Well Done to Support Workers, Jair Emilio and Bernard Aziegbe, from Pegasus School who presented at the Bexley Social Workers Best Practice conference in September. Their presentation was about the work the school has done with a young person, how we evidenced the work we had done and the outcomes.
The conference was one of Bexley’s quarterly children’s social care conferences. Each conference has a focus and the focus of this one was looked after children. In particular they wanted staff to focus on building relationships with children, especially where there is a difficultly due to differing communication abilities or difficult behaviour .
The authorities Practice Development Officer commented how Jair and Bernards video and presentation showed staff how they can understand what a child’s day to day life is like, what makes them happy, even if they aren’t able to communicate that verbally.
The conference was attended by 150 social workers, social work assistants, students, personal advisors, managers, and senior managers, including the Director of Children’s Services.
Supported by Rokia Khair a resident went to visit Codnor Castle, with a view to becoming a volunteer. In the first instance the resident will be dressing up in historical costumes and learning about the history of the Castle. Also included in the volunteering is working in the Café, ground maintenance, project planning, re-interpreting history and archaeology through sensory input.
He will also be enrolled on a food hygiene course to enable him to work in the café with support from Rokia.
Michal Cwiekala has been a Physiotherapist at Bladon House for 11 years. In July, he completed his level 2/3 Postgraduate Qualification in Sensory Integration Therapy following two years of study. Michal said that it has been hard work but very rewarding, ‘I have enjoyed studying neuro-science and linking this to student behaviour.’
Michael works jointly with Katherine Farson, Occupational Therapist who is similarly trained for Sensory Integration therapy, to assess and support students across the education and care environments.
At Rowden House School they are fortunate to have a large woodland area in which the students can access Forest School. The sessions are led by David Hughes and Lucy Armstrong –Clarke.
This term the great weather has promoted an increase in students accessing the sessions. These photographs show how much fun everyone has been having whilst learning about how to safely use garden tools and take care of our environment.
Dave Symons is the Art Coordinator at Winslow Court. An award winning artist, Dave has shown his own art work in San Francisco, Brazil,Edinburgh and many galleries throughout W
Dave has been at Winslow for almost two years and has made a huge impact for residents, providing a range of activities both on and off site.
He said ‘encouraging people to express themselves and to value what they do and to have a laugh along the way is what I love most and do best! Art activities at Winslow Court are designed to encourage creativity, self-expression and communication through painting, printmaking and drawing. Showing your artwork to the general public is a natural outlet for any artist and this exhibition, very kindly hosted by the Globe at Hay, is to ensure inclusion in to the community for our residents.’
The Registered Manager of Fairfield House, Slawek Kaminski would like to thank the Fairfield House team, especially Mike Spires and Sarah Clark for their enthusiasm and commitment in making their Olympic Themed BBQ happen. He would also like to thank all the visitors who came to enjoy themselves on the day.
On the menu were: Bolt burgers, Wiggins Weiner’s, Olympic Onion Rings, Simmonds Salad and Daley’s Dip
The local offer is designed to provide meaningful choice for parents, and to ensure children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) have access to appropriate support services in their local area.
This report from the Children’s Services Development Group (CSDG) provides an assessment of the extent to which local authorities in England are discharging their statutory obligations as set out in the Children and Families Act 2014 in relation to the delivery of the local offer.
In particular, we wanted to understand:
1. Are people aware of the local offer?
2. How accessible is the local offer?
3. What support is in place for people wanting to access their local offer?
4. Does the local offer provide meaningful choice for parents and carers in terms of the types of services and provision it includes?
The Hub is Bladon House Schools health and safeguarding base. From here the Health Promotions Manager and his assistant Sandra manage the health needs of children and young people, whether that be first aid, GP or Mental Health Clinics or just somewhere safe for them to sit and chat to us and work through any difficulties they may have had or are facing. Although a base for meeting the needs of our children and young people, staff also benefit from the facility as a support for their health and wellbeing.
Pictured are John Worthington, James Hurst and Scott Gordon from Bladon’s maintenance team who completed the enabling work, external fencing and planting scheme. Other members of maintenance staff who helped with the project were Mark Morgan, Patrick Charlton and Michael Bastien.
Students at Alderwasley Hall Sixth Form Centre are over the moon with their fabulous new gazebo, which has been built by the centre’s maintenance team so the young people can enjoy the beautiful outside space, whilst being protected from the great British weather!. The gazebo will have outdoor speakers that the students can plug their ipods into.
Sara Forsyth the Head Teacher (Designate) said ‘ This is an amazing piece of work! Our young people really benefit from it.’
Pictured are: Rob Taylor, Jim Smith and David Kirkham
