SEND support groups and events
Introduction
Looking after a child with special educational needs and/or disabilities can feel lonely and isolating at times. You can often feel that you are going through a maze of special educational needs and health assessments.
Life at home can be very difficult but also rewarding. It can be really good to talk with other parents and get advice from those who have been, or are going through, similar situations.
Local SEND support organisations and groups
Local support organisations include:
- ASD Helping Hands (opens new window) - support for families who have a child with an Autistic spectrum disorder
- Autism Anglia
- Norfolk SENDIASS (SEND information, advice and support service)
- Norfolk SEN Network
- SENsational families - for families with a child with SEND
- Nansa (the Norfolk and Norwich SEND Association) (opens new window)
Support groups are ideal:
- To meet other parents and carers in a similar situation
- For friendship and opportunities to socialise
- To share information
Find other local support groups
Search the Norfolk Community Directory
Contact, the national SEND charity, can also signpost you to local groups.
National SEND support organisations and groups
National support organisations include:
- Contact - for families with a child who is disabled
- Carers Trust - for parent carers
- Carers UK - for parent carers
- Down's Syndrome UK
- IASS Network - information, advice and support services
- IPSEA - independent parental special educational advice
- MENCAP - for families with a child who has learning disabilities
- Mind - mental health charity
- National Autistic Society
- Nip in the Bud - films and fact sheets about mental health and neurodiversity
- SWAN UK (Syndromes Without a Name) - for families with a child with a rare genetic condition
Support groups are ideal
- To meet other parents and carers in a similar situation
- For friendship and opportunities to socialise
- To share information
Find other national support organisations and groups
Search the Norfolk Community Directory
Contact, the national SEND charity, can also signpost you to national groups.
Making Sense of SEND
Making Sense of SEND are free events for parents/carers who have a child with SEND. They are also for professionals who work with them.
Each event has between 15-20 information stands. They'll give you the chance to:
- Visit information stands to learn about local services and support
- Listen to a talk on a specialist subject
- Ask questions
- Share ideas
Next event
- Theme: My learning and development
- Date: Tuesday 26 November 2024
- Time: 10am-12pm
- Place: King's Centre (Kingsgate), Great Yarmouth
- Talk: Provision Expected at SEN Support
Go to Eventbrite to book your free place
Services attending this event
We (SEND Local Offer) will be there alongside:
- Norfolk SEND information advice and support service (SEND IASS): give SEND information, advice and support to children, young people, and parent/carers
- Family Voice Norfolk: Norfolk's parent/carer forum who work with families and service providers. They help improve outcomes for children and young people living with SEND.
- Healthwatch Norfolk: making sure NHS leaders and other decision-makers hear your voice
- Vision Norfolk: support to vision impaired children and young adults aged 0-25 years, and their families through information, advice and guidance
- Travel independence training across Norfolk (TITAN): focuses on helping young people with SEND get skills for safe independent travel
- Norfolk and Waveney children and young person's health services: children's health information and advice and the delivery of speech and language services
- Learning disability health checks: helping young people with a learning disability aged 14 or over get a yearly health check
- Family hubs Norfolk: support for parents and carers of children and young people from birth to 19 (or 25 with SEND)
- Dyslexia outreach service (DOS): provide services to all schools and key stages. They offer advice and support, teaching strategies and inset training, as well as workshops and courses for parent carers.
- Community Dental Services CiC: specialist dental care services for people with learning disabilities, mental health difficulties and severe anxiety, covering Norfolk and Waveney
- Short Breaks: provides young people aged 5-17 years with an enjoyable break away from their parent carers, while giving their parent carers a break from their caring responsibilities
- Family Action: provides support and advice, resources and signposting to parents/carers of children awaiting assessment of a neurodevelopmental different or recently diagnosed
- Norfolk Library Information Services (NLIS): nationally recognised as being among the best library services in the country, offering lots of inclusive activities and signposting to useful resources
- Carers Matter Norfolk: specialise in supporting carers and young people to ensure the right support is put in place to remove or reduce the caring the young carer provides, and assisting parent carers with their responsibilities
- Sunbeams: a registered charity which provides a fun, safe and caring environment for autistic children and young people to thrive
- Adult Learning: offers courses and apprenticeships for adult learners, as well as information, advice and guidance to support learners while studying
Future events
- Tuesday 26 November 2024 (King's Centre, Great Yarmouth)
- Thursday 23 January 2025 (Cromer Parish Hall, Cromer)
- Wednesday 19 March 2025 (Knight's Hill Hotel, King's Lynn)
- Thursday 22 May 2025 (Fakenham Community Centre, Fakenham)
- Thursday 3 July 2025 (County Hall, Norwich)
SEND support events for families
We share information about support events for parents and carers of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities on our social media channels.
Facebook www.facebook.com/sendnorfolk
Other events you might be interested in
- SENsational families support groups (opens new window)
- Norfolk Portage Service fortnightly parent/carer group
Facebook SEND support groups
In Spring 2021, we spoke to parent carers to find out where they found useful information and guidance to support them.
Many parent carers mentioned they were members of Facebook groups. They found these online groups useful to speak to other parent carers virtually who are in similar situations.
These are some of the Facebook groups mentioned:
- Disability Network Norfolk Group
- Parents of children with Down's Syndrome
- Slice of Advice support network for parents carers of children with Autism
Parents also mentioned they found Facebook pages of groups and organisations a useful source of information.
These are some of the Facebook pages mentioned:
- Autism Anglia
- Norfolk SENDIASS
- Norfolk SEND Local Offer
- Newbold Hope supports families of violent children who also have an additional need.
Contact workshops and events for families
Contact is a charity for families with disabled children that provides support through information and advice, a listening ear and workshops and events.
Find out about the range of workshops, information sessions and online events on offer, where you can meet families like yours.
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