contact ealing office newsletter july 2020 · 9.30 a.m. -5:00 p.m. monday-friday; free from uk...
TRANSCRIPT
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Welcome
Contact Ealing Office Newsletter July 2020
Address: Contact Ealing, St. George’s Community Centre,
8-12 Lancaster Road, Southall, UB1 1NW.
Telephone: 020 8571 6381 Email: [email protected]
Facebook: facebook.com/contact-ealing
Our helpline Freephone: 0808 808 3555
9.30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Monday-Friday; free from UK landlines and UK mobiles
Facebook: facebook.com/contactfamilies (Response within two working days)
Twitter: @contactfamilies (Response w ithin two working days)
Email: [email protected] (Response within 10 working days)
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Contents
1. Office Updates—when will we open the office again?
2. Drop In Sessions in summer 2020
3. Parent Support Sessions for different community languages
4. Autism Parent Group
5. Contact Ealing in lockdown
6. IT classes
7. Summer trips
8. Our Partners: Ealing Advice Service
9. Fledglings
10. Contact Ealing Steering group
11. Contact Ealing Membership Form
1. Office Updates
So much has changed since our last newsletter! We sent it out just before the national
lockdown started, and I don’t think any of us fully understood what was ahead. However, we
were adamant from the first moment that we wanted to continue to stay in touch with you all
and continue to support families in whichever way we could. So we found spaces in our flats or
houses to work from, underwent a crash course in Zoom and various other video conferencing
software and, thanks to fantastic support from our head-office, were soon equipped with laptops
and mobile phones to continue our work.
So many of you have joined us via zoom in one of our online sessions. We have not always
been able to stick to all our previous plans, but were also able to add sessions that had not
been planned but were relevant in these times. Now that we have to some degree got used to
this new world, we hope to be able to give you as much information as possible for the next few
weeks and months.
In the middle of all this we managed to find an
additional Family Worker to join our team at the
beginning of May. Some of you have already
spoken to her and / or met her at one of our
online sessions and I know you will all join me to
welcome Antonia Vlachopoulou to our Contact
Ealing family. She has been incredibly brave to take on this new challenge in the middle of a
global pandemic, has already become an indispensable part of our team and we are very
happy to have her on board.
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We do have some other good news for us as an organisation: Contact Ealing has now been ac-
cepted as a supporting partner of the Ealing Advice Service (EAS) Consortium. For now this will
mean that we work with other organisations within the EAS in a supporting role and access their
advice and expertise. In the future, we very much hope that this will lead to us being included in
the next commissioning round which will take place in 2023.
We will work particularly closely with other organisations supporting families of children with
special educational needs and disabilities in Ealing, i.e. Ealing Mencap, P.E.S.T.S., Ealing
ISAID and the Havelock Centre. Please find more information about the Ealing Advice Service
on page 15 of this newsletter.
When will we re-open the office?
Whilst we were happy and relieved to see how
many parents we have been able to reach via
email, Zoom, Skype and telephone, we are very
aware that not everyone has access to these re-
mote ways of working and that some of you
would much prefer to have the 1:1 support in the
office available again. We ourselves are also get-
ting a bit frustrated in our various “working from
home” spaces and cannot wait to be back in the
office.
However, the health & safety of parents, children
and our staff are of course the most important
consideration for us. Whilst we are currently aiming to welcome parents back in-
to the office from early August onwards in a limited manner, we can only do so if
the infection rate continues to fall and in a Covid safe way.
Any re-opening of the office will be subject to very strict
hygiene regulations.
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To make our office Covid safe, we will work with the
following regulations:
Additional cleaning being undertaken: We have put in place additional cleaning procedures to ensure the office is as clean and germ free as possible for all.
Staff will wear masks and socially distance at all times when you meet them. We are currently doing some “practice runs” in the office to get used to the new procedures.
One parent at a time only: We will only be able to meet one parent at a time. Please phone or email us in advance to make an appointment to enable us to limit numbers of people in the office and contact us to cancel your appointment if you cannot make it.
