June 2009

The additional stresses faced by parents and carers of children and young people with special educational needs are well documented, and Parent Partnership Services are in the front line providing advice and support in helping these parents find their way through the maze of professional  services and legislation.

Now a number of services from across the country have pooled their knowledge and expertise through the National Parent Partnership Network into a cutting edge online course aimed at all those who have direct contact with this group of parents.

The course is designed to introduce the relevant issues, to stimulate thinking, and to provide useful tools which professionals can use to enhance their own practice. Whilst it is aimed primarily at those working in the education sector, it will also be of interest to those in health, social care, the voluntary sector, and to parents/carers themselves.

The course aims to:

• raise awareness of the needs of parents of children with SEN, the issues they face and how they can be supported
• consider how professionals communicate with and provide information to parents in a number of contexts

Development of the course has been funded by the DCSF. It is open access and can be found at http://www.Onlineinset.org.uk/NPPN/Introduction/nppn_intro_1.asp

or by clicking the link on the left of this page "Working with Parents" within the FREE ACCESS COURSES drop down option.

Editor’s Notes

The National Parent Partnership (NPPN) is funded by the Department of Children Schools and Families (DCSF) to:       

• Promote the work of parent partnership services;  
• Provide a national network for PPS to learn from each other, to share information and to promote best practice;
• Encourage the development of co-operative arrangements with voluntary sector organisations that provide services to parents of children and young people with SEN;
• Promote the development of interesting and innovative practices in the area of SEN.

The NPPN is based at the Council for Disabled Children, which in turn sits within the National Children's Bureau. See http://www.parentpartnership.org.uk/ for more information.

From the 1st of January, 2009 qualified teachers enrolling on any Onlineinset main course will have the option to register for a module towards a master’s degree with the University of Brighton (60 points). 

There is no attendance requirement as everything is done online, so you can register regardless of where you are located. 

We are currently exploring similar options with the university for teaching assistants and others.

The IDP is a set of resources for schools commissioned by the DCSF to support teachers in making their lessons accessible to all pupils. This is sometimes called quality first teaching or Wave 1 intervention, and some of these focus on speech, language and communication needs.  The courses in Onlneinset.net focus on interventions with individual pupils and are referred to as Wave 2 and Wave 3 intervention, but to assist local authorities in delivering the IDP we will put links throughout modules where there may be relevant material which you might wish to explore.

Reveal as chart (Opens a new window)

Course module	Registrations
Understanding Autistic Spectrum Disorders	5438
Inclusion for learners with speech, language and communication needs	3463
Understanding and managing behaviour	3442
Visual Impairment	1303
Hearing Impairment	1569
Motor Co-ordination Difficulties	269
Understanding Autistic Spectrum Disorders (2009 Vsn Pilot)	1134

Reveal Chart of cohorts (new window)

Access to the range of resources available is only through subscription by your local authority, school, or other organisation. Individual licences are not suported. Currently the list of 46  LAs and subscribing organisations is: Bath, Bedfordshire, Bexley, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bracknell Forest Borough Council, Bristol City Council, Bromley, Buckinghamshire County Council, Cornwall, Coventry City Council, Cumbria, Devon, East Sussex County Council, Gloucestershire, Greenwich London Borough of, Hawthorn Hearing Resource Base, Hereford, Kerith in the Community, Lambeth London Borough of, Lewisham London Borough of, Luton, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Northamptonshire, Oak Lodge School, Oxfordshire, Poole Community Health Clinic, Potterspury Lodge, Raglan Junior School, Reading Borough Council, Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, Royal School for the Deaf , Sandwell, South Gloucestershire Council, Southampton, Surrey County Council, Swindon, Torbay, Welwyn Garden City (Special Schools), West Berkshire Council, West Sussex County Council, Whinfell School, Wiltshire, Wokingham District Council, Wolverhampton City Council,

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