Come along, be informed, have a chat and maybe meet other parents and carers of SEND children!
Are you a parent and/or carer of a child or young person who has special educational needs and/or disabilities or you believe may require additional help? Are you looking for services in your area that can offer extra support for your child as they go through their education journey? Then Ashford Family Hubs would like to invite you to our SEND Information, advice and guidance event for Ashford.
There will be a short presentation at the start to introduce the services in attendance, followed by your opportunity to visit their stalls and find out how they can help.
Refreshments will be available and some toys can be provided in case you need to bring little ones.
16th July 2024 10 am -12 noon or 1 pm – 3 pm
Ashford North Family Hub Mabledon Avenue Ashford TN24 8BJ
Consultation opens: 19 July 2023 Consultation closes: 13 September 2023
Kent County Council (KCC) has launched an eight-week Family Hub services consultation which sets out proposals on the future of young peoples’ services.
Family Hubs brings together and integrates support services for children, young people and families, so that they are easier for people to access. By being focused on building better, strong relationships with families, we can work with multi-agency services, reducing the need for families to tell us their stories more than once and allow them to access help and support how they chose to i.e., from a physical building, outreach in the community or online/virtual. The consultation sets out the range of services that would be available under the Family Hub model, and the different ways they could be delivered.
KCC was one of 75 local authorities successfully awarded Department for Education (DfE) funding to design and implement a three-year Family Hub model in Kent, following the September 2020 review by Dame Andrea Leadsom MP focusing on improving outcomes for babies and the first 1,001 days of a child’s life.
The findings of that review enabled the DfE and Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) to develop a framework to support successful and ambitious local authorities to work with health partners to develop a Start for Life concept and Family Hub model.
Kent has been awarded Trailblazer status; one of only 14 authorities awarded the honour of becoming a national leader for the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme.
the DfE Family Hub model fits perfectly into the Framing Kent’s Future strategic vison for children, young people, and families, as well as supporting the wider national and community challenges following the Covid-19 pandemic.
just read the summary document which gives an overview of the proposals .
KCC are keen to hear your views on our proposals and how any changes may affect you.
Attend an activity event over the summer across Kent to find out more and ask your questions.
Events in Ashford
Date
Time
Address
Come and meet the team at the Bandstand, find out about your local youth services and join in with some activities!
Tuesday 8 August
12pm to 3pm
High Street, Ashford, TN24 8SA
A family event providing practical advice, information and support including healthy eating on a budget, looking after yourself and your bank balance! Lots of local organisations offering additional support services, benefits advice, free school meals and healthy start vouchers and other schemes. Come along and find out more.
Voters who have sight loss or visual impairment can get help when voting.
In partnership with the Royal National Institute for the Blind, The Electoral Commission has produced an information sheet to help those with sight loss, explaining how to vote and register to vote and explaining what help they can get.
If you want to vote, you must be registered. You can apply online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote or by contacting the electoral services department at your
local council.
The deadline to apply to vote in these elections is Monday 22 May(more…)
In the general election people with a learning disability have the same rights to vote as everybody else. If you are over 18 years old you may be able to vote.
People with a learning disability should vote so they have a say about things that affect their lives.
Ashford Borough Council is reminding those who have disabled blue badges to use their permits correctly to avoid facing a hefty fine or having the badge taken away.
Ashford Borough Councils’ Parking Enforcement Officers have been working closely with Kent County Council’s (KCC) Blue Badge Internal Audit and Fraud Team; as a result our Civil Enforcement Officers together with KCC will be cracking down on blue badge parking abuse.
Ashford Borough Councils’ Civil Enforcement Team will be carrying out a two month warning phase to crack down on those who misuse their badge, fraudulently use it, or who park where it would cause an obstruction or danger to other road users.
An education programme will take place between 30th January and 30th March. During this time, any drivers caught parking illegally and not complying with the rules will be issued with a warning notice. This approach will highlight to drivers the consequences of abusing the use of a Blue Badge by parking illegally or dangerously in the borough.
Following the warning phase, the council will begin enforcing where appropriate, and those who receive a Penalty Charge Notice will have their details passed directly onto KCC’s Blue Badge Audit and Fraud Team. (more…)
What is the east Kent’s “Local Offer” for children with Special Educational Needs and Disability?
The Children and Families Act was passed in March 2014. This means that Local authorities are required to publish and keep up to date information about services from Education, Health and Social Care which will be available for children and young people with special educational needs aged 0-25. This is the ‘Local Offer’.
The intention of the Local Offer is to improve choice, flexibility and transparency for families and to help them have more control over services by setting out the local provision for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and/or a Disability (SEND) and their families.
It will make information available in one place about the services children, young people and their families can expect from a range of local agencies. It is also an important resource for professionals in understanding the range of services and provision in the local area. (more…)
KCC Trading Standards continues to receive reports of bogus Blue Badge websites offering to assist with applications and charging £49 for a Blue Badge.
These websites are not associated with the Blue Badge Service and the application form supplied by these websites is not accepted by Local Authorities.
The official Blue Badge costs £10.
Information about the Blue Badge scheme including how to apply or renew a Blue Badge can be found by visiting the Kent County Council website.
“For years people said I couldn’t travel on my own because of my deafness. With my hearing aid and cochlear implant, it’s been so easy to travel by myself.
“I have travelled round the world and been immersed indifferent languages, cultures and customs. It’s really bro
“I’m learning British Sign Language because everybody deserves the same level of service when coming to our pub.
“I want to be able to ask deaf customers how they are, if they’ve had a nice day and what they’d like to order, without having to write everything down. Not long now!”
“I became profoundly deaf at 21. Some people think it’s dangerous for me to cycle, but what I lack in hearing I more than make up with awareness of my surroundings.
“This year I’m tackling a 3,200 mile ride across the USA. Deafness is not a barrier to life – it doesn’t stop people embracing their passions.”
In the general election people with a learning disability have the same rights to vote as everybody else. If you are over 18 years old you may be able to vote.