Compulsory face covering: Everyone entering the office will have to wear a face covering over mouth and nose (we will supply you with one if you do not have one).
Wash your hands: We will ask you to wash your hands as soon as you come in.
Social distancing: We will at all times observe a safe distance of 2 meters between individuals and will ask you to do the same.
No children: Unfortunately we cannot allow children in the office for the time being as they would struggle to comply with the mask wearing and social distancing rules.
We will continue to support you via the telephone or zoom if you prefer and will constantly review the situation. The current government advice is still to work from home whenever possible and we will take it in turns for staff to come into the office only when we feel it is safe for them and
you!
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News from Contact Ealing
Despite and in parts also because of the global pandemic, we have man-
aged to strengthen our existing partnerships and built some new ones.
We are very proud to say that
We are now a supporting partner of the Ea-
ling Advice Service where we will work in
close cooperation with other advice services
in Ealing, in particular with those supporting families of children with disa-
bilities (Ealing ISAID, P.E.S.T.S., Ealing Mencap and the Havelock cen-
tre) - see page 15 for details:
We have partnered up with the Ealing Parenting Service and are current-
ly co-delivering an online “Talking Teens” parenting course for parents of
children with ADHD / Autism.
We have co-delivered parent workshops and information sessions with
our friends at Ealing ISAID, P.E.S.T.S., the Ealing Parent Carer Forum as
well as ESCAN, the Family Information Service and other LA services.
Together with the FIS, ISAID and the EPCF, we
have supported the creation of a new ADHD
parent support group in Ealing, check out their
facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/
groups/adhdsupportealing/
Apart from these additional partnerships, we have continued our core offer of family support. Over the past few months we have supported Ealing’s Covid 19 emergency response by mak-ing food bank referrals, sourcing clothes, issuing families with free vouchers for the Fledglings website as well as doing our usual support around DLA, Family Fund and other financial sup-port applications.
If you would like to book an appointment to seek advice, information or need sup-port filling in an application form, then please contact the Southall office by tele-
phone on 020 8571 6381. Please ask for Selina Eshun or Antonia Vlachopoulou to arrange an appointment. You can also contact us by email at:
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We are very happy to be able to offer personalised IT support via our partners at the ACDA Skills Training over the summer. Please contact
Satvir if you are interested:
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Our Autism Support Group
With the number of children being given a diagnosis of Autism continuing to rise, we want to continue to offer a monthly opportunity for parents of children and
young people to meet, online or hopefully one day in person, for autism specific support and information as well as peer support.
Since March we have run this group via zoom meetings, the meeting generally starts with a presentation on a particular topic and then opens up to a wider dis-
cussion amongst the parents in the group.
Our last meeting of this academic year took place on the 7th July with a brief presentation on financial support available to families of children with ASD and our
sessions will continue in the autumn term.
If you would like to hear more about the group or suggest topics for discussion, please contact either Satvir on [email protected] or Brigitte on
Yoga Nidra Sessions for parents and carers
We started to offer weekly Yoga Nidra session in May to help you switch off and
relax in the evening time and are happy to say that we can continue to offer tem
for the next few weeks.
You do not need a mat or any space for physical exercise to join these sessions as these are breathing exercises only.
To receive the link to join the sessions every
Wednesday evening at 9pm,
Email: Satvir on [email protected]
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In this newsletter, we would like to showcase again local Ealing Artists from our SEND
Community.
With all of us feeling a deep appreciation and gratitude towards the people who work so
hard to keep us safe and treat us when we are ill, it seems right to include a piece of art
that pays tribute to all the local heroes. This issue’s artist is Chloe, whose mother sent
us this beautiful picture. Chloe is
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We have thought long and hard about what we can offer families over the summer holidays. Fully aware of parents’ and children’s need to finally get out again and
go back to some sort of normality, but also adamant not to take unnecessary risks with anyone’s health, we have this year decided to offer a mix of online activities and local trips only. We are incredibly disappointed not to be able to take families to the beach or theme parks, but it is simply not possible to travel safely by coach,
even with adults wearing masks.
