Support Connect

14/07/2025

📻 This week's recommended listen...

As the school summer holidays begin, it reminds us of a Woman's Hour segment that many parents may find helpful to hear...

'What is it like to parent a neurodivergent child when you are neurodivergent yourself? Anita Rani speaks to listener Rachel, who discovered she had ADHD after her daughter was diagnosed, and Jo, whose children have dyslexia.'

Log in to BBC Sounds and have a listen 02:10 - 18:07
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0022438

If you found this helpful, someone else might too, pass it on...

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At Support Connect, we connect you to the support you need through:

🎯 Neurodiversity Screening
💬 Learning & Wellbeing Support
💻 Assistive Technology Support
📚 Apprenticeship Support

27/06/2025

📺 This Weekend's On The Box Recommended Watch: Jamie's Dyslexia Revolution

'Jamie Oliver explores the challenges and issues faced by thousands of school children who have dyslexia and are left behind in an archaic education system, and asks: what more can be done?'

Many of us know the academic struggle well.

That is why Support Connect exists and why we recently teamed up with Roger Broadbent, Director of the Dyslexia Institute, who Jamie had a chat with, to help apprentices pinpoint the support they need.

More on that to follow soon!

📚

Could this be the start of a much-needed reform to our existing education system?

What was your experience like at school?

What would you like to see change?

Watch the replay on My4:
https://www.channel4.com/programmes/jamies-dyslexia-revolution

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At Support Connect, we connect you to the support you need through:

🎯 Neurodiversity Screening

💬 Learning & Wellbeing Support

💻 Assistive Technology Support

📚 Apprenticeship Support

03/06/2025

Have you heard about the EPA Support Hub?

If those three words, End Point Assessment, stirs up nerves and self-doubt as you reach the end of your apprenticeship, worry not!

The Association of Apprentices UK know the apprenticeship journey all too well and after listening to their members, they have launched a fantastic EPA Support Hub to help calm all your worries!

Search for AoA Connect and sign up, it's free to join for all apprentices!

Between your training provider, the AoA and us, the support you need is here!

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We're proud to be a founding member of the AoA and should you need us, our team of Learning, Wellbeing and Assistive Technology Mentors can help you identify any learning differences or support needs you may have, show you helpful tools, and effective ways to study and prepare for your EPA.

If you feel you need extra support, send us a message or speak to your Learning Coach, as your training provider may already be working with us. If they aren't, ask them to contact us and we'll tell them everything they need to know to get you the additional support you need.

28/05/2025

🔊 Help turn up the volume on the positives of ADHD!

If you have a diagnosis of ADHD, are based in the UK and aged between 18-25, you can contribute to a new 'study* on the positive aspects of ADHD and how those positive aspects might have beneficial mental health effects on ADHD youth.'

What makes you proud of your ADHD? Take part and share your positives!

*The study is led by King's College London and Steve Lukito

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At Support Connect, we connect training providers and apprentices to the support they need through:

🎯 Neurodiversity Screening
💬 Learning & Wellbeing Support
💻 Assistive Technology Support
📚 Apprenticeship Support

If you're an apprentice who feels like you're struggling and would like help identifying your challenges, or if you have a diagnosis that impacts your learning, speak to your Learning Coach, as your training provider may already be working with us. If they aren't, ask them to contact us and we'll tell them everything they need to know to get you the additional, funded support you need.

Email: contact@supportconnect.org.uk

12/05/2025

We can underestimate how much our mental health can impact our capacity and ability to learn new skills.

It can affect our decision-making, memory and confidence, cause sleep deprivation and frustration, making focus a challenge.

Or sometimes an experience, memory or trauma creates a barrier to learning that we didn't know was there.

This year, our team of Wellbeing Mentors have delivered over 400 sessions of wellbeing support to students and apprentices, helping to build their confidence and resilience with tailored techniques, whether it be to:

• Manage stress or anxiety

• Help adapt to change or embrace more flexible thinking

• Improve self-esteem and recognise strengths

• Develop a healthy work/life balance

• Regulate alertness, motivation or perfectionism

• Or to simply be someone there to listen and share the load

Help us raise awareness that no one needs to struggle alone.

