Families Lives are running a series of really helpful on-line groups this summer, the details of some are listed below:

Bringing Up Confident ADHD/ASD Children (6 weeks) - Tuesday 18 April to 23 May 2023, 7.00 – 9.00pm

If your child has ADHD/ASD, or you think they might, join our online 6-week group where you will receive support from other parents and gain a comprehensive understanding of ADHD/ASD and learn strategies to improve life at home and at school.

Sessions will cover :

• ADHD/ ASD - a whole-family issue
• Understanding your child’s behaviour
• Helping your child manage their feelings and outbursts.
• Balancing support of siblings
• Learning about structure and routines.
• Supporting your child at school

Sorting Out Arguments in your Family (6 weeks) - Thursday 18 May to 29 June 2023, 7.00 – 9.00pm

Do you feel everything ends in an argument and you are constantly trying to keep the peace? Join our free online 6-week group to help improve family communication, reduce the reactions which lead to arguments and create a culture of teamwork in your family.

Sessions will cover :

• How parents and children can be affected by conflict
• Strategies in handling and resolving conflict and anger.
• Parents role when there is sibling rivalry and jealousy, fostering cooperation rather than competition.
• Effective communication, implementing boundaries and how to negotiate

Less Shouting, More Cooperation (6 weeks) - Wednesday 7 June to 12 July 2023, 9.30 – 11.30am

Do you feel you are constantly nagging or shouting at your child to get what you need? Are you tired of losing your cool and want a calmer house?  Join our free online 6- week group to learn how you can change the way you communicate with your child, respond better, and feel more in control

The sessions will cover:-

• Exploring what helpful discipline is
• Recognising the triggers and responding more effectively
• Learning new parenting tools to challenge children’s behaviour.
• How to negotiate and implement effective boundaries and family agreements.
• How to hold boundaries and gain co-operation 

Getting on with Your Pre Teen/Teenager (6 weeks) - Thursday 8 June to 13 July 2023, 7.00 – 9.00pm

Is your teen feeing anxious or isolated in the wake of Covid-19? Are you concerned about their mental health and struggling to get help? Maybe you have an FFA/CIN/CP in place and need more support.   Join our free online 6-week online group to learn how parents can best emotionally support their teen and feel confident and prepared for whatever challenges might arise.

The sessions will cover:-

• Learn tools to help teenagers manage difficult emotions & avoid drama and become more emotionally resilient.

• How to change parenting styles to meet the developmental needs of your teenager & remain effective
• How to talk to teens so they will talk to you and build strong relationships
• How to set effective boundaries to stop problem behaviour
• How to give teenagers more independence whilst keeping them safe; make good choices and avoid peer pressure.

Family Lives accept referrals from professionals as well as self-referrals.  Please click here referral form for the online referral form.

You can also email services@familylives.org.uk or call them on 0204 522 8700 or 0204 522 8701 for more information.

More information about Family Lives can be found at https://www.familylives.org.uk/

If your child has a diagnosis of ASD or ADHD or is on the pathway to receiving a diagnosis, there are some excellent courses over the next few weeks with Nessie and Angels. We'd love to hear your feedback on any you attend and any useful tips you learn from them!

Wednesday 15th March 7-830pm via Zoom: Autism, Sexuality and Gender Diversity    https://procfu.com/nespubbooking/eventDetail_home/2387629576

Tuesday 21st March 7-830pm via Zoom: Emotionally based school avoidance    https://procfu.com/nespubbooking/eventDetail_home/2387631065

Wednesday 22nd March 1-23pm via Zoom: Self-harm    https://procfu.com/nespubbooking/eventDetail_home/2387633567

This month's 'coffee and chat' will be taking place on Friday 17th March at 230pm in the Upper hall. As usual, this is open to all parents and carers of children with SEN and is an informal oportunity to seek advice, share tips and not feel alone! This month we will be having a particular focus on children who will be moving from Year 6 to Year 7 in September but it is not restricted to those families.

We look forward to seeing many of you there!

ADD-Vance are running a FREE online workshop to support transition to secondary school. This is for parents of all children in Year 6 with either a diagnosis of ADHD or ASD or those who are on the pathway to receiving their diagnosis.

The event is online on March 6th from 10am until 1130am. Visit the eventbrite site to reserve a place and reveive the event link.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/supporting-the-transition-to-secondary-school-free-online-workshop-tickets-479818900247

School avoidance is difficult for everyone involved.

Herts Parent Carer Involvement and ANGELS are offering both person-to-person and on-line workshops for parents who need support dealing with this to:

- Develop an understanding of the factors what might be causing this

- Explore strategies that can help to support you child

Person-to-Person Workshops:

Monday 13th March 10am - 12pm at The Oval Community Centre, Vardon Rd, Stevenage, SG1 5RD

Monday 20th March 10am - 12pm at Marshalwick Community Centre, The Ridgeway, St Albans, AL4 9TU

On-line Workshop:

Monday 27th March 7pm - 9pm via Zoom

To book a place and/or get Zoom details please email: claire@hertsparentcarers.org.uk

If you're looking for something to do with your children this half term, Stevenage Museum having some Ancient Egyptian themed activities which we know year 3 pupils would love after our Autumn topic!

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the opening of Tutankhamun’s tomb in February 1923, we are exploring all thing ancient Egyptian this half term.

Wednesday 15 February -  Egyptian Clay Day

Thursday 16 February - Mummy Madness

Find out about how the ancient Egyptians buried their dead and make your own King Tut mask to take home.

Friday 17 February - Egyptian arts and crafts for younger children

Please book to avoid disappointment

Cost: £4 per child, £2 for concessions.

Please book in advance as places go very quickly, and if you can’t make it, it would be great if you could let the museum know so that someone else can use the space.

Thank you to all those who joined Mrs Toll for one of the after school yoga workshops for Children's Mental Health week!

It was great to see so many pupils and their grown ups having a go at something new and taking on new challenges.

We had great fun playing yoga games, acting out yoga stories and we really enjoyed taking time to relax and unwind after a busy day. 

Look out for more yoga at Fairlands soon

Namaste 

We know it can sometimes be tricky for pupils to leave their grown ups in the morning. To support you in helping them get ready for school, we have created a document of 'curious questions'. 

The purpose of these questions is to help pupils identify what they are feeling, how it is making their body feel and what might be the root cause of their emotion. 
These questions will be on display in your child's classroom to help with transitions but please use them at home too to help you child prepare and re regulate after the school day. 

Nessie is a team we work with who support the positive mental health and wellbeing of young children. They have a great range of short videos on their website including: coping with anger, dealing with anxiety and supporting children with neurodiversity. They also have a section containing 'bite-sized' documents which are fantastic quick reads full of information and ideas. It's definitely worth a visit to their website to have an explore!

 https://nessieined.com/additional-resources