BELOW ARE LINKS TO SOURCES OF INFORMATION AND LINKS TO LOCAL SUPPORT GROUPS AND SERVICES. ALTHOUGH WE MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO ENSURE THESE LINKS ARE ACCURATE, UP TO DATE AND RELEVANT, THE PRE-SCHOOL TEACHING TEAM CANNOT TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR PAGES MAINTAINED BY EXTERNAL PROVIDERS.

If you have any suggestions for web sites that you have found useful please let us know.

BARNET LOCAL OFFER - This website helps children and young people with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities and their families find the information and support they are looking for, from across the Barnet local area.

BARNET MENCAP AND FAMILY SUPPORT SERVICE - Barnet Mencap provides advice, information and support for parent/carers of children with learning disabilities and special educational needs. They do this through telephone and one-to-one support on a range of issues including education, health, housing, benefits and other matters. There are parenting programmes and workshops throughout the year. Open Door provides drop-in sessions at Barnfield Children's Centres for under 5’s.

OUR PLACE AT ST JAMES’ CHURCH are a parent and baby/toddler group especially for babies and toddlers with additional needs. They meet every Tuesday afternoon in term time, from 1.30pm to 3pm, at St James’ Church in New Barnet. Their aim is to provide a safe space for parents to meet and make friendships with other parents facing similar challenges, whilst their babies and children have a wonderful time playing. Everyone is welcome whatever their faith.

BARNET CARERS CENTRE offers advice, information, emotional and practical support for all informal carers who live or work in the London Borough of Barnet. They help those who may be affected by a child, sibling or a parent with a disability. They have a support network for parents who have a child with a disability and provide on-going support through their youth clubs, one-to-one school sessions and mentoring.

BARNET SHORT BREAKS offer activities for disabled children and young people with an Education and Health Care Plan to make sure they have the same opportunities as other children to have fun, spend time away from home with their friends, and develop skills and independence. Short Breaks also gives carers a chance to take a break from their caring responsibilities. These breaks can include day, evening, overnight and weekend activities and can take place in the child's own home, in a community or residential setting.

There is one Short Break that is available without with an Education and Health Care Plan and that is:

Teeny Tiny Fun Play Group - This group is run in term time on a Wednesday from 10-1pm at Buckets and Spades respite centre in Finchley. This group provides respite for families who have a child with complex needs, from 18 months old – 5 Years, and is a group for parents/carers to leave their child in a supportive, caring and stimulating environment.

SPARKLES GROUP is a pre-school group that supports children with multi-sensory impairment, or those who have a single sensory impairment and have other additional disabilities. It offers families opportunities to access specialist support from professionals with knowledge and experience of children with multi- sensory impairment. The group is run by SENSE at The Hadley Family Centre, 12 Hyde Close , Barnet, London, EN5 5TJ.

CHALLENGE GROUP is a parent and toddler group for families who have a child with additional needs. They meet on a Friday morning from 10-11.30am at St James’s Church, St James’ Lane, Muswell Hill, London N10 3DB. They are a Christian organisation that welcomes every one of any faith (or none). Parents whose children are at school are also welcome.

info@challengeplaygroup.org.uk

RESOURCES FOR AUTISM is a charity that provides practical services for children and adults with a diagnosis of autism and for those who love and care for them. They offer a range of services and activities. Examples of what they offer include: therapies, support, play schemes, play and youth clubs and home support.

BARNET CHILDREN CENTRES are intended to make life better for parents and children under five-years-old. Children’s Centres offer the following services:

• Family support and information including workshops and drop-in groups.
• Health services and advice including support before and after the birth of a baby.
• Access to specialist services, for example, speech and language therapy, midwifery support etc.
• Home visiting to isolated families.
• Activities for children, mothers, fathers and carers.
• Learning opportunities for parents and advice on employment.
• Information and advice including benefit information.
• Children with additional needs support groups.

BARNET SENDIASS - Barnet Special Educational Needs and Disability Information, Advice and Support Service. SENDIASS provides parents and carers of children and young people aged 0-25 with special educational needs (SEN) or a disability with free, confidential and impartial information, advice and support.

NOAH’S ARK - Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice is a community-based hospice service providing support for babies, children and young people with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions and their families in North and Central London and Hertsmere. They offer a range of services including family fun days, medically trained carers for respite, play therapists and much more.

C POTENTIAL is a charity who work with babies, children and young people, who have movement disorders due to conditions such as cerebral palsy, global development delay or acquired brain injury. They can also help children and adults with other conditions or disabilities. 

They offer our services to families from all over London and the Home Counties

FAMILY FRIENDLY BARNET offers information about childcare in Barnet, Breakfast Clubs, Holiday Schemes and information on Government Funding to help with child care.

HOME-START - This charity provides support to families with a child under 5 years of age in their own home. Once a family has been assessed, a volunteer is matched with the family and can offer up to 3 hours a week support.

ASPIRE TRAINING CENTRE is based in North West London within the grounds of the Royal National Orthopedic Hospital in Stanmore. The Centre was the first fully accessible leisure Centre in Europe for both disabled and non-disabled people. At the Centre, families can access a heated swimming pool with their child with additional needs. The Centre also offers swimming lessons for children with additional needs.

CAMP SIMCHA is a Jewish charity that helps all Jewish children and their families when the child has one of the following:

• A life threatening illness, e.g. cancer, heart problems, muscular dystrophy,
• A life changing condition e.g. serious muscle and skeletal problems, neurofibromatosis and Type 1 Diabetes
• A baby born premature and sick babies.

They offer a range of support services for the child, siblings and wider family.

NORTH LONDON DEAF CHILDREN’S SOCIETY is a charity that aims to support families of deaf children by sharing experiences and knowledge, offering emotional and social support and by organising events and activities for the children. The children have different degrees of hearing impairment, from partially to profoundly deaf and use all methods of communication.

PARENT/CARERS FORUM is a voluntary group of enthusiastic, committed parents and family carers in the London Borough of Barnet working with the local authority to ensure that the voices of their children, young people and their families are heard. They inform their members about workshops, training and events for families with children with additional needs.

BARNET WELL-BEING SERVICE aims to improve people’s emotional health by looking at their individual needs. They work in partnership with a number of organisations which provide services tailored to individual’s needs within the borough of Barnet. They look at physical, emotional and social needs as a whole to identify and connect each person with the services that would improve their wellbeing.