One conversation can make all the difference to help us become aware of what is holding us back.

There is power in community and support is here.

Follow Mental Health UK to help you be mindful of, and prioritise, your mental health.

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At Support Connect, we connect training providers and learners to the support they need through:

🎯 Neurodiversity Screening
💬 Learning & Wellbeing Support
💻 Assistive Technology Support
📚 Apprenticeship Support

If you need help supporting your learners, please get in touch.

We help you every step of the way, from onboarding to creating and monitoring individual support plans, delivering that support and helping you to claim learner support funding.

09/05/2025

It’s our proud collaborations that enable us to connect apprentices to the support they need.

We’re shining a spotlight on our apprenticeship delivering partners and today we welcome the CVS Group, who are a National Apprenticeship Regional Employer Award winner, providing hundreds of apprenticeships across England in the veterinary field, including veterinary nursing, veterinary nursing assistant, laboratory scientist degree, Customer Service, IT, accounting, marketing and HR legal to name a few!

Our team will support their apprentices with learning, wellbeing and assistive technology mentoring to achieve their best.

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At Support Connect, we connect training providers and learners to the support they need through:

🎯 Neurodiversity Screening
💬 Learning & Wellbeing Support
💻 Assistive Technology Support
📚 Apprenticeship Support

If you need help supporting your learners, please get in touch.

We help you every step of the way, from onboarding to creating and monitoring individual support plans, delivering that support and helping you to claim learner support funding.

28/08/2024

Meet the family!

Each month, we proudly interview and introduce one of our team members.

It's because of the Support Connect team and the unique experience, expertise and passion they each bring, that makes our support so special and transformational.

Today, introducing one of our fantastic Specialist Learning Mentors, Megan Ince.

What experience do you bring to your role?
I recently graduated with a First-Class degree in Special Educational Needs, Disabilities and Inclusion, which enabled me to undertake research in the field of Inclusive Education. Before my degree, I worked and volunteered in various roles within secondary schools and SEMH (Social, Emotional, and Mental Health needs) provisions. I have always had a passion for supporting students and helping them find ways that help them access their learning, make progress, achieve success, and stay safe.

Why this job?
I enjoy helping students overcome barriers to their learning and determining which strategies work best for them, with the end goal of achieving their full potential and completing their learning to a standard they are proud of.

What do you enjoy most about your work?
I enjoy seeing those moments when the learner has their ‘light bulb moment' and make progress where they never thought possible.

What makes you smile?
A well-cooked meal and a good conversation – I love to chat!

What are you most proud of?
Achieving my degree and progressing so much in my learning and my role in such a short space of time.

My favourite saying is...
“Never stop learning, because life never stops teaching”
I strongly believe in life-long learning and value the contributions of others. I love learning and learning how others learn, and I wish to continue my education further in the near future.

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If you or someone you know is struggling, whether in education, at work or with everyday tasks at home, our team of learning and wellbeing mentors provide one-to-one, human support, identifying ways that make learning and the day-to-day easier. No one has to struggle alone.

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At Support Connect, we connect you to the support you need through:

🎯 Neurodiversity Screening
💬 Learning & Wellbeing Support
💻 Assistive Technology Support
📚 Apprenticeship Support

23/08/2024

🎉 260, 042, 52 steps for Mencap, to help connect more people to the support they need.

Over 6 weeks, the Support Connect Step Up Steppers collectively upped their step count with a target of 2 million steps to raise funds for Mencap.

We each downloaded the StepUp app to record our progress and got stepping!

Whether it was walking the dog, dancing, going for a run, walking to catch the bus, parking that little bit further away or vacuuming the house, it made us conscious of how active we can be within our day-to-day and that we felt better for it.

THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who has donated so far.

If you would like to help our fundraiser, please visit our Just Giving page, where all donations will go directly to Mencap. Your support will help them create a better future for people facing barriers to learning:

https://www.justgiving.com/page/support-connect-step-up-steppers

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Mencap’s goal is to make the UK the best place in the world for people with a learning disability. Everything they do is about valuing and supporting people with a learning disability, as well as their families and carers.

