Author: acctsheffield7

Due to the onset rain that is forecast to last for the rest of the day, the decision has been made to cancel tonight’s ACCT Academy football sessions.

We are excited to relaunch our fortnightly Young Adults Group ‘ACCTing Out!’ 

ACCTing Out is for young adults and we would love for your young person to get involved. 

The aim of the group is to provide support, social opportunities and build on and develop life, social and communication skills. This will boost confidence and self-esteem and be positive for the mental health of users.We will be offering fortnightly activities on Tuesday evenings –

WHEN: Tuesday 22nd June @ 6:30-8:30pm
WHAT: Meal and Social
WHERE: Nando’s, The Moor – meet on The Moor near escalators
WHO: Sera and Dan
COST: Suggested Voluntary Contribution – £10 

WHEN: Tuesday 6th July @ 6:30-8:30pm
WHAT: Bowling and Social
WHERE: Lane 7, Matilda Street, S1 4PF – meet outside the entrance
WHO: Sera and Dan
COST: Suggested Voluntary Contribution – £10 for two games, please bring additional money for refreshments 

WHEN: Tuesday 20th July @ 6:30-8:30pm
WHAT: Meal and Social
WHERE: Pizza Express, St Paul’s Place – meet outside the entrance
WHO: Sera and Dan
COST: Suggested Voluntary Contribution – £10 

Booking is essential, all bookings need to be made at 24 hours before the activity. Please email enquiries@acctsheffield.org.uk to book a place.

We will be in groups of six, masks need to be worn until you are seated / at activity, if you are exempt you do not have to wear a mask.

We will be asking for a voluntary contribution of £10 per person for all activities to Nando’s, Pizza Express and Bowling @ Lane 7. We will accept cash on the night, alternatively please donate via our website, if you are a taxpayer please add giftaid – https://acctsheffield.enthuse.com/Page1#!/

Tuesday the 15th of June, 7pm-9pm.

Join facilitators of the group Margaret (parent and trustee) and Nicola Hough (parent and manager) to share and learn.

Peer support and discussions will include school, the summer term and transitions, making plans as restrictions ease, holidays, managing expectationsand much more.

Please contact enquiries@acctsheffield.org.uk to register your interest and you will be sent an invitation to join the meeting along with a guide to using Zoom.

Due to the heavy and onset rain tonight’s football session is cancelled. Apologies for any inconvenience.

ACCT is looking to recruit two Play Workers to work at Acctivate Children’s Club on Saturday mornings (at St Mary’s Community Centre, Bramall Lane)

Principal Duties

• Support children taking part in the different activities ACCT offers
• Engage participants to take full advantage of these sessions, and provide particular support around the additional needs resulting from Autism.
• Assist in developing and promoting an autism friendly environment with particular attention to routine, communication strategies and the physical environment
• To work closely with parents and carers
• To ensure the participant’s needs are being met
• To manage the children and young people’s behaviour positively, with the support of other staff and volunteers
• Adhere to health and safety legislation and ACCT’s policies and procedures
• To take responsibility for safeguarding the children and young people during activities
• To take responsibility for managing volunteers during the session
• Assist with other aspects of ACCT’s activities where appropriate
• To undertake training where appropriate
• To ensure all children receive a high standard of care at all times

Location: Sheffield, S2

Remuneration: Starting wage £10 per hour (opportunity for progression to senior playworker at £12 per hour)

Hours: 3 hours on Saturday mornings, 9.30am-12.30pm

Closing Date: Sunday 30^th May 2021 at 5pm

Interviews: Tuesday 1^st /Wednesday 2^nd June 2021

How to apply: Fill in an application form, paying attention to the requirements of the job as detailed in the role description and person specification. All documents are available to download here

If you have any specific questions not answered by the job pack or information on our webiste, please contact enquiries@acctsheffield.org.uk

In case you missed our webinars for parent-carers with Ruth Bright, you can catch up with the recordings below.

These and other useful resources for families are collected on the Resources page of the ACCT website: https://acctsheffield.org.uk/resources/

Sheffield Schools

Applying to an Independent Special School (section 41 approved and non approved)

How to submit an appeal

We are delighted to announce that Val Harpin will be delivering a workshop about Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

The workshop will cover –

• An overview of ADHD
• Managing Behaviour and Mood
• Medication
• Negative connotations of the condition
• The opportunity to have your questions answered

The workshop will take place on Zoom on Wednesday 12th May at 10am – 12pm.

To request a place on the workshop please email – enquiries@acctsheffield.org.uk

Dr Val Harpin was a consultant neurodevelopmental paediatrician at the Ryegate Children’s Centre, part of the Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, where she practiced for more than 18 years. Prior to joining the Ryegate Centre, Dr Harpin held the post of consultant community paediatrician at the Child Development Centre in Oxford. Her special interests include the care of children and young people with special needs and neurodisabilities, particularly Autism, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Asperger’s Syndrome, ADHD and learning disability. Dr Harpin’s main current research interests are in ADHD and Transition to Adult services. Val was a trustee at ACCT for a number of years and more recently appeared on Pointless with her husband!

