1 Reaching Families, a parent-carer led charity
Service
Reaching Families is a parent-carer led charity established to "empower, inform and care for parents and families of children/young people with special needs and disabilities in West Sussex." We achieve this by the delivery of information, training and support groups to parent-carers.
What we do:
- Making Sense Of It All - this comprehensive parent-carer guide provides vital information across a wide variety of subjects including diagnosis, benefits, education, social and leisure activities etc. Also contains a directory of local and national groups
- Making Sense of Adult Life - this comprehensive parent-carer guide provides vital information on the subject of transition to adulthood for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities aged 14-25.
- Factsheets - we have published two series of factsheets (i) localised factsheets on major childhood disabilities that combine clinical information with local information on relevant local services (ii) a variety of localised factsheets on other issues
- Training Roadshow - we deliver a series of workshops at venues and locations across West Sussex. Subjects covered include Understanding Challenging Behaviour, DLA/PIP, Education, Sensory Issues and Stress/ Resilience.
- Umbrellas - we run 3 support groups for parents of children who attend mainstream schools in Billingshurst, Littlehampton and Worthing
Our users say:
"Reaching Families offers a unique product in West Sussex. It is comforting to know that the organisation is parent carer led but offers practical tools to assist us in our day to day lives"
Age Range: 0–25
Wheelchair Accessible?
Free to use?
Contact Details
01903 366 360
07939 192 388 Email this service
Upcoming Events
Making Sense of Challenging Behaviour (2-11...
An introduction to Challenging Behaviour which is aimed at parent/carers of children up to the age of 11 with additional needs/disabilities. You will explore ways to respond to your child so that positive behaviour is encouraged and challenging behaviour is reduced. Our workshops are free but we would welcome a small donation to the charity (suggestion is £3). Please only book ONE TICKET per p
Umbrellas (Littlehampton)
A support group for parent and carers of children and young people with any additional needs or a disability (your child does not need a diagnosis to come along). Children are welcome to come along but parents and carers remain responsible for their children at all times.
Making Sense of Transition to Secondary School
A discussion based workshop which aims to help parent/carers support their child with SEND say goodbye to primary school and prepare for secondary school. The workshop will be tailored to the attendees needs but aims to look at topics such as making new friends and keeping in touch with old friends, feelings good and bad, including worries and practical preparations. Our workshops are free but
Umbrellas (Worthing)
A support group for parent and carers of children and young people with any additional needs or a disability (your child does not need a diagnosis to come along). Children are welcome to come along but parents and carers remain responsible for their children at all times.
Making Sense of Feeding Difficulties and...
This workshop will discuss children who display eating difficulties such as selective eating; in particular relating to children with autistic spectrum conditions, Sensory Processing Difficulties, behavioural issues and anxiety. You will learn about factors that affect eating and explore possible causes for Behavioural Feeding Difficulties. You will take away positive and practical strategies to
Making Sense of Support at School
This training workshop is aimed at parent/carers of children with additional needs/disabilities. SEND IAS will talk about what schools should be doing if your child has SEN (Special Education Needs). They will talk you through all parts of SEN Support, EHCP assessments and the Local Offer will also be covered. Our workshops are free but we would welcome a small donation to the charity (suggestio
Umbrellas (Littlehampton)
A support group for parent and carers of children and young people with any additional needs or a disability (your child does not need a diagnosis to come along). Children are welcome to come along but parents and carers remain responsible for their children at all times.
Umbrellas (Worthing)
A support group for parent and carers of children and young people with any additional needs or a disability (your child does not need a diagnosis to come along). Children are welcome to come along but parents and carers remain responsible for their children at all times.
Making Sense of Bullying (Yr 6 upwards)
This workshop aims to equip you with practical information and strategies to allay fears or to point you in the right direction for managing challenging situations when your child is being bullied. This will cover various aspects including physical, verbal and cyber bullying, SEND to SEND children bullying, and manipulation. Children with SEND can be particularly vulnerable to all of these, so
Handling Stress and Building Your Own Resilience
Learn how to recognise stress in yourself, strategies to reduce it and how to become more resilient. Our workshops are free but we would welcome a small donation to the charity (suggestion is £3). Please choose EITHER a donation ticket OR a free ticket on Eventbrite. To book a place please go to: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/handling-stress-and-building-your-own-resilience-tickets-590401215
Making Sense of Anxiety (Primary aged children)
Learning how to manage our feelings is an important life skill. While all children feel anxious sometimes, being worried, fearful or stressed too often can negatively affect their development. This session will provide: an introduction to understanding anxiety in children; ways to support them if they are worrying too much; and tips for looking after yourself along the way. Our workshops are fr
Making Sense of Parenting Siblings of Children...
This workshop will provide an insight into strategies and activities that you can use with your child who has a sibling with additional needs or disabilities. It will deal with the challenges you face as a parent/carer of a child with additional support needs, from juggling the time spent with all of your children to dealing with the sibling's emotions, frustration and any questions or anxi
Umbrellas (Littlehampton)
A support group for parent and carers of children and young people with any additional needs or a disability (your child does not need a diagnosis to come along). Children are welcome to come along but parents and carers remain responsible for their children at all times.
Umbrellas (Worthing)
A support group for parent and carers of children and young people with any additional needs or a disability (your child does not need a diagnosis to come along). Children are welcome to come along but parents and carers remain responsible for their children at all times.
I attended the Reaching Families workshop on Sensory Integration in Worthing led by Helen Cottell yesterday. This was time well spent as it was an excellent workshop full of really interesting, useful and relevant information, that covered practical advice as well as the theory behind it. Highly recommend, especially if you have a child with sensory issues.
Great course today about send support at school. Feel I have many more strings to my bow
A very big thank you to Reaching Families for organising the 'Making Sense of Benefits' workshop. Lizzie from Amaze who led the course was absolutely brilliant. Even if your child already gets DLA this workshop is still very useful. I now feel much more confident about tackling my daughters forms when it has to be renewed. Can't recommend it enough!