contact -
Gill McDonald - 01892 834577
Debbie Salt - 01959 533292Newsletter - January 2008
Coffee Mornings
Post-Xmas meal
Unit and Designation Review
Afasic Christmas cards
Emma Noble
John Bercow Review
SE London, Medway and East Sussex Local Afasic groups
Email addresses
Final Words
Firstly, I would like to thank Sarah for hosting the last coffee morning.
The next coffee morning will be from 10am to 12 midday on Thursday 31st January 2008 at Caroline’s house in Tonbridge. The phone number for Caroline is 01732 364396. Our speaker will be Ailsa McMahon from Carers First. Bernadette sent me the following information about Carers First -
I've recently had some contact with Carers First. They have started up a support group for carers of people with autism or aspergers and want to promote it - I said we could put it in the newsletter. The meetings are every second Monday evening in Tonbridge or the surrounding area. The people to contact are Carolyn Brockman or Gillian Douglass on 01732 357555. They would also be happy to come and speak about the services Carers First can offer at an Afasic meeting. One thing they do is supply someone to look after the child with special needs while you take the other children out, attend an appointment or whatever
Ailsa will be talking about the services which Carers First can provide including the Respite Service that Bernadette mentioned.
I’m really ahead of myself here because I have already arranged the following coffee morning; Tuesday 1st April 2008 at Bernadette’s house in Matfield. The phone number for Bernadette is 01892 723878. More details in the next newsletter.
There will be a Post-Xmas/New-Year meal at Ask (pizza, pasta and salads) in Tonbridge at 8pm on Tuesday 26th February 2008. Email or phone me if you would like to join us so that I can book a table.
The dates for next term i.e. the old Spring Term and new Terms 3 and 4 (if you live in Kent) are unusual this year because Easter is very early and does not fall within the first 2 weeks of April for Spring Break. So we have a long weekend for Easter, 2 weeks back at school and then 2 weeks off for Spring Break. I have tried to spread the coffee mornings and the meal out evenly between January and April – I hope the dates are convenient and do not clash with the private, public and out-of-Kent school holidays.
Unit and Designation Review back to top
Since the last newsletter the Consultation Documents for South West Kent (Tonbridge, Malling, Paddock Wood & Cranbrook, Tunbridge Wells and Sevenoaks South clusters) have been published, the Public Meetings to discuss the proposals have been held and comments about the proposals received. The next stage is when the proposals ‘go to cabinet’ in February.
The Consultation Documents can be read on the Unit and Designation Review website –
To very briefly summarise the proposed changes –
- Tunbridge Wells Language Unit at Southborough is to close
- A new Hub is to be set up at St Matthews High Brooms to ‘support’ autism AND Speech Language and Communication needs for both primary AND secondary.
- A reduction in catchment area for the (secondary) Language Unit at The Malling School, along with a reduction in funding but an increase in their re-mit because they are to provide outreach without extra funding. This will, over time, erode the Language Unit provision
- Subtle differences, dependant upon in which cluster you live as to which provision you will be able to access.
The Consultation Documents currently appear to be in a draft state although KCC are giving the impression that their plans are complete.
I urge you to read these documents and work out what they mean to you and the future education of your child. If you would like to discuss this further please contact me.
West Kent Afasic has responded to these proposals with 6 pages of questions!
Afasic Christmas cards back to top
It was a very poor year for Christmas cards this year – so poor that we did not even recover our outlay for stock. This was partly my fault for not pushing the cards because I have been so tied up with the Unit and Designation Review. On the positive side, we do have plenty of cards to sell next year! Although we do not make much money from the sale of the cards it has been a reliable source of income for the last few years. Hopefully we will do better next year!
Bernadette has sent me this link to an article published in the Daily Mail about Emma Noble and her autistic son Emma Noble -
My son is autistic but I still feel so blessed | the Daily Mail
John Bercow Review back to top
Those of you who are Afasic members will have received a letter from Afasic Central Office about the Bercow Review and those of you who are on my email distribution list will have received emails from me about the Bercow review. For those of you who have not heard about the Bercow Review here is some information about it (and for those of you who know about it here is a reminder!) -
The Bercow Review is an independent review supported by officials from the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Department of Health.
John Bercow MP is seeking views on specialist provision for children and young people with speech, language and communications needs.
The review has been commissioned by the Children, Schools and Families Secretary, Ed Balls and Health Secretary, Alan Johnson.
It will make recommendations on how the very best provision can be mirrored in all areas, so every child and young person with speech and language difficulties gets support as early as possible. It will also advise on how local services can work closer together so children get the support they need, when they need it.
You can also read the full press from the Department for Children, Schools and Families -
www.dfes.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2007_0191More information can be found on The Review’s website -
www.dcsf.gov.uk/bercowreview/index.shtmlYou can respond to The Review via the Department for Children, Schools and Families website -
www.dcsf.gov.uk/consultations/conDocument.cfm?consultationId=1513
or by email to -
Bercow.Review@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk
or post your comments to -
Consultation Unit, Area 1A, Castle View House, East Lane, Runcorn, WA7 2GJPlease respond to The Review. If parents do not respond then they only have themselves to blame if resources are taken away from their children.
SE London, Medway and East Sussex Local Afasic groups back to top
Over the last couple of years I have been contacted several times from neighbouring areas such as South East London, Medway and East Sussex about local Afasic Groups in their area. I always tell these parents that we are their nearest local group and that they are welcome to join us but a lot of the things we chat about such as local schools etc may not be particularly relevant to them. I always suggest to these parents that they might like to set up their own local group!
If you are reading this and you live outside the West Kent area, would YOU like to set up your own local group? Afasic have a ‘user manual’ for local groups with a sample constitution, advice about data protection, information about finance etc. Afasic would also send you 3 or 4 times a year a list of Afasic members in your area. Also West Kent Afasic would be willing to talk to you about what we do and suggest things to get you started.
Anyone interested?
As you know I am very keen to email everybody on my mailing list. Not only is it quicker for me and saves money but it also means that I can get information to you quicker,
For example, as written earlier in this newsletter, there has been great progress with the Unit and Designation Review since the last newsletter, and if you are only receiving this newsletter on paper I have been unable to send you immediate progress reports about the status of the review.
Also some information I send out never gets to the newsletter, for example details of the special film showings at Odeon Maidstone. I receive details of the special holiday film showings for autistic children at the Odeon Maidstone with such short notice that I send them to my email distribution list but the information is no longer current by the time the next newsletter is sent out. So some people never get this information.
So if you are receiving this on paper please consider swapping to email for your benefit as well as mine!
Any articles for newsletter gratefully received
Any speaker gratefully accepted
Any new coffee morning hostesses (even more) gratefully received.
And don’t forget any email addresses even more gratefully received!
Gill McDonald
01892 834577
Gill-2008@west-kent-afasic.fsnet.co.uk
