Explorers Plus for SEND children - What our parents say

Our Explorers Plus Session jointly run with the Portage Team at Bellingham Children & Family Centre on Tuesday mornings has been a huge success and parents and children aged 0-5 with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) are really enjoying some time to play and learn together.

The session has been so successful that we will now be running another one at Evelyn Children & Family Centre starting on Friday 15th March.

What parents are saying:

“My two little ones love coming here. The activities are so child-lead and they love to explore and play. I get lots of ideas of what to do at home, and Anne, April and Lisa have loads of expertise and support to offer. The atmosphere is so welcoming and my children are able to to develop their concentration and confidence.

There is no other setting that they engage so well in. I think M is relaxed by all the sensory and messy play and this helps him and his behaviour. They have formed trusting relationships with staff which helped them prepare for nursery. I am inspired by the lovely way staff interact with and included the children and I think this has helped my parenting. This session is amazing and means so much to me and two children, thank you. Reception staff also have the same lovely child friendly approach.”

“My son enjoys and always looks forward to coming to his portage playgroup. My son has speech delay, slurred speech and is awaiting a diagnosis for Autism and ADHD. When he comes to playgroup, my son gets to socailse and further develop his social skills, something that he finds difficult to do. Additonally, he gets to express himself a lot more through messy play and outdoor play, which is something that he finds difficult to do. Additionally, he gets to express himself a lot more through messy play and outdoor play, which is something he can’t do much at home because of where we live. Playgroups allows him to play and discover new toys he doesn’t have at home.”

“So grateful for this session and the amazing staff and new activities every week. Thank you.”

“My son can’t speak except ‘Mama’ ‘Dada’ very rarely. We are worried so much about him. It never happened to our family with my son’s older sisters. We feel so lonely and helpless. But in Bellingham Children’s Centre, special kids explorers activity, we meet other families with special kids as well. We talk to each other and feel better. We can bringing my son to Bellingham Children Centre regularly, we can’t wait to see how he will settle in nursery in September. We believe we can still get help from this Children Centre group for special kids. Thanks so much.”

“It’s very interesting and lovely, have never regretted bringing my daughter here, there are lovely people and kids are enjoying it. My baby loves it here so much and the teachers are really doing well. I love bringing my daughter to the children centre. I feel happy.”

“Fantastic group, I am a mum of 6, 4 with additional needs (so far). I come here to get help and support for my 2-year-old. Very Happy with the staff. Love the vibe and energy. Also gives me time to just relax. Thank you for this amazing space. So good!”

“I Initially brought my son when he was about 8 months, as he was a little behind with a couple of milestones (walking & talking). He immediately loves coming and has been regularly attending for about 6 months now. He loves the water play & sand play. Also, all the lovely toys that he can play with. I can’t recommend the groups highly enough. The staff are wonderful, and the different things my son can do are great.”

Come and join us for this fun and relaxed session jointly run with the portage team if:

Your child is aged 0-5 with SEND.
You are concerned about your child’s speech and language development.
You are waiting for an referral to a service at Kaleidoscope.
Your child has a social or communication need, developmental delay, physical disability or sensory need.
You are concerned about any part of your child’s development.
Your child struggles with play.
You have struggled to find a Stay & Play session that allows you and your child to play and learn without judgement.

You DON’T NEED A DIAGNOSIS to attend and you don’t need to book, just turn up on the day, but if you’d like to you can book here.

Or, if you’d like more information before you attend you can contact us here

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“My child and I have really enjoyed coming to Little Explorers. It has helped my child to get used to see other babies and have interaction with them, which has been really important for him after the pandemic.”

“It's absolutely fab to be able to have access to all of the Domestic Abuse services in one place and to just click on a link to get to the website.”

“The Children Centre is our favourite place to come, we have been coming here since my child was 6 months old, he is now 4 years old and is still enjoying! Well done staff”

“I have just found the ‘taking care of ourselves’ section, which is massively important for us all, especially compassion fatigue.”

“The help and support that my family support worker gave me was above and beyond, she was always there to listen to me and make me feel like I was good enough and I was being heard.”

“The Outreach Team have such outgoing, friendly and fun personalities and made each Outdoor Learning session a great experience.”

“The Explorers session has helped my child a lot with his communication and his development. It’s really been impactful for him; we are really grateful to have this opportunity to attend the session and meet other parents as well.”

“The sessions help my daughter with speaking English, as well as helping her to listen and follow directions. I am very happy, my baby is very happy, and I feel relief when I come.”

“The Children Centre is very beneficial for my child, she has developed lots of skills e.g., sharing toys and naming colours. Also, the staff are very friendly and helpful.”

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Explorers Plus for SEND children – What our parents say