** RAY OF SUNSHINE ARRIVES FOR WELSH PARENTS OF CHILDREN WITH ALN (ADDITIONAL LEARNING NEEDS)**
Parents of children with ALN will soon be able to visit a friendly Welsh ALN ‘Cuppa&Chat’ advice clinic in Aberdare. This is a resource that, until now, the area has been lacking amid a widespread ALN crisis in Wales. From the 18th of September, families of children with additional learning needs will be able to attend these much-needed sessions that are free to attend.
This ALN clinic has been set up by the award-winning SEND consultancy Sunshine Support. The Cuppa&Chat sessions will be run by their popular founder Chrissa Wadlow, who is originally from Aberdare herself. The ALN Advice Clinic will be led by their hugely successful advocate Rachel, who is based locally to Aberdare. Rachel is highly knowledgable in Welsh law and the current trends and themes being experienced by families in Wales, so she can offer relatable, lived advice to families.
“We are passionate about justice for children with additional learning needs and disabilities at Sunshine Support, and despite the recent Welsh ALN reform we are not seeing an improvement. There are not enough provisions, local authorities are not adhering to the law and families are in crisis. I am honoured to return to my hometown to help these families, who deserve so much better, and Cynon Linc is the perfect location to make this possible” said Chrissa Wadlow who founded the organisation in 2017 following her own gruelling battle for support for her own children.
Struggling families in the area of Aberdare have told Sunshine Support that they feel unable to access ALN support for their child, despite the laws in place to support children with ALN. There are also reports of Local Authorities acting unprofessionally towards families in the area, openly discouraging parents from pursuing an IDP and other ALN provision.
One anonymous parent from the area has shared their upsetting experience with Sunshine Support:
“We are fed up of our children being failed, made to sink before they can swim and being told all children have the right to an education, but seemingly only when it suits the LEA and they tick a box or fill a hole.
Having your child go to panel after panel, knowing you’ve ticked all the boxes, gathered all the evidence and even folded under the pressure and delayed them starting school by a year and still you have a fight, still they want more evidence, but give you no means of getting it.
Sunshine support will hopefully offer us as parents an outlet, they will give us hope and our children secure futures. A place we can gather and support each other, share information and be supported professionally by advocates and professionals that want what’s best not just for our child but us as families. Sunshine will be a service that will be proactive in making change and empowering us to make those changes ourselves. “
“This sort of behaviour from local authorities is not just unlawful but screams of disability discrimination. These parents are silenced and need a voice, we are glad to be just that for them. We know they’ll leave our sessions feeling more empowered and ready to take on that challenge for their children” stated Rachel Parry, who has decades of experience in education and gaining justice for those with disabilities.
If you’re a parent or carer interested in joining the Sunshine Support Cuppa&Chat and the Welsh ALN Advice Clinic in Aberdare, you can book your places at here – these clinics are already booking up quickly and are set to be a ‘ray of sunshine’ for parents of children with ALN in the Aberdare area. We look forward to meeting you.
How to contact us
For further enquiries and to request flyers to distribute, please email our Marketing & Communications Coordinator at katie@sunshine-support.org.uk