With access to venues still very limited, we have planned Pilates and SEND Yoga sessions in local parks, online events for families to join in and, in cooperation with
our friend at P.E.S.T.S., “Walk & Talk” sessions, primarily aimed at parents. For details and bookings of all of these, please see below. We have also arranged an online session with Disability Sports Coach in August (details see below) for fami-lies who are continuing to shield. There won’t be any charge for any of our sum-
mer events this year.
Booking for all of our summer events is ESSENTIAL!
Please use the booking form on page 12 for all events!
To book, please call Satvir Birk on 07884 741654 or email [email protected]
Please keep in mind that all bookings of outdoor events will be provisional only. We can-not currently predict the next few weeks and a new lock-down scenario, even if local,
would obviously force us to cancel the outdoor events. Please check via email or follow us on facebook and wait for confirmation before setting off to an event.
Summer online event:
Thursday 13th August at 11am: Multi-activity online sport session delivered by Disability Sports Coach. Contact Satvir for the link to the session.
Summer events
Would you like to become a Contact Volunteer?
We want to continue to offer more support and activities and need some help. Are you able to
help out in the office one morning a week? Or do you speak one of Ealing’s community lan-
guages and would like to help us support parents who struggle with English? Or maybe you
would like to come along to our trips and help families on the day? If you are, please contact us
on [email protected] or ring Brigitte on 07908 826948. We look forward to hearing from
you!
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Family event 2: SEND Yoga with your child in Gunnersbury Park with Jacob
Rudd
Please book one session only for your child! We will allocate places according to space
public health guidance, space available and need of the child.
25.8. 2020: 2 sessions starting at 11am and 12o’clock
No cost. Mats and hand sanitiser will be provided.
BOOKING ESSENTIAL and spaces are limited! Please email Satvir to book.
Summer Holiday Events
PROVISIONAL BOOKINGS ONLY ! We will follow public
health advice at all times and events may be cancelled if
Covid 19 infection numbers rise.
Please note that parents will be responsible to supervise and support
their children during these sessions.
Family event 1: Pilates sessions for parents and children with Suraj Singh
We are very happy to be able to offer Pilates sessions for children (supported by their parents) outdoors this summer. To keep the groups small and safe, we will offer 2
sessions on each of the following dates:
Please book one session only for your child! We will allocate places according
to space public health guidance, space available and need of the child.
Wednesday 22.7.2020 at 10.30am or 12o’clock in Southall Park
Wednesday 29.7.2020 at 10.30am or 12 o’clock in Brent Valley/ Bunny Park, Hanwell
Tuesday 11.8.2020 at 10.30am or 12o’clock in Perivale Park
Tuesday 18.8.2020 at 10.30am or 12o’clock in Walpole Park
No charge . Mats and hand sanitiser will be provided.
BOOKING ESSENTIAL! And spaces are limited. Please email Satvir to book.
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Walk & Talk sessions, jointly planned with
P.E.S.T.S.
Our Walk & Talk sessions are relaxed walks in some of Ea-
ling’s beautiful parks to give parents the chance to meet up with others and
have a chat in a safe and socially distancing way. For public health reasons,
we will stagger the starting times for small groups of 4-5 parents. Numbers are
limited and booking is essential.
These events are mainly aimed at parents, but if your child is happy to walk
along or sits in a buggy or wheelchair, she / he is, of course, very welcome.
If you would like to use these sessions to catch
up with particular friends who are also members
of Contact, please let us know so we can en-
sure you are in the same group.
21.7.2020 Montpelier Park (run by PESTS—
please contact Natalie at [email protected] for details)
28.7.2020 Osterley Park, (run by Contact Ealing) starting time from 11am,
individual time slots will be provided when booking.
12.8.2020 Gunnersbury Park starting time from
11am, individual time slots will be provided when
booking
BOOKING ESSENTIAL! Please email Satvir to
book.
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Walk & Talk sessions
- jointly run with P.E.S.T.S.
contd.