We are pleased to offer our members the opportunity to attend our next workshop Beginners Makaton. Jayne Ward a licenced Makaton Trainer will facilitate the workshop. Participants will learn to sign the alphabet and key words.

The workshop will take place on Zoom on Friday 7th May 9am – 12pm. Places are limited. To request a place on the workshop please email – enquiries@acctsheffield.org.uk

About Makaton
Today over 100,000 children and adults use Makaton symbols and signs, either as their main method of communication or as a way to support speech.

In addition to children and adults with communication and learning difficulties and the community around them – for example, teachers, health professionals, friends, public service bodies etc. Makaton is increasingly used by the general public to aid communication.

Makaton has been shown to be useful for all sorts of people including those who struggle with understanding concepts, those who have poor literacy skills, including grammatical knowledge, and those with English as an Additional Language. By using Makaton, children and adults can take a more active part in life, because communication and language are the key to everything we do and learn.

Parents’ Zoom Meeting, Tuesday the 4th of May, 7pm-9pm.

Join facilitators of the group Margaret Kilner (parent and trustee) and Nicola Hough (parent and manager) to share and learn.

Discussions will include returning to school, what will the summer term bring, making plans as restrictions ease, holidays and managing expectationsand much more.

Please contact enquiries@acctsheffield.org.uk to register your interest and you will be sent an invitation to join the meeting along with a guide to using Zoom.

Places still available on the –

• EHC Plan Check Group Workshop

Next Wednesday 5th May at 11:30 – 1:30pm

Critical Analysis of your EHC Plan that will check your Education and Health Care Plan. The workshops will be available to six members at a time, participants need to feel comfortable sharing information within the group. Please note that you need to send a copy of your child’s EHC Plan to Ruth prior to the workshop.

Please email enquiries@acctsheffield.org.uk to request your place. An invite and Zoom link will be sent out via email prior to each webinar and workshop.

Ruth Bright from Bright Futures Consultancy is back next week with the last webinar in this series – 

• Maintaining an EHC Plan Post 19+ Webinar – how and when an EHCP is still necessary after 19 and what to do if the LA tries to cease the plan

On Tuesday 4th May at 11:30-12:30pm.

Please email enquiries@acctsheffield.org.uk to request your place. An invite and Zoom link will be sent out via email prior to the webinar.

ACCT is looking to recruit two Football Coaches to work at our ACCT Academy Football Club on a Friday evening (at Goals, 95 Norfolk Park Road) and for bank play work cover at our Teenage Youth Club (at St Mary’s Community Centre, Bramall Lane) on Wednesday evenings and Acctivate Children’s Club (at St Mary’s Community Centre, Bramall Lane) on Saturday mornings.

This is a great opportunity to work in sport, providing high quality support and skills for autistic children and young people. Candidates need to be enthusiastic and have a passion for football and sport, along with a desire to work with children and young people and to develop yourself as a coach.

Remuneration: £10 per hour

Hours: 1.75 hours per week (17:30pm-19:15pm, 1.75 hours on Friday Evening. In addition the opportunity to work at our Teenage Youth Club (Wednesdays 18:30-21:30 and Acctivate Children’s Club (Saturdays 09:30-12:30) as a bank playworker providing cover

Closing Date for applications: Sunday 25^th April 2021 at 5pm

Interviews: Tuesday 27^th / Wednesday 28^th April 2021 via Zoom

How to apply: Please fill in the application form, referring to the job description and person specification (downloadable from this page)

If you have any questions not covered by the supporting information in the application documents below, please contact enquiries@acctsheffield.org.uk

Please download the job pack documents here:

Job Description

Person Specification

Application Form

Tuesday the 6th of April, 7pm-9pm.

Join facilitators of the group Margaret Kilner (parent and trustee) and Nicola Hough (parent and manager) to share and learn.

Discussions will include coming out of lockdown, making plans during the Easter holidays and what’s open, life as we head into spring, managing expectationsand much more.

Please contact enquiries@acctsheffield.org.uk to register your interest and you will be sent an invitation to join the meeting along with a guide to using Zoom.

We are excited to welcome Ruth Bright from Bright Futures Consultancy to deliver the next webinar in the series – 

• Applying for a Specialist School/College Place Webinar – how to be successful 

Join us for this informative webinar that will give you the tools you need to successfully secure a specialist place for your child or young person. Ruth will be on hand to answer your questions.

Tomorrow Wednesday 30th March @ 11:30 – 12:30pm on Zoom 

Book a place on –

• EHC Plan Check Group Workshop

On Wednesday 7th April and Wednesday 21st April 11:30 – 1:30pm

Critical Analysis of your EHC Plan that will check your Education and Health Care Plan. The workshops will be available to six members at a time, participants need to feel comfortable sharing information within the group.

Please email enquiries@acctsheffield.org.uk to request your place. An invite and Zoom link will be sent out via email prior to each webinar and workshop.

With the reopening of grass roots sports we are excited to announce the return of our football club! Please join our fantastic football coaches Brad, Alex, Mike and Beth every Friday starting this week on Friday 2nd April 6 – 7pm @ Goals Sheffield. 

