Tag Archives: Down’s syndrome

Government announces £4m funding for special educational needs in Norfolk and Suffolk

 

Lauren Cope

The government has announced it will give £2.7m to Norfolk County Council and £1.3m to Suffolk County Council to improve special educational needs and disability (SEND) facilities.

Facilities for some of the most vulnerable children in Norfolk and Suffolk could be bolstered by a £4m investment in special needs education.

The government will, over three years, give Norfolk County Council £2.7m and Suffolk County Council £1.3m to increase school capacity and improve provision for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

It comes as part of a nationwide investment, worth £215m, to local councils, which can be spent on infrastructure and facilities.

Though councils will be free to invest the funding as they wish, they will be expected to consult with parents, carers and schools and put together a plan on how the money will be spent.

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Families fear respite care cuts

Big issue: Families fear respite care cuts

Warwickshire County Council plans to cut £1.7m from its budget could leave carers at breaking point, reports Mary Griffin

 
Rebecca Page from Priors Marston and her daughter Aleisha Page, who suffers from autism

“My whole world revolves around Aleisha,” says Rebecca Page. “It has to.”

Rebecca’s life plan has changed dramatically since her daughter Aleisha was diagnosed with severe autism at the age of three.

Seven years on, Aleisha is never left alone, needing one-to-one attention 24 hours a day.

Rebecca, who lives near Southam and left her career as a specialist teacher to become a full-time mum, says: “She headbangs until she’s stopped, she kicks and punches and she is extremely active, climbing up furniture.

“She’s a physically fit 10-year-old who functions somewhere between a baby and a two-and-a-half-year-old.

“She has no language but communicates through Makaton (a system of signs and symbols).

“You can’t turn around from her to run a bath. If you’re not holding on to her she’s gone.

“I can only sleep when she sleeps and then it’s like sleeping with a newborn – that half-sleep where you’re always listening out.”

Mayor says thank you to unpaid family carers

Carers recognised at afternoon tea with Mayor of Harrow

Carers sip tea with mayor Carers sip tea with mayor

Carers from across the borough were thanked for their hard work by the Mayor of Harrow with an afternoon tea.

Mayor Nana Asante welcomed unpaid carers who look after family and friends in need for afternoon tea at the mayoral parlour.

More than 40 carers and some of the people they care for were given a history of the borough and the council before sitting down to tea, cake and took part in a raffle.

Councillor Asante said: “This day came about as a result of carers’ week when I met a lot of carers and saw the fantastic work they do.