These outings are for Parents & Carers. Children are very welcome but
due to social distancing P.E.S.T.S. and Contact staff or volunteers are un-
able to assist. Children will remain solely your own responsibility.
Some helpful tips:
Walks will last no longer than 45 minutes.
We will stagger arrival of parents to secure
small groups. Please try to arrive at the time
indicated in your confirmation email..
What to bring
A bottle of water to keep hydrated
A snack just in case all that walking gives you an appetite!
A mask and gloves if this is what you would normally wear outside
Hand sanitiser
Dress for the weather and wear suitable footwear
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Booking Form –Family Events 2020
Please fully complete this form, sign and return to Contact Ealing, St Georges Community
Centre, 8-12 Lancaster Road, Southall UB1 1NW or email at: [email protected].
Please tick as appropriate which trip you wish to attend:
Pilates sessions:
22.7.2020 at 10.30am or 11.30am in Southall Park
29.7.2020 at 10.30am or 11.30am in Brent River Park Hanwell
11.8.2020 at 10.30am or 11.30am in Perivale Park?
18.8.2020 at 10.30am or 11.30am in Walpole Park
SEND Yoga sessions in Gunnersbury Park:
25.8. 2020 at 11am or 12o’clock
Walk & Talk Sessions
28.7.2020 Osterley Park
12.8.2020 Gunnersbury Park
Name of parent attending the session:_______________________________________
Name of child attending the session:___________________________________________
Type of special need of child attending the session: ________________________________
Full address:
_________________________________________________________________________
Postcode: __________________________________ Email: ________________________
Home tel: __________________________________Mobile: ________________________
Religion _________________________Language: ______________________
Ethnicity :____________________
Are there any wheelchair users attending these trips? ____________
Do you require the help/assistance of our volunteers during the events?__________
Total number of people attending trips ___________
Please complete this booking form and return back to Satvir on [email protected] .
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Terms and Conditions
These trips are for Contact Ealing registered members. Please send your pay-
ment with your form. We will notify you if you have a place at any of our
events. Extended family and friends (non registered members) may attend
only if there are spaces. Priority will be given to parents/carers and their dis-
abled children.
If you are unable to attend any of the events you have paid for, please let us
know as soon as possible so that we can offer your place to another family.
Parents and carers are responsible for their children at all times. Families
should be prepared for events and accidents and bring appropriate/spare
clothing, footwear for their child. Parents will also be responsible for providing
their child with refreshments.
By filling out your details on the booking form, you understand and agree to your de-
tails being entered onto the Contact database. Your personal data will be held and used
in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and GDPR, and will not be shared with
any third parties for commercial use. It will only be used by Contact for the purpose of
informing you about news, information and events. Normally we will contact you by
email however we may also contact you in writing. We would also like to contact you
occasionally, by post or email and text message about opportunities with Contact to
support families of disabled children. This could include information about our cam-
paigns and fundraising. We won’t overwhelm you with lots of information that you
don’t want. If you are happy for us to do this please tick the box below.
□ I am happy to be contacted about campaigns and fundraising
You can amend or remove your details or change how we contact you
whenever you wish by contacting Contact at: [email protected]
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The Ealing Advice Service is a tailored service for the residents of Ea-ling. We provide generalist advice service for residents of the London Borough of Ealing.
The service provides free, high quality advice and assistance in social welfare law across a range of areas including welfare benefits, landlord & tenant, homelessness, debt, employment, family, disability rights and immigration.
We also run a telephone advice line where our volunteers are able to give you preliminary advice and signpost you to organisations which will be better equipped to deal with any problems you have.
Our advice line number is 02085798429 and our volunteer advisers are available to give preliminary advice on a range of issues. We provide specialist assistance to court or tribunal level in welfare benefits, em-ployment, and housing.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions we are currently unable to offer face to face appointments or drop-in sessions. We will be reintroducing these gradually over the coming months. We are still providing casework and support with form filling online and over the telephone including advice for deaf clients who use BSL.
