to-date information on parenting groups and other activities in their local area. The link above will take you to a page where there is a list of names and contact details for PSWs in Staffordshire.
School Choice Advice Service
|Local service which provides support and advice to parents and carers about admission to school. Also can provide information about school transport and free school meals.
Special Matters|
Special matters is a support group service for families of children with special or additional needs. They provide evening support groups, activities, home visits (within the Staffordshire Moorlands area) and raise awareness of the issues that families can face on a daily basis.
Sports Across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent|
Access your one-stop shop into sport and becoming active. From the latest e-newsletter to news, skills and workshops along with Football Association Skills Holiday Sessions please visit the site.
Staffordshire Children with Disabilities Service|
Work with children, young people, their families, schools and other partners to assess and meet the social and developmental requirements of disabled children and young people.
SUN Groups| - Staffordshire Umbrella Network
A network group of parents, parent support group representatives and professionals who are interested in looking at issues affecting children with special educational needs and disabilities and their families.
Wings: Wombourne Special Educational Needs Support Group|
Founded by parents of children with special educational needs (SEN). They run a variety of evening, weekend and holiday play scheme activities for children and young people.
NATIONAL
ACE - Advisory Centre for Education|
A national charity that provides advice and information to parents and carers on a wide range of school based issues including exclusion, admissions, special educational needs, bullying and attendance.
Adders (ADHD)|
Promoting awareness of ADHD and providing information and practical help to families.
Afasic Unlocking Speech and Language|
Afasic seeks to raise awareness and to create better services and provision for children and young people with speech and language impairments.
Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus|
ASBAH is the leading UK registered charity providing information and advice about spina bifida and hydrocephalus.
Barnado's|
Barnardo's believe in bringing out the best in every child. They run almost 400 projects around the UK.
British Deaf Association|
The BDA is the largest Deaf organisation in the UK that is run by Deaf people.
British Dyslexia Assocation|
The BDA is the voice of dyslexic people. Their vision is that of a dyslexia friendly society that enables dyslexic people to reach their potential.
Contact a Family|
Contact a Family is the only UK-wide charity providing advice, information and support to the parents of all disabled children.
Department for Children, Schools and Families|
The purpose of the Department for Children, Schools and Families is to make this the best place in the world for children and young people to grow up. Aiming to: Make children and young people happy and healthy, keep them safe and sound, give them a top class education and help them stay on track.
Down's Syndrome Association
|Provide information and support for people with Down's Syndrome, their families and carers, and the professionals who work with them.
Dyspraxia Foundation|
The Foundation supports individuals and families with Dyspraxia.
Epilepsy Action|
An organisation that campaigns to improve epilepsy services and raise awareness of the condition.
Every Disabled Child Matters|
Campaign to get rights and justice for every disabled child.
IPSEA: Independent Panel for Special Educational Advice|
Offers free and independent advice on Local Education Authorities' legal duties to assess and provide for children with special educational needs
Mencap|
They work with people with a learning disability to change laws and services, challenge prejudice and directly support thousands of people to live their lives as they choose. They can offer advice about things like respite care, individual budgets or transport services.
Mind: For better Mental Health|
Mind is the leading mental health charity in England and Wales. They work to create a better life for everyone with experience of mental distress.
National Autistic Society|
The NAS provides a wide range of services for children and adults with an autism spectrum disorder and their families in England.
The National Parent Partnership (NPPN)| is funded by the Department for Education to: promote the work of parent partnership services (PPS); provide a national network for PPS to learn from each other, to share information and to promote best practice; encourage the development of co-operative arrangements with voluntary sector organisations that provide services to parents of children and young people with SEN; promote the development of interesting and innovative practices in the area of SEN. NPPN provides support and information to parent partnership services. It does not provide support and advice to parents and carers.
Network 81|
Network 81 is a national network of parents working towards properly resourced inclusive education for children with special educational needs.
Parentline Plus|
Offers parents emotional support and signposting to specialist advice on any issue from difficult toddlers to challenging teens and family rows.
RNIB: Supporting blind and partially sighted people|
Offer information, support and advice to over two million people with sight loss.
Scope (Cerebal Palsy)|
A disability organisation whose focus is people with Cerebral Palsy. Their aim is that disabled people achieve equality: a society in which they are as valued and have the same human and civil rights as everyone else.
SEND - Special Educational Needs & Disability Tribunals Service|
Parents whose children have special educational needs can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (SEND) against certain decisions made by Local Education Authorities in England about their children's education.
Switchover Help Scheme| - Between now and 2012, television services in the UK will go completely digital. The old analogue television signal will be switched off and you will need to convert or upgrade your TV to receive digital signals. You may be eligible for help with this conversion. Please click on the link for more information.
*Please note that the Parent Partnership Service is not responsible for the content of any external web site.
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