Parents and carers will benefit from the new packs

Special needs early years pack now available

Help is at hand for parents and carers who want to arrange early years education for children with special needs.

A handy information pack offering support and guidance has been produced by a specialist team. It will help make the kind of decisions they are likely to face.

Staffordshire Parent Partnership Service has produced the pack, and parents have been consulted to ensure they are targeted towards the kind of information they required.

The service is a free, impartial and confidential service which offers telephone support and home visits to families. They also arrange meetings between parents and their child's school or early years settings.

Janet Foley, deputy head of the partnership Service, said: "Anyone who has children will be aware how baffling it can be to research and decide on their child's education. When their child's needs are more varied it becomes a minefield. There are hundreds of questions to ask, and people might have no idea where to go for information. This information pack aims to be their guide through the whole process."

The packs contain several leaflets for parents to give them information on various subjects, for example:

·    Working in partnership with your child's pre-school setting

·    What to look for in a childcare setting

·    Extra help for under fives

·    Contact sheets to keep details of every person involved with their child

·    Information on help from specialist staff with hearing and vision impairment, support for autism etc

·    Useful contacts

Councillor Robert Simpson, Cabinet Member for Staffordshire County Council's Children and Lifelong Learning directorate, said: "The packs are aimed at parents and the Parent Partnership Service has deliberately cut jargon and tried to write in a language that can be easily understood. They are available free of charge direct from Parent Partnership, as well as from schools, early years settings and childminders. In addition, various practitioners who work with families have copies of the pack, such as assessment team workers, paediatricians, health visitors etc.

"We hope the information packs will help parents understand the support available and the procedures around special needs. This will help them make informed decisions and play a greater part in their child's education."

This early years pack complements the packs already available for parents of children of school age and for those whose child is undergoing statutory assessment.  Parents wanting more information on the information packs can contact Staffordshire Parent Partnership Service on 01785 356921.

Page Last Modified: 30/01/2007 16:05:22

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