OneTrickPony

Thanks for the tip! Just had a look, they call it "yoga-dynamic/fitness" which does bode well. I think I'll give that a try, thank you!

I've been doing yoga for years, always with the same teacher... unfortunately the class doesn't run any more, and I just can't seem to find something similar? I don't even know what style I'm looking for (although having tried Iyengar recently, I do know that that's not for me - too much faffing around with blocks and belts!). I guess I like an energetic, flowing style that makes you work really hard, with some challenging asanas, followed by a nice relaxation at the end. Oh, and it needs to be in the evening after 7pm. SW Sheffield ideally. Anyone got any suggestions?

The Sheffield Parent Carer Forum runs monthly coffee mornings for parents of children with any kind of disability or additional needs. They take place on the second Thursday of every month, 10.30am-12noon, at St Mary's Community Centre on Bramall Lane. http://www.sheffieldparentcarerforum.org.uk/news/newcoffee-mornings-at-st-marys

Hi FallenAngel, yes I can see that a childcare information event without childcare looks a bit insane... Will try to explain the apparent contradiction in terms! The event is organised by the Sheffield Parent Carer Forum, an independent group of parents and carers of disabled children, not the Council's childminding team. Unfortunately arranging one-off specialist childcare for big events like this is a legal minefield, unless you use an expensive specialist agency. We felt that we couldn't justify such an expense when we can arrange the event in a way that will enable parents to keep an eye on their children while they pick up information leaflets and chat to stallholders and prospective carers. E.g. we'll be placing all information stalls close to the Arts & Crafts area and the face painters, so the children will be kept busy and within view whilst parents browse the stalls. Since it's a Sunday afternoon, we hope that most families will be able come with both parents or bring a friend or relative for an extra pair of hands. Please let me know if this doesn't work for you and we'll try to find a better solution!

A FREE event for disabled children, their parents/carers and siblings. When: Sunday 15th May 2011, 2-5pm Where: Ponds Forge International Sports Centre, Sheaf Street Parents... find out about new childcare initiatives for disabled children in Sheffield meet trained students and specialist childminders looking for work talk to other parents in the same boat Kids... Enjoy loads of fun activities: swimming trampolining dance arts and crafts face painting ball sports... ... or just have a run around the big sports hall! :clap:Includes a FREE buffet! Activities will be run by coaches with disability training, but children must be supervised by a parent or carer at all times. Places will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. To book your place, please go to http://pondsforge.eventbrite.com. Under "Quantity", select the number of free child and adult tickets you need, then click on "Register" and fill in the form.

The Sheffield Parent Carer Forum offers free training for parents of children with disabilities and special educational needs. We're planning to run a series of workshops on speech and language therapy in in June and July, this will include an introduction to Makaton, as well as workshops on PECS, technology-aided communication, language strategies, cued articulation, and visual supports. All sessions will be run by speech and language therapists and we hope to bring along lots of photocopies, books and DVDs, either for parents to keep or on loan. The Makaton workshop will probably take place on Friday 11th of July, 10-12. If you'd like us to send you more information once the dates have been confirmed, please register your interest by emailing [email protected].

This is from the Council budget published today: "Alternative provision for respite care: It is felt that a better and more flexible provision can be offered. The proposal is to offer parents greater choice of the sort of respite they want for their child. One home (Rushey Meadows) is proposed to close and some savings will be reinvested. Alternatives may be taken in whatever form the parent wants as agreed with a relevant social worker, e.g. holidays, overnight accommodation, trips out etc. Any costs incurred by the Service in providing staff or facilities would be met as part of the agreement. Change effective 1 October 2011" I'm not quite sure if I understand the figures underneath correctly, but it looks like they are hoping for a saving of £125K. You may have read that the Labour councillors have pledged to keep Rushey open if they get to set the budget, although they haven't said what services they'd cut instead. I hope you make some progress with Colin Ross tomorrow, I'm keeping my fingers crossed!!!

Just to confirm that there will indeed be a meeting between affected parents and Councillor Colin Ross this Thursday (17th Feb), at 2pm at the Town Hall. Anne Snowdon is organising it, and she would love to hear from parents whose children are currently using Rushey Meadows. You can contact Anne at the Sheffield Parent Carer Forum on 0114 2521913 or email [email protected]. The Forum is also working on a media campaign, and we're hoping to get a few articles in the papers over the next few days. We will also be encouraging our members to write directly to councillors. As you have rightly pointed out, it is hard to see why there should be any cuts to short breaks/respite at all. Central government recently announced the biggest ever investment in short breaks for disabled children - £800m over the next 4 years, which represents a £22m year-on-year increase on 2010 funding. However, this money is not ring-fenced, and we fear that funding intended for our children will be used to plug other gaps.