£5 could help buy a set of resources, designed for people with a learning disability, to learn about their rights to good care in hospital.

£10 could help provide tailored in depth information and advice to the family of a person with a learning disability.

£20 could pay for 2 housing sessions to help a person with a learning disability find a home and live independently for the first time.

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Why not get your team together for a StepUp challenge?

Throughout September, Mencap will be kicking off their fundraiser…
https://www.mencap.org.uk/event/one-big-walk

22/08/2024

We are on the lookout for a Wellbeing Mentor to join the Support Connect team.

If you are a qualified Wellbeing or Mental Health professional who would like the flexibility to deliver wellbeing support to apprentices and degree level learners, we'd love to hear from you.

Think this would be the perfect opportunity for someone you know?
Please share.

Click on the link below for a full job description and how to apply:

https://uk.indeed.com/job/wellbeing-mentor-6b99b4d78de6c95c

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At Support Connect, we connect learners to the support they need through:

🎯 Neurodiversity Screening
💬 Learning & Wellbeing Support
💻 Assistive Technology Training
📚 Apprenticeship Support

19/08/2024

💡
To anyone considering an apprenticeship but feeling hesitant about the support available for individual needs, good news!

We have teamed up with UCAS to bring together all the information you need.

UCAS Business Engagement Manager Siobhan explained,

'Many young people who are neurodivergent and their parents and carers can feel anxious when exploring apprenticeships. There is a lot of information online about the additional support available during a full-time degree with a university. However the guidance for this on apprenticeships, can often be difficult to find when initially exploring apprenticeships as a pathway.

UCAS.com has just launched a new neurodiversity page for apprenticeships. This fantastic resource, created by the amazing Matthew Cotton from UCAS and the knowledgeable Caroline Fillery and the team from Support Connect, unpacks the support available throughout the application process and the apprenticeship itself. Empowering more people to confidently explore apprenticeships as a career pathway.'

Our Co-Founder Caroline Fillery commented,

'This collaboration marks a significant milestone for us, as it allows us to extend our support to even more students during their educational journey. Together, we are committed to enhancing the experience for students, making the application process smoother, and ensuring they have access to the resources they need to succeed.

At Support Connect, our mission has always been to empower individuals with the right tools and guidance, and this partnership aligns perfectly with our goals. We look forward to working closely with UCAS to make a lasting impact on the educational landscape.'

Have a read or share this with someone you know who is interested in an apprenticeship:

https://www.ucas.com/apprenticeships/neurodiversity-support-apprenticeships

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Support Connect offers one-to-one specialist learning and wellbeing support, and assistive technology training to help students, apprenticeships and employees who experience barriers to learning through neurodivergent or additional needs.

26/07/2024

Feedback Fridays 🎉

You know it by now, our hearts swell and our smiles shine when a learner has their lightbulb moment or shares how our support helps them reach and achieve their goals.

This is the feedback our Specialist Learning Mentor, Megan Ince recently received, leaving us beaming as bright as the sun in summer 🌞

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If you or someone you know is struggling, whether in education, at work or with everyday tasks at home, our team of learning and wellbeing mentors provide one-to-one, human support, identifying ways that make learning and the day-to-day easier. No one has to struggle alone.

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At Support Connect, we connect you to the support you need through:

🎯 Neurodiversity Screening
💬 Learning & Wellbeing Support
💻 Assistive Technology Support
📚 Apprenticeship Support

19/07/2024

Our toughest challenges in life are rarely solved alone. It takes support, teamwork, understanding, dedication and knowledge from different experiences, skillsets and expertise.

Support Connect founder Matthew Heathman and his family have experienced that first-hand, after an extremely challenging year.

Join us, if you can, in supporting their fundraising for Cancer Research UK as they Race for Life tomorrow.

https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/team/meet-the-heathmans

Wishing our Heathman family a wonderfully momentous and memorable Race for Life.

Cancer is happening right now, which is why we're taking part in a Race for Life to raise money and save lives. 1 in 2 people will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. Every single pound you donate makes a difference to Cancer Research UK’s groundbreaking work. Our family is participating i...