Phone: 02085798429 (option 1) 10:00am to 4:00pm – Monday to Fri-day. Evening telephone advice is not currently unavailable
Text Only: 07837 186 733
Email: [email protected] /
Professionals referring clients to EAS can use the online referral form by clicking here. This is the quickest way to make your referral. If you are unable to complete this online form you also download and complete this referral form and email it to us [email protected]
Information on our friends and
partners in Ealing.
Ealing Advice Service
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Fledglings– Contact’s new online shop
Contact Website
www.contact.org.uk
To help parents find the advice they need quickly and easily please take a look at our Contact website. We have the following tools on the website which you may find useful.
Our Common Questions tool which will help guide you through our online education and learning Infor-mation (and benefits, grants and money from 6 April) Turn2us
Online benefits calculator, offering independent information on benefits and other financial help you might be entitled to as a parent of a disabled child
Turn2us online grants finder to find out if your family can apply for a charity grant
Live Chat from our website helps you find information on your rights to services and support
Our library of podcasts available on our website
Keep up date with the latest developments by signing up to our What’s New e-newsletter including de-tails of online Q&A sessions focussing on key issues and concerns with tips and advice
With over 450 practical products to choose from. Now open for business, our online shop is full of aids and equipment designed to make life a little bit easier and more ful-filling for you and your child. This includes our best sellers like swimwear and accesso-ries, cutlery, continence products, toys and learning resources - all of which have been specifically designed for children with a disability or special educational need.
The website address is: www.fledglings.org.uk
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Have Your Say
Why not join our Contact Ealing Steering Group ?
At Contact Ealing, those of you who are registered as our parents or carers can help
make decisions such as which activities/trips, workshops and events you would like
us to organise for you and your children/young people. In these difficult times, it is
more important than ever for us to hear directly from you how we can support you
best.
If you are interested, contact Brigitte on [email protected] or
ring me on 07908 826948
Come and join us at our Annual Conference on Thursday 16th July at 11am on zoom. We
would love to introduce you to some of our partner organisations and hear from you which
Contact services you have used over the past year and how they have helped you.
Email Satvir on [email protected] to receive the link to join the meet-
ing.
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Main Carer’s Name:
Signature: (verbal consent can be given if GDPR statements have been read)
Date:
Mobile number:
Home number:
Email:
Full address:
What support group would you like to join with us? Carer’s support group □ Early years support group □
Date of Birth of main carer:
Nationality:
Ethnicity:
Religion:
Language:
Marital status: □Divorced □Married □Separated □ Single □Widowed
PART TWO – INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR CHILD/REN (please continue on a separate piece of paper if necessary)
Full Name of child:
Date of Birth:
Disability:
Full Name of child:
Date of Birth:
Disability:
Full Name of child:
Date of Birth:
Disability:
Full Name of child:
Date of Birth:
Disability:
PART FIVE: PRIVACY NOTICE
At Contact we are committed to protecting your privacy. Whenever you share personal data with us we aim to be clear with you, and not to do anything with your data that you wouldn't reasonably expect us to do. We will never sell your personal data to other organisations and will only ever share it in appropriate, legal or exceptional circumstances. We will only send e-newsletter and marketing communica-tions to those that have explicitly stated that they are happy for us to do so via their preferred channel(s) (e.g. email, SMS, phone) or where we have a legitimate interest reason for doing so. These communications include information about Contact's services supporting families with disabled children, and offers and information about how you can become involved, including fundraising, campaigning and volunteering. https://contact.org.uk/privacy
ARE YOU HAPPY FOR US TO GET IN TOUCH WITH YOU?
By email □ By post □ By phone □ By SMS □
WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO RECEIVE FROM US? Tick the box selecting what you would like to receive from us:
Campaign updates about opportunities to take action on the big issues facing families □ (email only)
Fundraising updates about opportunities to support our work □
Office Use Only: Discussed Privacy Notice □ Consent Recorded □
Entered on Database □ Groupcall registered □
Please only fill this registration form if you haven’t registered with us yet or would like to update your details.