Leeds City Council one to remember..........................

The phone number has been simplified to make life easier for everyone. Most of the key numbers now begin with 0113 222 44 followed by the last two digits of the service you require.

you can visit www.leeds.gov.uk/onetoremember to view or download the details.


0113 222 44 ........

01- Adult Social Care

02- Anti Social Behaviour

03- Children & Young People Social Care

04- Council Tax & Benefits
including housing benefit, free school meals, benefit fraud, school clothing vouchers

05- Customer Relations
customer feedback, compliments and complaints

06- Environmental Services
refuse collection, recycling, domestic and industrial noise, pest control, grass cutting and graffiti

07- Highways
street lighting and street cleansing

08- Registrars
births, deaths, marriages and ceremonies

09- Planning

10- Minicom


I hope this helps to get you through quicker, we shall be watching and reporting back to "05".

Sara x

Parent Power Leeds Ltd






A huge hello to Phillippa and to whoever reads this message, and welcome to Parent Power!!!

you have arrived at a very welcoming and accepting place where you are no longer a stranger only a friend we have yet to meet!!!


we look forward to meeting you and your family and promise to try our very hardest in all that we do.



Sara M. Smithson

The aim of Portage is to support the development of young children's play, communication and relationships and to encourage full participation in day to day life within the family and beyond the home. Portage services are committed to securing inclusion in the wider community for all children and families in their own right. Support offered through Portage is based on the principle that parents are the key figures in the care and development of their child and Portage aims to help parents to be confident in this role whatever their child's needs may be.

For more info visit their website or contact
Leeds Children & Families Early Years,
Social Inclusion Service Portage
The Blenhiem Centre, Crowther Place, Leeds, LS6 2ST
Tel 0113 395 1160

Or ask Sara yourself on the forum.....


http://www.portage.org.uk/northernRegion.html

A letter from Sara Smithson to the Portage Team.....

"From the first time you came to our home and met with us to explain the various different portage services which were available in Leeds I was aware of a warmth which was extended to us and welcomed us on an open and unquestioning basis. You made me realise that there was something and someone who actually cared that my little bundle of "joy" was given an equal chance to access the early support services that you could recommend. The first morning I walked into the group I was absolutely terrified. Terrified of not being accepted, liked, welcomed, wanted or even that my child was such hard word we wouldn't be encouraged to stay. How wrong I was. From the moment I bravely stepped inside I was met by warm smiling faces, genuinely interested people who wanted to talk to me and my little bundle of joy, that is Ben and it seemed they were bending over backwards to help get Ben settled and I even got to drink a HOT cup of coffee for the first time in 13 months. Nobody can imagine just important the group was to me on a weekly basis and for a mum on the very edge of complete exhaustion you and your colleagues kept me going and steered me away from a complete breakdown. To have a friendly listening ear who never questions or dictates but listens and advises where appropriate is the best tonic any parent on the edge could have. Over the course of my attending the group I built several good working relationships and also made friends with other parents who I now consider to be amongs my best friends and many are within my inner circle of trust. I was delighted to be allocated my Home Visitor and by then was feeling quite optimistic that maybe, just maybe it was possible for me with a lot of help to actually get Ben doing some small steps towards making progress in his development.

We had a weekly visit which was just the right amount I felt to give me time to learn this small step. I would enjoy the time I spent with Ben doing his weekly target because it was a quality moment that had a positive outcome everytime even in a very negative week we still could achieve a small success together. Over the course of home visits I grew increasingly confident and felt that I could actually start to learn more about Portage and was very pleased when Ann Appleyard informed me I was accepted onto the training course in the new year. The realisation sank in on the first day of the course that I was so out of my depth within the first hour, yet you encouraged me to stick with it and over the next two days I started to really believe you. I was secretly hoping that i would be good enough to complete the course just for personal satisfaction but now I was even hoping this could be the start of better things to come. I got a certificate, with my name on, to prove I did it and that is where it all changed. I seemed to be able to apply Portage to everything I did, and IT WORKED!!!!! Since completeing the course I have been using the principal of portage in almost every situation I can think of. I have made more progress with Ben in the last two months than I did in the six months previous to the course because now I can apply it to every task and not just one thing a week. The service you offer to families is above excellent at all times, the support and training given is beyond anyones expectations and the quality of staff that are in your team are quite simply the best. I wish I could meet everyone who is thinking of working with the portage service and tell them how brilliant it is and how much they will get from it as a whole family and not just the child. I just wanted to say a big thank you for everything you have done past, present and future"

