Little Buddies

13/06/2024

The wait is over! Our very own pop song for Rare Chromosome and Gene Disorder Awareness Day, "Touch the Sky," is out now! 🌟 We hope you'll love it as much as we do.

We are Unique, a charity committed to growing a connected community that works to provide understanding and guidance for all those affected by rare chromosome and gene disorders through the collective advancement of knowledge, shared experience, education and partnerships​.

Share it with friends, family, and loved ones. 💖

Available on all major platforms! 🎶

Check out our lyrics video on YouTube - 🔗https://youtu.be/Nw2G8vKqon8 🔗🎥

29/11/2023

18/10/2023

Antrim Baby Bank are in need of toddler beds to help families in the community. If you or someone you know can help please get in touch

Do you have a toddler bed or large cot u no longer need ? 😊

Is there one taking up valuable storage space in your loft ? 🤪

Why not donate it to the Antrim Baby Bank ? Donations welcome every Thursday to the Baby Bank Castle Mall Shopping Centre beside the post office between 10am-12pm or 1pm -3pm .
Or drop it into our donations drop off right beside the Baby bank at a time of your choosing.

Every Thursday families receive valuable resources from the baby bank ! It is our goal to relieve poverty and refuge parental stress !!

Thank you for helping us to help others !! 🎉🎉🎉🎉

25/09/2023

Little Buddies/S.N.A.P.S. will be meeting in Ballykeel Community Centre this week
9:45 to 11:45
Parents/Carers & pre-schoolers all welcome

31/07/2023

The Education Authority has developed a survey to establish a baseline understanding of the confidence and satisfaction levels of all users and service providers for Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) services in Northern Ireland, building on the information it has acquired through parent and carer engagement sessions.

This survey is now LIVE, can be accessed here until midnight on Sunday 06Aug23, and you are invited to take part.

The Education Authority wants to reach as many people as possible with this exercise and would be grateful if you could encourage anyone you feel may have an invested interest in the SEND system in Northern Ireland, to also take part. Any feedback provided will help the EA shape the change for SEND service provision in Northern Ireland.

Helpful Blurb for context: Over the last decade and more, the proportion of children and young people who have special educational needs or a disability (SEND) has been increasing. The complexity of those needs has also been increasing. Many reports have been published in recent years about our SEND support services, by a range of organisations, including the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People. These reports made a lot of recommendations for change and we know that we must do better for all our children and young people with SEND. That is why we have decided to establish the SEND Transformation Programme. The vision for this programme is that all children and young people with SEND and their families will receive the right support, at the right time to reach their educational goals and get the best possible start in life. The work we need to do to transform our SEND system is complex and it will take time. We have prioritised a range of projects which will be delivered over the next two years to begin that transformation journey. To be successful, this ambitious programme needs to be developed and delivered collaboratively with children, young people and their families, our schools, public service partners, trade unions and wider stakeholders. We need to hear all your voices throughout this transformation journey. You are a trusted partner. Your knowledge, experiences and perspectives will help shape this Programme, and ultimately improve outcomes for all our children and young people with SEND. More information can be found on the EA website:

This programme aims to transform special educational needs and disability services in order to provide the best support.

31/07/2023

Dear Stakeholder
Re: The Executive Office (TEO) Public Consultation on the Provision of Free Period Products

Introduction
The Executive Office (TEO) has just launched a 12-week public consultation into the provision of free period products:

Provision of Free Period Products : Public Consultation - NI Direct - Citizen Space

Background
Period inequality contributes to the poor mental health and wellbeing experience of those who are unable to access the basic health essentials of period products. This is a growing issue particularly in light of the increased cost of living.

Period products are essential items for personal care to address a normal biological need and should therefore be available to everyone who needs them, regardless of their economic status.

To address this need the Period Products (Free Provision) Act (NI) 2022 was made by the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Act requires that period products will be made available from May 2024.

Public Consultation
The Executive Office now wants to hear from you regarding what period products should be made available, where these should be available and how people can access these. The questionnaire should take no longer than 10 minutes to complete.

Deadline
The consultation will run for 12 weeks from Monday 26 June 2023 – Monday 18 September 2023.

How you can help
The Executive Office wants to hear the views of as many people as possible and would welcome your assistance in raising awareness of this consultation.

To help we have attached links below to the press release, the consultation page, TEO’s twitter and TEO’s facebook coverage. We would be very grateful if you would consider promoting the consultation by sharing this information with your members and on your social media platforms.

Launch of public consultation on provision of free period products | The Executive Office (executiveoffice-ni.gov.uk)

Provision of Free Period Products : Public Consultation - NI Direct - Citizen Space

https://twitter.com/ExecOfficeNI/status/1673332816451448837?s=20

https://fb.watch/lpmrNi67z4/

E-mail: period.products@executiveoffice-ni.gov.uk

Welcome to the home page of the The Executive Office (The Executive Office). The Executive Office is part of the Northern Ireland Executive.

10/07/2023

I would like to expose a situation. If your children (or grandchildren) don’t learn to play with children with special needs at school, maybe you should spend 10 minutes tonight explaining it to them. Because, although they don't currently live with these children at school, they will find them in their lives for sure.
In light of recent events regarding the exclusion of a child with autism from attending a school trip and a child with Down Syndrome being expelled from dance class because she couldn't keep up with it, I feel the need to share this. There are boys and girls that no one invites to birthday parties. There are special children who want to be part of a team but are not selected because it's more important to win than to include these children. Kids with special needs aren't weird, they just want what everyone wants: to be accepted!
Can I ask a question? Is there anyone willing to copy and paste this post on their wall without sharing it, like I did, for all the special children out there?
Please teach your children to be kind to these beautiful children!
Everyone needs love and kindness. 🩷💙

14/06/2023

SENSE NI
Information Fair
(awareness of dual sensory loss)
Wed 21st June
10am - 12 noon
Cullybackey Community Centre

RNIB/deafblind UK/Guide Dogs/NOW/
Barnardo's/SPRING - social prescribing

Light refreshments provided

03/04/2023

🤚 Learn Makaton in the comfort of your own home. ✋

All you need to take part is a computer with a we**am and a stable internet connection.

Complete the online form to register your interest: https://forms.office.com/e/4Q5605AqPS

These sessions teach 50 highly useful functional signs and symbols and how to use them.

𝗣𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗶𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗺 𝗕𝗼𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆.

28/03/2023

As part of World Autism Acceptance Week, the Paediatric ASD Service has launched a range of resources to support parents & carers of young people with autism. Check out our podcasts, videos & online training content, providing advice & strategies here 👉 https://crowd.in/jaEbaW

27/03/2023

Emma from Angel Eyes coming to Little Buddies this Wednesday. Everyone welcome to come along 🙂