I'm writing this from the EalingHELP room at St Ann's. That's Room 12 off the Main Hall if you want to pop in and see me! The morning has been very busy with loads of Ealing Mencap people rushing around making sure that everything is ready. The 'serious stuff' conference has started but I'm confined to my Room protecting all the computers and waiting anxiously to meet you all.
This afternoon I'll be here for our conference workshop on Accessing Information on EalingHELP which will start at 1:40 straight after lunch. I'm hoping to start with an exchange of ideas and sharing our own information with each other, then moving on to see how we can share that information with a wider audience. Make any sense? I hope so, come along and we can find out together.
I'm writing this bit at home on Monday just to let you know what a great day it was on Saturday. We had a very productive meeting in the afternoon, where we considered the moment when we were all made aware of our children's respective disabilities and how we were offered help, support and information following that. We questioned what role the EalingHELP website has to play in that. Also several of you pointed out that we are still unknown to many of you. As a result of this we will be working on a campaign, raising awareness throughout the borough. We have already been to visit several schools and if you would like us to come and see you and talk about the EalingHELP site then please get in touch.
Something to lift the spirits
I can thank Luke for this. We were looking for the music to "Oh Happy Day" and came across this clip from Sister Act 2. Enjoy!
Something in the air
The recent report from the Lamb Inquiry mentions the difficulties faced by parents when discussing their child's education. He mentions specifically the phrase "conflict in place of trust" and aims to reverse that. He also refers to the way in which relationships between parents and professionals has changed "The previous relationship model of expert professional and ignorant lay-person is no longer relevant. Professionals have one sort of knowledge, the patient, client or parent has expert knowledge of their situation." He encourages professionals to be honest, clear and open about the limits of their knowledge and be prepared to seek further guidance where necessary.
John Bercow has also said the chances of getting "justice" for children with disabilities or SEN wasn't equal - with well-educated, articulate, parents likely to win better provision than un-educated ones, who were "petrified at the thought of jousting" with officialdom.
Why is there so much conflict around these issues? What can be done to improve matters? The lamb Inquiry are asking for your opinions whether as a parent or carer, a professional or as a student. You can find a link in our News Section.
Google Translation
Google have a beta translation facility which will enable visitors to the site to view the whole site in a variety of different languages. Choose your language using the little gadget below and the site will appear in the language you have selected. The graphic at the top of the page might break up a bit but that's because we're still experimenting, so don't worry about that!
Have you completed it yet? You can download a copy right here. Make sure your voice is heard, this gives you the opportunity to let the council know how you're doing with their services.
Remember if you read something here a while ago and want to find it again you can visit the newsletter page and have a browse through the old editorials. You will find occasional references to Luke throughout my text, you can find out more about us in the Glossary.
You can, as always, write to me using the 'Contact Us' link at the top of this page.