To view the full article visit http://interesting-times-in-leeds.blogspot.com/search?q=krystyna

Meeting the needs of children with Autistic Spectrum Disporders - as part of education leeds.
IMPORTANT - This service is only available to those with a diagnosis of Autistic Spectrum Disorders.

STARS provides early intervention for children with a diagnosis of Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD)
STARS is made up of teachers and support staff with experience of working with children with ASD.

What happens next?
After diagnosis with parent/carer permission a referral will be made to the Early Yers Special Educational Needs (SEN) Service, who will then involve STARS.

Staff from STARS will visit to discuss a package of intervention for your child.
What is the intervention?
The intervention package is designed to give you help and support to guide you through the early years of your child's development and will include programmes to develop communication, thinking and learning, positive behaviours and bring part of a group. It is adapted to to each situation that your child is part of and individually designed for your child's needs and reflect their strengths, special interests and sensory aspects. Parents and carers will be central to the programme. All the people who also involved with the child will receive advice & support in working with your child.

For more information if you have a diagnosis please contact The Stars team, Lesley Lewis Tel: 0113 271 2115.

The weekenders club provides families of children with severe disabilities or complex care needs with an activity club for children at weekends.

What they can offer;
Full day placement on Saturday or Sunday
Sessions operate on 47 weekends throughout the year
Play activities supervised by paid and trained staff in a safe environment with high staff ratio.
Wheelchair accessible buildings.
Placement on rota basis, usually one day in four weeks.
Indoor and outdoor play and trips out
Crafts, arts, sports, music, games and play facilities.

How to get a place;
You don't need to have a social worker

Contact the Manager, The Weekends Club Tel: 0113 216 5133 to discuss availability in the first instance or
write to: The weekends club, suite 4, Gledhow Mount Mansion, 32 Roxholme Grove, Leeds, LS7 4JJ

e-mail info.weekenders@ntlworld.com

Soft play area, multi-level with slides, ball pool and much more.
Under 8's only
Under 12 months GO FREE!
Parents/ Carers must be present at all times.

SPECIAL NEEDS GROUP
Tuesdays 3.30pm-4.30pm £0.90 (Brothers and Sisters Welcome)
Just turn up! Or call for more details.

Community Sessions

Mondays 1pm-2pm £1.40
Thursdays 10am - 11am £0.90 and 11am-12pm £1.40
Fridays 1pm-2pm £1.40
Community sessions to be booked through Middle Leisure Centre Tel 0113 277 0021

Bookings taken from Tuesday 7th April Tel 0113 246 8338

Wellbeing Days

Monday 20th April and Monday 11th May

@ Carers Leeds
6-8 The Headrow
Leeds
LS1

Choose from Aromatherapy Massage, Indian Head Massage, Reflexology, Relaxation or face and neck massage with pressure points.
Individual appointments lasting 40 mins
Available between 10am and 2.10pm
Cost £3 per person

***Need to book TEL 0113 2468338***
Note: Each carer may have a max of 2 therapy sessions between April 09 and March 10

Extend Gentle Exercise

Extend is an hour long enjoyable and light hearted gentle exercise class to music. Expect to move around a bit but not to get tired out! Come and spend some time with other carers and be healthy whilst doing it. Class followed by drinks and snacks if you wish to stay on for a short time.

11am
Thursday 23rd April and Thursday 21st May

@ Carers Leeds
6-8 The Headrow
Leeds
LS1

***Need to book TEL 0113 2468338***