ADHD de-escalation course - 1 day (Bradford)

This course is run by West Yorkshire ADHD support group to help you with managing and reducing difficult and angry behaviours from your child in your home. Tuesday, 13 May (9.30am – 3pm) at St Stephens CE Primary School, Gaythorne Road, Bradford BD5 7HU. £20 per person. Book here.

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World Autism Acceptance Day event was a big success 

Yesterday, over 350 people came to the World Autism Acceptance Day event held at Bradford City Football Club. Airedale and Wharfedale Autism Resource (AWARE) organised the event, and said they have already had brilliant feedback from families and organisations. On the day people could walk around the many stalls of services, from the local authority to health providers and a wide selection of charities. Thank you to everyone who came along and to everyone involved in the event. Our Local Offer Lead Officer, Nigel Hammon can be seen on the photograph at yesterday's event with the new Local Offer leaflets that arrived this week. If you want any leaflets for your setting or group, email: localoffer@bradford.gov.uk

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Update on SEND post-16 travel arrangements

All students who are post-16 and currently receive travel assistance, should have received a letter in the post outlining what their offer will be from September 2025.

If you are new to transport and want to apply, please use the form on the Bradford Council webpage here. Once completed please return it to schooltransport@bradford.gov.uk. Applications for September 2025 will need to be received by school transport by Friday, 13 June 2025.

New applications received by the Council for post-16 travel assistance will now be made in line with the new Transport Policy (2025 – 2026) now on the Bradford Council webpage here. The new policy will determine the travel assistance offer families will receive from September 2025. Eligibility criteria for new applications will not change.

We will continue to update you on these changes in upcoming SEND Partnership newsletters.

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Chai & Chat free Speech and Language therapy groups

This project is a collaboration between Seedlings Speech Therapy and SEND Salaam, funded by the National Lottery Community Fund, which means it's free for families in the Bradford area. The sessions are for families of children aged 18 months to 5 years. Register your interest here, or scan the QR code below. 

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Mental Health Awareness and Bradford district's family hubs

Mental Health Awareness Week takes place from 12 to 18 May and Bradford district's family hubs will be having a focus on mental health and wellbeing throughout the month of May. Please take a look at the timetables and follow the Family Hub Facebook pages to keep up-to-date with events and activities! 

Bradford district Family Hubs: check out your local hub's May activity timetables.

Follow your local family hub on Facebook:

Bradford East   Bradford West  Bradford South  Keighley/Shipley

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New disability multi-sports group

Bradford Disability Sports and Leisure are running a new multi-sports group on Fridays (5.15pm - 6.30pm) at Grange Interlink, Summerville Road, Bradford BD7 1PX. Cost is £3 per session. Contact Andrea: 07502 436773 or email andrea.dodsworth@bdsl.net

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Parents and carers have their say at community dialogue event 

Over 40 parents and carers came along to a LEAP community dialogue event on 9 April at Laisterdyke Community Centre to meet with leaders from Bradford Council and Bradford District and Craven Health and Care Partnership. Attendees heard from LEAP projects and then listened to experiences and ideas from parents, with an opportunity for a more informal chat with leaders and Councillor Sue Duffy.

People were asked to think about:
👉 Access to services and support
👉 Community-based services
👉 The role of communities in meeting the needs of children, young people and families
👉 Next steps.

Along with the recent Parents' Forum for Bradford and Airedale survey, which over 300 SEND parents contributed to, this important feedback will be used to refresh the SEND strategy.

The Local Offer team will be coming out to more community-based events to talk to parents about the SEND Local Offer and to listen and find out how we can keep improving what we do - get in touch if you want the Local Offer to be at an event. Email: localoffer@bradford.gov.uk

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School attendance support - run by an Educational Psychologist 

The Educational Psychology team is leading a project to support families when there are school attendance difficulties linked to mental health needs. 

Sessions have started in Ilkley, but there's still time to join the sessions at Rainbow Family Hub sessions (attendance is required at all four session dates).

Rainbow Family Hub, Braithwaite Grove Keighley BD22 6JB

All sessions will take place, 1pm - 2.30pm on the following Thursdays. 

💙12 June 💙 19 June 💙 26 Jun 💙 3 July.

To book, email: EBSA@bradford.gov.uk or phone: 01274 439444

We have two helpful One Minute Guides, including Improving school attendance and Emotionally Based School Avoidance.

Some feedback from some parents and carers who have attended one of the sessions. 

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SEND Service Standards Charter – improving levels of service

Our new charter sets out how services should communicate with you. To make sure you are more informed and involved, SEND services will:

• listen to your experience and develop service information with you (‘co-production’)
• ask how you prefer to keep in touch
• use plain language and explain any terms
• aim to meet SEND timescales that are set by law.

You can tell us about your experience, whether that’s good or ‘could do better’, by scanning the QR code or clicking here to the feedback survey.

Find out more on the Local Offer website.

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Action for stammering children

Steph Burgess, stammering lead for Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, was a guest at a Parliamentary Reception this month, to see the launch of a new report in support of children who stammer. As the clinical lead for Airedale’s nationally renowned stammering service, Steph, who is a Senior Specialist Speech and Language Therapist, contributed to the new report as part of a small focus group of specialist speech and language therapists (SLTs). Read more.

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To self-refer, email: youthteam@haleproject.org.uk or phone: 01274 271088

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World Autism Acceptance Day event, Tuesday 29 April (10am - 2pm)

There is a free event at the McCall Suite, Bradford City Stadium in Bradford on Tuesday 29 April (10am - 2pm). Over 40 local services will be there. No diagnosis needed, no need to book - just turn up! A sensory room will be available. Read more.

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Thank you - survey results 

The Parents' Forum for Bradford and Airedale would like to share they had a staggering 367 parents and carers feed back in their annual parent/carer survey on a range of topics, from communication to attendance. Thank you everyone! We will be sharing next steps very soon. Read more. 

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Bradford's Brad Starz trip 

Young people from the Bradford district's SEND youth voice group, went on a trip to Manchester. The group represented Bradford at the National Youth Voice Matters Conference. It was their first time on a train, on a tram and in Manchester. Read more about the Brad Starz trip, on the children and young people's stories webpage of the Local Offer website. 

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New One Minute Guides on Autism, ADHD and masking

There are new guides on Autism, ADHD and masking on the Local Offer's One Minute Guides webpage. New guides coming soon include, if you are new to SEND, helping anxious communicators and advocacy. If you have any ideas for future guides, email: SENDT&C@bradford.gov.uk

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