Registered Charity No: 1098917 Company Registration No: 4258543
SAFSS will be at the Compass Jobs Fair, today, Monday 8th March 2010 at the ICC, Birmingham. Come and meet our staff at stand 14 and find out about the range of care vacancies that we have.
We are particularly interested in meeting individuals who are interested in working in domiciliary care (in both Birmingham and Sandwell) and Playworkers.
We look forward to meeting you!
During December more of SAFSS Domiciliary Care Workers were trained in Therapeutic Massage by Una Peplow, Senior Physiotherapist from Sandwell PCT.
Una was impressed with our staff, so much so that she gave our Co-ordinators the following feedback “I would like to say the attitude and approach to training taken by your staff at my talk on Wednesday was inspiring. They showed interest throughout, were respectful, asked sensible questions and offered thanks at the end of the session. I will (sic) all my talks were accepted with this exemplary behaviour. Offer my thanks to all concerned.”
Our Care Workers will continue to work closely with Physiotherapists to support South Asian children and young people with disabilities in the home environment.
For more information about our domiciliary care service please contact Hardeep Sandhu on (0121) 558 21498 childrens.safss@btconnect.com
SAFSS were one of the local charities featured on the BBC Children in Need fundraising night on BBC1. Chief Executive Parpinder K Dhatt was interviewed by Adil Ray from BBC Asian Network following a piece about SAFSS and the with children we work with in our After School Club.
Poppy and Claire also met Pudsey Bear! Pictures to follow!
For more information about our After School Club Monday Group please contact Sayma on (0121) 558 2198.
Big thanks to Raj Andev and his friends for the photo.
SAFSS is now registered as a Safe Place as part of the Safe Place Scheme ran by Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, West Midlands Police, Changing Our Lives, Sandwell Partership and Sandwell Primary Care Trust.
The Safe Place Scheme has been designed to help people with learning disabilities know what to do if they become a victim of hate crime, bullying or harassment in the community.
Each person with a learning disability carries a card which gives their name and personal contact details. The logo on the card matches the logo displayed in local shops, businesses and community venues. The logo is recognised by a person with a learning disability and they know they can go to this place if they are in trouble.
If a person with learning disabilities comes into SAFSS we will assist them by making one or two phone calls and will provide a temporary safe place until further help and support is accessed.
For further information on the Safe Place Scheme:
http://www.laws.sandwell.gov.uk/ccm/content/councilgeneral/pressreleases/2009-03/safe-places-scheme-launched.en;jsessionid=ahaAvHqwr2Bf
Congratulations to one of our After School Club members whose poetry is to be published!
The poem “My Friend” was entered into the Young Writers’ My Favourite Person competition where young poets wrote about the people that are most important to them.
Over 4,000 poems were received and the best poems were selected for publication in a book representing the best of young authors work: My Favourite Person – That Special Someone.
Congratulations!
Congratulations to twelve of our care staff who successfully completed a four week training course in Makaton.
Makaton is a language programme used by children and adults who
have communication difficulties. Makaton uses speech, gestures, facial expressions, eye contact and body language and it enables children to develop communication skills.
Our staff, who work in our After School Club, Adults Domiciliary care and Children’s Domiciliary care, all gained a basic knowledge of Makaton. The aim of the session was to give staff a range of tools and techniques for communicating with the children and adults that they care for.
Staff learnt how to write sentences using symbols and how this can be used to write menus and plan activities for the people who use our service. By learning new communication techniques our staff can support our services users to make independent choices about the service that they receive.
The course was funded by Sandwell Early Years at SMBC and the training was provided by Sue Eley from The Orchard School. Our thanks to both SMBC and Sue.
Congratulaions to all our staff!
SAFSS have been confirmed as Sandwell’s pilot for Artemis, the Children’s Workforce Induction Programme (CWIP).
Artemis is a quality e-learning package, developed by the Children’s Workforce Development Council (CWDC) to embrace the ‘One Children’s Workforce’ philosophy.