The Sheffield Parent Carer Forum has been talking to the Speech and Language Therapy service about organising training sessions for parents. Would you be interested in this? If so, please tell us what you think this training should cover, and when would be a good time for you to attend. For example, you may want to find out about: normal speech and language development; impaired speech and language development in children with specific disabilities (e.g. autism, Downs Syndrome, ...); PECS; Makaton; how speech and language therapy is delivered in schools, .... To register your interest, just drop us a line: [email protected].

Just to let you know that the Sheffield Parent Carer Forum is planning a conference on Education: Date: Monday 11th October 2010 Time: 10am til 2.30pm Venue: St Mary's Church and Conference Centre, Bramall Lane, Sheffield This is a FREE event for parents and carers of children and young people with disabilities and/or special educational needs. We're planning to have: A consultation on a new strategy for meeting pupils' special educational/additional needs in Sheffield's schools (the "Inclusive Learning Strategy" - more information here) Group discussions on education-related topics A workshop on SEN law, led by a solicitor from Irwin Mitchell Lots of information stalls Opportunities to chat to other parents ... and a free lunch! To book your place, please use the registration form on the Forum website.

The Sheffield Parent Carer Forum would like to invite all disabled children, their parents/carers and siblings to a FREE :banana:FAMILY FUN DAY! When: Sunday 11th July 2010, 10.30am - 2.30pm (you'll be back in time for the World Cup final!) Where: Centre in the Park, Norfolk Heritage Park, Guildford Avenue, Sheffield S2 2PL Highlights: · Bouncy castles · Face painting · Arts and crafts · Games · Quiet chill-out space · Fun workshops (e.g. drumming) · Fire engine · Information stalls · FREE lunch (if pre-booked!) · … and lots more! Only those who have booked in advance are guaranteed lunch! For more information on how to book your place, please visit the Forum's website: http://www.sheffieldparentcarerforum.org.uk. See you there!

You may have heard that the Local Authority is looking to develop an “Inclusive Learning Strategy”, which will set out strategic objectives in relation to the education of children and young people (0-19) with additional needs in all of Sheffield’s schools – mainstream, special, IRs, etc. Officers will present a paper outlining the need for such a strategy to the Council Cabinet on the 26th of May, and ask for permission to consult with all stakeholders on the development of the strategy. Parents and carers of disabled children are invited to learn more about (and to comment on!) the Authority’s proposals at a meeting organised by Sheffield’s Inclusive Learning Services. The meeting will take place on the 11th of May, from 11am to 12.30pm, at the Megacentre (Bernard Road, Sheffield S2 5BQ). So many parents of disabled children in Sheffield have concerns about education-related issues, such as school support, funding, statementing, transitions, school placements, specialist services, etc., so please come along and have your say. Please contact the parental Engagement Team on 0114 2053902 or email [email protected] to book a place. Childcare and travel expenses will be reimbursed. A summary of the cabinet paper will be published a few days before the meeting (by 7th May at the latest) - please keep checking the website of the Parent Carer Forum (http://www.sheffieldinterimforum.org.uk) for more information.

Hi, I'm afraid I don't have any answers to your question, but...I'm a member of the Sheffield Parent Carer Forum, and we've just been contacted by someone from the Council who is conducting a consultation on the childcare needs of parents of children with special needs. Of course you never know with consultations like this whether they are just a box-ticking exercise, or whether they are truly willing to listen, and act on what they've learnt. Anyway, in a nutshell - would you perhaps be willing to be interviewed by this person (at your convenience, in your home or by phone), or fill in a questionnaire? You can contact me via the Parent Forum website: http://www.sheffieldinterimforum.org.uk

Hi all, Work is currently underway to develop two strategies which will shape local services for disabled children over the next few years: a more general "Learning Difficulties and Disabilities (LDD) Strategy", which is currently being developed by LA/PCT officers and parents, and an education-related "Inclusive Learning Strategy", which will be developed early next year. Priorities for these strategies will be identified by a range of task groups attended by parents, professionals who have regular direct contact with the children, as well as LEA and PCT officers. This is YOUR chance to have a say and exert a real influence on local decision-making! The first set of task groups will meet in January 2010, and the dates and venues are as follows: Transition (child to adult): 6th and 13th of January, from 10am to 2pm, at Aizlewood's Mill, Nursery Street, Sheffield S3 8GG. Transport: 11th and 27th of January, 10am-2pm, at Aizlewood's Mill Short breaks/childcare/out-of-school activities: 15th and 29th of January, 10am-2pm, venue tbc The meetings will be facilitated by either Pippa or Gerry from ibk initiatives, and parents' childcare and travel expenses will be reimbursed. There will also be a task group on complex health needs (one meeting in January or early February, date and venue tbc). The task groups on education-related issues (which will come under the "Inclusive Learning Strategy") will start a bit later (we presume late January or February) - we'll keep you posted. If you're interested in coming along to any of the meetings, please let us know via the "Contact us" form on our website: http://www.sheffieldinterimforum.org.uk

