Latest News for Parents & Carers

The Chancellor confirmed in his Spring Statement over £23.5 million has been allocated to 191 councils across England to install life-enhancing Changing Places toilets in public places and tourist attractions, dramatically increasing accessibility in areas where users want them most. Derby city has been awarded £200k for five Changing Places toilets!

The Government’s SEND and alternative provision green paper, published last Tuesday 29 March, sets out its vision for a single, national SEND and alternative provision (AP) system that will introduce new standards in the quality of support given to children across education, health and care. The ambitious green paper is the result of the SEND Review, commissioned to improve an inconsistent, process-heavy and increasingly adversarial system that too often leaves parents facing difficulties and delays accessing the right support for their child  Have your say on the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and alternative provision (AP) system in England by Friday 1 July 2022.

Hundreds of disabled university students are set to benefit from a new ‘passport’ scheme that will support them as they move into work. The Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) Access to Work Adjustment Passport will ease the transition from university into employment by reducing the need for repeated health assessments when starting a new job.

Members of the House of Lords have passed an amendment to the Health and Care Bill to enshrine mandatory training for health and care staff on learning disabilities and autism in law. The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training in Learning Disabilities and Autism programme is being developed by Health Education England in partnership with organisations such as Skills for Care and the Department of Health and Social Care, and alongside Oliver’s family.

Schools and teachers are “buckling under the strain” of supporting the vast number of children with mental health problems such as anxiety and depression, reports The Guardian. Families in England face long waits in getting help from NHS child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) which increases pressure on schools.