School holiday support

meeta

Hello everyone. I am new here. My daughter has just turned 4 years old and has been diagnosed with global development delay, autism, sensory processing challenges and pica. We have an EHCP in place and she will be soon starting at a school for additional needs. My question is around what support is available for the school holiday time? My daughter is non speaking and is just starting on an AAC. She does require a person around her who is trained in dealing with children with additional needs. She is also still in nappies. I know a few children who go to holiday camps and clubs but was not sure what was available for children with SEN. For reference, we are located in North West London. Any ideas? Thank you

Alex_Alumni

Hi again @meeta and thanks for your query. 

I do know of a charity based quite near Brighton, called Extratime. While they are based in the Sussex area, they may know of other organisations local to you who might be able to offer similar help with regards to support during school holidays. For clarity, here's how they describe the work they do:

Extratime was founded in 2003 by two parents of severely disabled children in response to an issue affecting parent carers like them – a lack of suitable, affordable, childcare for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in Brighton & Hove. Since then, Extratime has become a lifeline for hundreds of families of children and young people with SEND and is now one of the largest specialist providers of inclusive play and leisure in Sussex.

See if you can contact them, and hopefully they can assist In the meantime, let us know if any other questions come up, and I'll see if I can find something that will work for you.

Alex

Alex_Alumni

I've had a quick search on the community, and noticed one of our members has posted about setting up a SEN holiday club, although I'm not sure on their progress.

One other avenue of enquiry might be with your local authority, if you haven't asked them already