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Kidz Scotland Event 17th September 2015

Resources

Kidz Scotland is one of the largest FREE events dedicated to children and young adults with disabilities and additional needs, their families, carers and all the people who support them.  There will be over 100 exhibitors offering advice and information about a whole range of topics including mobility aids, access to sport and leisure, funding for equipment – and much more.

This year’s event takes place on Thursday 17th September at the Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh.

Download a visitor’s free entry ticket and see more information here.

Young Talk – Peer Mediators in Scotland Getting Together

Articles & Reports

 

Primary school artwork describing peer mediation and its rules
Peer Mediation Poster

The Scottish Mediation Network recently launched a pilot project called Young Talk – a network for peer mediators in Scotland.  The purpose of Young Talk is to support peer mediation in schools and  youth organisations, as a method of preventative and restorative conflict resolution. Peer mediation allows children and young people to deal positively with conflict among their peers, on their own terms.

More information about the launch of Young Talk here

Or email Roxan Nazifishirayi, the Peer Mediation Network Coordinator at SMN 

A framework for all staff working with people with Autistic Spectrum Disorders, their families and carers

Resources

The NHS Education for Scotland Autism Training Framework ‘Optimising  Outcomes’ is available online.
The purpose of this document is to help organisations identify the levels of knowledge and skill their staff require in order to meet the needs of people with autism spectrum conditions and their families and carers, and to identify staff training needs that support the delivery of national guidelines.  It should also help individual staff members to understand the values underpinning the Scottish Strategy for Autism.

Download the framework here

Values and principles intrinsic to the framework:
To facilitate staff to be able to provide a service to individuals, their families and carers that values their rights to:

  • Independence
  • Being viewed and treated as individuals
  • Being treated fairly
  • Having access to services that will support them in realising their potential and promote wellbeing
  • Make choices
  • Respect and dignity
  • Respect for privacy and confidentiality
  • Treatment being compassionate and non-judgemental

 

National Parent Forum of Scotland: ASL Survey

Articles & Reports

The National Parent Forum of Scotland was set up to give Parent Councils and parents an opportunity to discuss and raise educational issues and/or concerns at a national level.

The Forum works in partnership with national and local government, and other organisations involved in Scottish education.

The Forum is currently seeking the views of parents about the provision of Additional Support for Learning (ASL) throughout Scotland.
Take part in the survey here

More information about the National Parent Forum of Scotland here

Bridging the gap in school attainment – survey of parental views

Information

The Education and Culture Committee of the Scottish Government has recently undertaken a year long  piece of work on how to tackle the large difference in average school attainment in the most and least deprived areas of Scotland.  More information is available here.

One topic to to be discussed is how parents and schools can best work together to  raise all pupils’ attainment.  In connection with this the Committee is running an on-line survey seeking  parents’ views about how schools work with them to support their children’s learning.
Complete the survey here.

The survey closes on 7 March 2015.

Dyslexia Awareness Week, 3 – 9 November 2014

Information

Dyslexia Awareness Week is an annual national event that aims to raise awareness of dyslexia, but also to celebrate the amazing achievements of people with dyslexia.

The theme of this year’s event is Dyslexia Matters………..

  • To the  1 in 10 people in the UK affected by dyslexia;
  • Because with early intervention and the right support, people with dyslexia can reach their full potential;
  • At school and at work, making the environment dyslexia friendly can benefit everyone.

Events are taking place all over Scotland this week. More information is available on the website of Dyslexia Scotland.

 

World Mental Health Day, Friday 10th October 2014

Resources

Today is World Mental Health Day – a day for global mental health education, awareness and advocacy, first celebrated in 1992.  It’s an initiative run by the World Federation for Mental Health, a global mental health organisation with members and contacts in more than 150 countries.

To help raise awareness of mental health and the many struggles that children and young people with mental health issues face, the Scottish Children’s Services Coalition has renewed its call on the Scottish Government for urgent action to ensure that NHS Health Boards meet waiting time pledges to access mental health services.

Read the Scottish Children’s Services Coalition news release here.