InTogether aims to connect with and support families who have children with additional support needs in 3 ways:
What Are we Doing?
Being Together
We run a weekly inclusive play space for pre-school children who have (or may have) additional support needs called FunTogether which has been running since March 2022. We offer inclusive play experiences for the whole family during school holidays/inset days. We receive referrals from various voluntary organisations, our local council authority and NHS. We have supported 17 families to date but see a growing demand for support.
Learning together
We have conducted church services to promote the work we are doing. We have partnered closely with one church who sought our help to make their worship and children’s ministry more inclusive. We delivered 4 sessions which have included, observation, training for volunteers, planning for change and learning for the whole congregation on disability/inclusion themes.
Listening Together
The majority of our listening happens informally to parents attending the FunTogether toddler group. We have partnered with a local school to pilot a listening service for parents who have children with additional support needs. We offered 1:1 confidential sessions with a trained listener. This pilot study showed positive outcomes (a report is available on request). Since 2021 we have supported 11 parents in our listening service, and we have provided basic listening skills training to 8 volunteers. All our volunteers have lived experience of additional support needs in their families or through work.