The package acts as an introduction to the Every Child Matters (ECM) five outcomes and outlines seven induction standards to which all people working with children must meet. The ‘One Children’s Workforce’ includes the statutory, private, voluntary and independent sector and includes the unpaid workforce such as volunteers running a football club.
Chief Executive Parpinder Dhatt said “SAFSS are proud to be one of the first organisations to do this induction and we are setting standards for other organisations in the health and social care field, as well as in the wider voluntary and community sector. SAFSS believes in the Artemis philisophy and rationale of ‘Everyone can make a difference’ and ‘We need to work together better to protect our children’ and it fits with our organisational mission and vision.
For more information on the Children’s Workforce Development Council www.cwdcouncil.org.uk
Over 200 of our children, young people and adults along with their parents and carers took part in SAFSS annual daytrip on 29th July. This year we visited Legoland and everyone had a fantastic time. The torrential downpour of rain on arrival in Windsor did not dampen our spirits and as the day wore on the appearance of the sun made for a wonderful day!
Chief Executive Parpinder K Dhatt said ” I would like to thank all the staff who worked so hard to organise our day trip to Legoland. The annual daytrip is very important to SAFSS and our families always look forward to it. We have had a wonderful time and families are already asking where we are going next year.”
Every year SAFSS needs to raise £4,500 to pay to hire specially adapted coaches and associated costs. Please contact Claire Bradshaw on (0121) 558 2198 or devmgt.safss@btconnect.com if you are interested in sponsoring our daytrip for 2010.
In its 8th year the Special Olympics provides year-round sports training and athletic competition to more than 2.25 million children and adults with learning disabilities. Service users from our After School Club and Adults Group visited the Special Olympics in Leicester and were shown around by Leicester Cobras’ Jignesh Vaidya.
Football and cricket were the sports seen by our group although they were spoilt for choice with all the different sports on offer. One day was not enough and we are planning a longer trip next time!
Chief Executive Parpinder K Dhatt said “Visiting the Special Olympics was a great opportunity for our children and adults. To see an event where children and young people with learning disabilities are taking part indepedently, with such a strong team spirit and in such a great atmosphere was a very positive experience for our group. This event has given our young people the incentive to set up their own team and has helped us to see how we as an organisation can get more out of sport.”
For more information about our After School Club please contact Sayma on (0121) 558 2198 or asc.safss@btconnect.com. For more information about our Adults group please contact Arathi on (0121)5582198 or adults.safss@btconnect.com
For more information on the Special Olympics Leicester http://www.sol2009.com/home/faqs#whatisspecialolympics
For more information about Leicester Cobras Wheelchair Basketball Club
http://www.leicestercobras.org.uk/Leicester_Cobras_Wheelchair_Basketball_Club/Welcome_to_the_Leicester_Cobras.html
Look out for our little green minibus out and about this summer!
Our After School Club are visiting soft play areas, playing football and ball games in the park, having picnics, participating in Bhangra Workshops, visiting Dudely Zoo, going to the cinema and participating in the National Play Day Event! That’s not to mention all our centre-based activities which are in-line with the Every Child Matters outcomes and the Quality in Play standards. It’s going to be a busy summer at the Smiling Stars After School Club!
Our Adults Group are also out and about with visits to the Victoria Heritage Centre, Go-carting, going to the cinema, bowling, visiting the canals, a picnic in Sandwell Valley Park, visiting Stratford-upon-Avon, visiting a monkey farm and a visit to the Midlands arts Centre. And that’s not forgetting all our centre-based sessions which include playing pool, games and all kinds of activities!
SAFSS prides itself on all our activities being user-led and we consult regularly with our children and young people to find out what activities they would like to do. So if you see our green minibus out and about this summer, give us a wave!
For more information about our services for adults with disabilities or After School Club for children with disabilities please contact Arathi (for adults) and Sayma (for After School Club) on (0121) 558 2198.
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