“No more pencils, no more books. No more teachers, dirty looks. Out for summer, out ’til fall. We might not come back at all. School’s out for summer!” – Alice Cooper
The end of July in the UK means only one thing: the end of summer term and the beginning of the summer holidays. 6 weeks without school runs, never-ending demands or wide-ranging pressures; and 6 weeks of blissful relaxation, fun, and sunshine (at least between showers!)
As is much the case with any new year, it is a time for reflecting on and celebrating, as well as anticipating and preparing for the next year. Anyone working alongside or within the education system, will likely have been feeling the ever-increasing pressure, the stretch and the pinch; constantly being asked to do more with less. There’s never enough time, money or people; and in some cases, a difficult combination of all of the above. And the education and other public systems and processes, continue to become more complex and challenging to navigate, especially for the families within them for whom the system and processes have been designed to serve.
If you’re a parent, carer, guardian, student or other family member, you may be reflecting on how long, difficult and downright hard the previous academic year has been, for yourself and/or your child. When anticipating the next academic year, you may be dreading it; anticipating your own or your child’s readiness for starting or returning to school. You may be feeling overwhelmed, exhausted and undervalued. Unheard, unknown, and unwanted.
Well, at ELLES Psychology, we want to listen to you, to know you, and to work with you. We’re not taking our break over the summer holidays. In fact, we’re ramping up our offer and services, to families in particular, in preparation for the new school year. From August, we are offering a range of “Family Programmes” aiming to upskill family knowledge and confidence in understanding and navigating key educational topics including:
- Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). This programme focuses on an overview of SEND, different areas of SEND including SpLD such as Dyslexia, what is not SEND and strategies/next steps for supporting SEND across contexts.
- The Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) Process. This programme builds on what SEND is, different need/provision levels, and the EHCP process including key professionals, steps and jargon, and strategies/next steps for higher levels of support across contexts.
- Neurodiveristy. This programme explains the wide range of neurodiversity including signs of/diagnoses of ASD, ADHD, AuHD and NT, and strategies/next steps for supporting neurodiversity across contexts.
- Relational Approaches. The programme outlines relational practice, and breaks down the widely adopted PACE approach, and strategies/next steps for building attuned and positive relationships across contexts.
If you are interested in attending or finding out more about our “Family Programmes”, please see Families – ELLES Psychology for more information and register your interest through our Google Form below, and we will be in touch with you shortly (likely via email, please ensure you check your junk email folder following registering your interest in case our response has ended up there).
