Sendac - Cumbria Parent Carer Forum

09/09/2025

🌍 Awareness of FASD is growing… but still not nearly enough.

❌ A common myth is that only heavy drinking during pregnancy causes FASD.

✅ The truth is: NHS and the UK Chief Medical Officers are clear —

“The safest approach is not to drink alcohol at all while you’re pregnant or trying to get pregnant, to keep risks to your baby to a minimum.”

This advice exists because there is no proven safe amount of alcohol in pregnancy. 🍷🚫🤰

Early identification of FASD is vital so children and young people can get the right support. Sadly, too often, professionals such as practitioners, teachers, and school staff are unaware of the key signs and symptoms.

🔎 Misdiagnosis or very late recognition is common. Studies show that many people who eventually receive an FASD diagnosis were first given alternative neurodevelopmental diagnoses.

👉 Raising awareness, challenging myths, and promoting early understanding is key to changing outcomes for children, families, and communities. 💙

06/09/2025

“Your children can explore a range of sensory play activities as well as you having the opportunity to speak to our experienced SEND workers who can offer arrange of support and advice.”

For children 0-5 years with additional needs and their families.

Find a session near you 🌍

◾Harraby Community Centre (Whale of a Time Soft Play)- Starting 9 September 11.00am- 12.00pm

◾Family Hub on the Harbour- Starting 10 September 1.30-2.30pm

◾Wigton Family Hub- Starting 18 September 1.30-2.30pm

🥰Time Together🥰

Time together is a FREE support group for children with additional needs and their families. Your children can explore a range of sensory play activities as well as you having the opportunity to speak to our experienced SEND workers who can offer arrange of support and advice.
For children 0-5 years with additional needs and their families. (Term time only)

Find a session near you 📍
◾Harraby Community Centre (Whale of a Time Soft Play)- Starting 9 September 11.00am- 12.00pm
◾Family Hub on the Harbour- Starting 10 September 1.30-2.30pm
◾Wigton Family Hub- Starting 18 September 1.30-2.30pm

05/09/2025

🙌🏻🙌🏻

04/09/2025

SENDAC caters week raffle

03/09/2025

⭐ Join Us for an online open Introduction to Volunteering at SENDAC! ⭐

If you have a couple of hours spare a month - we would love for you to come and find out about volunteering at SENDAC to help you decide whether it’s something that you want to do! All of our work is mostly online, so driving etc isnt essential at all!

We understand that trying something new can be absolutely terrifying! Which is why we want to offer a some free open sessions for anyone interested in volunteering with us!

These informal sessions are designed to give you a clear understanding of what volunteering with us entails and help you decide if it's the right fit for you or not!

There will only be other parent carers in the session, it’s an informal and safe way to find out if it’s for you or not and ask any questions that you have!

Don’t worry if you’re camera shy - you're more than welcome to attend with your mic and camera off. Lots of parents do when they join our sessions!

During the session, we’ll cover:

- What it means to volunteer with SENDAC 🫱🏼‍🫲🏻
- The benefits of joining our team shake ⭐️
- The current roles and areas where we need support- all our volunteers choose exactly what they want to do and don’t want to do 🙌🏻
- who are current volunteers are and a bit about them 🗣️
- The importance of volunteers to SENDAC 💙


You'll also have the opportunity to ask any questions you may have!

Choose from two available dates (both sessions will cover the same we just wanted to give a day and night option):


🗓️ Thursday 18th September 7:00PM to 8:15PM

Or

🗓️ Tuesday 23rd September 10:30AM to 11:45AM

Both sessions will be held on Microsoft teams! 💻

To book:

You can do so by scanning the QR code on the last picture or by using this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/B2BMMXN 🔗

We can’t wait to meet you and hopefully gain more helping hands to ensure improvements are made to SEND services for children/young people and families in Cumbria 💙 💙

31/08/2025

Extend your Child Benefit claim online to ensure payments continue in September.

15/08/2025

1 week to go!! Hope to see you there!

14/08/2025

💡 What is interoception?

Interoception is a body sense that is important but lesser known. It helps us notice and understand signals inside our own bodies - like feeling hungry, thirsty, tired, needing the toileting, and even pain.

This sense helps us keep our body in balance, manage our emotions, and feel connected to ourselves and the people around us.