Dear all, You are invited to comment on two papers which describe how the local authority is planning to invest the short breaks money they are receiving from Aiming High for Disabled Children. You can download the papers from the Interim Parent Carer Forum website by following these links: http://www.sheffieldinterimforum.org.uk/documents/Short%20breaks%20expenditure%20plan.pdf and http://www.sheffieldinterimforum.org.uk/documents/Short%20breaks%20capital%20plan.pdf The "Short breaks capital plan" describes planned investment in building modifications, changing/toilet facilities, sensory rooms etc., the "Short breaks expenditure plan" has some information about investment in contracts with short breaks providers, training, marketing, salaries etc. Please could you either post your comments in this thread, or on the Interim Forum's website (http://www.sheffieldinterimforum.org.uk) before the 11th of December, so I can pass them on to the relevant officer?

At the first parent carer conference in Sheffield, parents told us that support at school, and specialist health and educational provision were their biggest concerns. We devised a questionnaire to find out more about these issues, and posted it to 1,010 parent carers in Sheffield. We are pleased to report that we've received 209 replies, so thank you to everyone who took part! The survey is now closed and a summary is available for download from our website: http://www.sheffieldinterimforum.org.uk. Please have a look, there are some interesting results in there which show quite clearly that many disabled children in Sheffield are NOT having their needs met, and which give us a good idea where the gaps in local provision are. We will make sure that the outcome of the survey is fed back to schools, the Local Authority and the Primary Care Trust. Hopefully we can all work together to address the issues raised by the survey - we certainly think it will help us lobby for change!

That sounds interesting, hadn't heard about this - who is this guidance published by, and would you be able to post a link?

Just bumping this to say there are still spaces available for our conference on the 15th of October, and you can still register! Info and registration form available here: http://www.sheffieldinterimforum.org.uk/documents/parentconferenceposter.pdf

Thanks for your questions, please keep them coming! I will make sure they are collated and passed on, and will of course post the reply. Re direct payments - I understand that the council does not fund short breaks for disabled children through direct payments as yet, but they say that they support this approach in principle, and apparently work is underway to develop and implement this as an option for families. Let's hope so.

The Sheffield Parent Carer Forum (sheffieldinterimforum.org.uk) has been invited to compile a list of questions about short breaks to be submitted to the Council. If you've never heard of "short breaks" before, you're not alone! This is a relatively new government initiative, which aims to enable disabled children and young people to gain new experiences away from their families, and to provide their families with a break from caring. Short breaks should not just be used as a crisis intervention for families at breaking point, but as a preventative measure, to enable families to keep on caring. They are not limited to the provision of "respite" in the traditional sense, but can also include community activities, like sports clubs, day trips, after-school clubs, holiday play schemes, etc. Local authorities and PCTs (Primary Care Trusts) have received vast sums of money to improve the quality and quantity of short break services for families with disabled children. To give you an idea of the figures we're talking about, the short breaks allocation received by Sheffield City Council under the "Aiming High for Disabled Children" (AHDC) programme for 2009/10 is almost £1 million, rising to £2.7 million in 2010/11! Sheffield PCT is expected to match the Council's spending on short breaks through additional funding received via the "Healthy lives, brighter futures" programme. Do you have any questions about short breaks you would like to ask? Please post them here!

Hi all, just to let you know that there is now a forum for parents of disabled children in Sheffield. The forum, which is independent of the LA and the PCT, aims to give parent carers a voice in influencing local developments that affect their children, especially with regard to service planning and delivery. Please have a look at their new website - http://www.sheffieldinterimforum.org.uk - and get in touch if you'd like to get involved. There's so much wrong with services for disabled children here in Sheffield, it's high time that parents of children with any kind of disability got together to lobby for change! There will be Parent Carer Conference on the 15th of October 2009 at the Megacentre. This is a free event for all parent carers in Sheffield, and you can download an application form from the website. Hope to see many of you there!

Thanks for the reply, one month would be pretty good actually! It's just cos we don't want to let down the people buying our house, we promised them we'd move out on the 1st of September, thinking we'd rent at first (we're moving to Sheffield from a different city), but then we saw a really nice house and decided to buy after all...

We've just had our offer on a house accepted and need to move fairly quickly - I expect the LA searches will be the thing that takes the longest. Does anyone know how long they currently take? Thanks!