• A fun inclusive session
• All abilities welcome
• Learn new football skills
• Make friends
• Improve confidence and self esteem
• Improve social, communication and functional skills
• Siblings welcome
• A place to be yourself 

 To book a place for your young person please email enquiries@acctsheffield.org.uk

‘ACCT Academy has enabled three of my sons to access an out of school activity, where they are understood and nurtured in a safe environment.
They love to play football, but sometimes react to situations in a different way to a child who is neurotypical. The specialist staff are equipped to deal with all the situations, and understand the difficulties they have.
ACCT Academy has raised their self esteem enormously, and has helped them to regulate their emotions.’

Tuesday the 23rd of March, 7pm-9pm.

Join facilitators of the group Margaret Kilner (parent and trustee) and Nicola Hough (parent and manager) to share and learn.

Discussions will include how has your child settled into school, coming out of lockdown, making plans, life as we head into springand much more.

Please contact enquiries@acctsheffield.org.uk to register your interest and you will be sent an invitation to join the meeting along with a guide to using Zoom.

ACCT’s Minecraft server runs online twice a week –

• Every Thursday at 18:00 – 20:00
• Every Saturday at 09:45 – 12:15

Both sessions are for all age groups and run by our dedicated staff team.
 

If you’re a regular player already, you can use your own account, or if you don’t have an account, we have a number of accounts that ACCT members can borrow for the session times. Come along to build, explore and chat with your ACCT pals!
 

You’ll need access to a computer, an internet connection, and to download and install Minecraft on to your computer in order to join in. Unfortunately, we are unable to help with external issues, such as installing Minecraft, setting up computers, internet connections, etc. For this reason, parents should be available to help children while playing. ACCT staff will be on hand to help with in-game issues, and help your children get involved. 
 

If you’d like to book a place or have issues getting set up, please get in touch via – 
enquiries@acctsheffield.org.uk

Following the success of our Mini Series of Webinars focusing on EHC Plans we are excited to welcome back Ruth Bright from Bright Futures Consultancy

Mini Series of Webinars
Ruth will be delivering a new Mini Series of Webinars that will help you to navigate the complex legal system of SEN support, EHC Plans, appeals and much more. Ruth will host the mini series with a presentation, there will be an opportunity to have your questions answered.

Critical Analysis of your EHC Plan
Ruth will also be delivering a series of group workshops that will check your Education and Health Care Plan. The workshops will be available to six members at a time, participants need to feel comfortable sharing information within the group.

The mini series will take place via Zoom on the following dates –

Wednesday 10th March @ 11:30 – 12:30pm

• How to Submit an Appeal Webinar – what to focus on in the application, common arguments etc 

Wednesday 17th March @ 11:30 – 12:30pm

• Local Provision – what’s out there and how to apply

Wednesday 24th March @ 11:30 – 1:30pm

• EHC Plan Check Group Workshop

Wednesday 31st March @ 11:30 – 12:30pm

• Applying for a Specialist School/College Place Webinar – how to be successful

Wednesday 7th April @ 11:30 – 1:30pm

• EHC Plan Check Group Workshop

Wednesday 14th April @ 11:30 – 12:30pm

• Key Dates Webinar- when to plan strategically, what EHC timeframes you should be wary of, key times in the academic year 

Wednesday 21st April @ 11:30 – 1:30pm

• EHC Plan Check Group Workshop

Wednesday 28th April @ 11:30 – 12:30pm

• Maintaining an EHC Plan Post 19+ Webinar – how and when a EHCP is still necessary after 19 and what to do if the LA tries to cease the plan

Wednesday 5th May @ 11:30 – 12:30pm 

• EHC Plan Check Group Workshop

Please email enquiries@acctsheffield.org.uk to request your place. An invite and Zoom link will be sent out via email prior to each webinar and workshop.

Parents’ Zoom Meeting, Tuesday the 9th of March, 7pm-9pm.

Join facilitators of the group Margaret Kilner (parent and trustee) and Nicola Hough (parent and manager) to share and learn.

Discussions will include the reopening of schools and what this means for you and your children, coming out of lockdown, life as we head into springand much more.

Please contact enquiries@acctsheffield.org.uk to register your interest and you will be sent an invitation to join the meeting along with a guide to using Zoom.

Please join us for our last craft and sing along Zoom session in the current lockdown. The session is friendly and relaxed and everyone is welcome!

Thursday 4th March, 5-7pm

• 5:00pm – Welcome
• 5:10pm – Craft Activity lead by Alison
• 6:00pm – Biscuit time
• 6:10pm – Sing Along on YouTube
• 6:45pm – An opportunity to share Something Good, Something Bad and Something that you are grateful for from your week
• 7pm – Goodbyes

It is fine to join in for part or all of the session.

We will be making a Tree of Hope!

You need:

• Thick card – side of a cardboard box is perfect
• Green card
• Pink or white tissue paper
• White paper
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Glue stick

Please email enquiries@acctsheffield.org.uk for the link to join