📚 Research shows that Autistic people experience interoception differences more often than non-autistic people (Zachary et al., 2023). Just like our other senses, Autistic people may be extra-sensitive (hyper-) or less sensitive (hypo-) to what is happening inside our body.

This means we may find it hard to notice body signals, feel body signals too strongly, or mix them up with emotions — for example, not being sure if we’re feeling uncomfortable because we’re hungry or because we’re anxious.

These differences can affect many parts of daily life, and have a big impact on our physical health, emotional wellbeing, and how we connect with others.

Read more on our webiste at https://reframingautism.org.au/interoception-knowing-yourself-inside-and-out/



[ID: Against a magenta background with the Reframing Autism logo in the top left corner and the knotwork logo located in the lower right corner is an infographic titled, 'How Interoception Varies in Autistic Individuals'. Beneath are white text boxes with six points which state: Challenges in recognising basic needs; e.g., hunger, thirst or needing to use the bathroom, Emotional regulation - Difficulty in connecting internal physical sensations with emotions, Challenges with reflecting on one’s thoughts and feelings (Introspection), Heightened or diminished experiences of pain, Difficulty in identifying and describing emotions (Alexithymia), Interoception differences can make it harder for Autistic individuals to pick up on social cues.]

14/08/2025

Did you know that we have a Home Ed session on Mondays? 1pm - 3pm

It's not just for Neurodivergent families but its a perfect place for them. So if you're a parent who is ND and/or your child/ren, you will he warmly welcomed.

Did you know that we also do the AQA Unit Award Scheme. Starting September 1st we will be running our sessions with the option of more structure and specific learning goals - let us take the hard work off your hands by planning it for you.

Or just swing by for some socialisation and a cuppa with others who understand your day to day life ❤️

Keep an eye out for more info soon ✨️📝

08/08/2025

🌟 We've just launched a webinar you won’t want to miss, Managing Challenging Behaviour At Home.

Join Colette Longden, Parenting Team Trainer at The ADHD Foundation Neurodiversity Charity, for an insightful session where you'll learn:

🌟 Why children exhibit challenging behaviours and how to recognise their triggers and responses

🌟 How to be proactive not reactive, whilst validating emotions and building connection and trust

🌟 How to identify when to seek professional support and develop personal coping strategies for stressful moments

Sign up: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0lVdvv0

30/07/2025

Sensory seekers 🙌🏻 👀 🤸🏃‍♀️

24/06/2025

Cumberland OFSTED SEND Inspection!!!! PARENT CARER SURVEY OUT NOW! for all parents who have a child/ young person with additional needs age 0-25 living in Cumberland.

❗️DEADLINE to complete the survey: 1st July at 9:00 am! ❗️

SURVEY LINK: https://ofsted.smartsurvey.co.uk/p/AreaSend/10364961

Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) will be visiting Cumberland between the 7th to 11th July 2025 to inspect ALL services available for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

🕵🏼The inspectors want to hear from parents, carers, and young people about whether local services are meeting the needs of children with special educational needs/ disabilities and their families in the area. as well as, their overall experiences of services—whether positive or negative. for example:

✅ Education – How well schools and settings support children with SEND, the EHCP process, the system as a whole etc.

✅ Health Services – Access to therapies, sensory processing support, CAMHS, speech and language, diagnosis processes and other health provisions

✅ Social Care Support – Short breaks, respite care, direct payments and family support

✅ Post-16 Support – Transition to adulthood and options available to your child.

This is an important opportunity to share your views, as responses will contribute to the inspection findings.

The more surveys responses the better! The LA and NHS get to have multiple meetings to let them know how things are going from their point of view. However, parents don't get as much of a say and the survey is one of the main ways you can do that!

SENDAC will also be submitting all evidence provided by parents, including insights from the annual SEND survey completed in November.📊

SENDAC will be part of the SEND inspection and will be meeting with inspectors also, giving parent carer feedback we have received, including results from our ANNUAL SEND survey! 🫱🏼‍🫲🏻📝

Why should you take part?

The more parents that respond, the clearer the picture inspectors will have of the support available in the area. If too few people share their experiences, valuable feedback may not be fully considered.

👉 Fill out the survey now to ensure your voice is heard! https://ofsted.smartsurvey.co.uk/p/AreaSend/10364961