St Albans Wood Recycling - What a Great Service !!

St Albans Wood Recycling is a not-for-profit social enterprise registered as a Community Interest Company (CIC).

We collect waste wood from the construction industry and other producers of wood waste to help reduce the amount of wood needlessly going to landfill. We sort the collected wood, selling anything that is reusable to the community at affordable prices. We also find creative ways to recycle this valuable natural resource by making products from the collected wood e.g. simple furniture, planters, wood ornaments or other wood products which we sell in our wood shop. Timber that cannot be reused is sold as firewood or gets chipped for use as biofuel. No waste wood is disposed of to landfill.

We are a not-for-profit social enterprise that is financially self-supporting. Our income is derived from the charges we make from our waste wood collection service and from sales of wood and wood products.

Any surplus is reinvested in the business. We provide work, learning and training opportunities to those facing barriers to gaining paid employment and for local people who enjoy working with wood.

If you are interested then get in contact with

Geoff Deans  07880 528407

Director St Albans Wood Recycling

The next few months will be a very difficult time for families with children with special educational needs - Guest Post by Leena Hurloll, Moore Blatch - Education Law Specialist

It can be incredibly distressing for parents when their son or daughter’s education is in question. Too many parents of children with learning difficulties can be left feeling they have to battle a complex system to get what their child needs.

It’s thought over 50% of children with a Statement of Special Educational Needs are still being educated in mainstream schools, despite government research recommending dedicated teaching to improve performance.

Yesterday many families will have been notified of the decision about where their child with special educational needs will go to secondary school from September 2012. Local Authorities are required by law to issue amended Statements of Special Educational Needs by 15^th February of every year.

If the local authority has failed to do this, parents can bring Judicial Review actions against them to do so.

If parents have received the amended Statement of Special Educational Needs and they are unhappy with the School, then they must lodge their appeal with the First Tier Tribunal as soon as possible.

The next few months will be a very difficult time for families with children with special educational needs.

Many families will feel very anxious about taking on schools and local authorities to secure a better school or provision for their child. It can seem very daunting. Others have been doing so for years and feel like the school and local authority do not listen. Often raising concerns can seem like a challenge when in actual fact it can mean working collaboratively with the school and the local authority.

Some situations may have broken down and there will be conflict because there is so much emotion associated with a child’s education and well being.

Judicial reviews can be brought in the name of the child and so therefore children will automatically qualify for legal aid. Parents who want to appeal to the First Tier Tribunal can also qualify for legal aid if they are on a low income or on benefits. We are happy to discuss avenues with families and assess the options free of charge. We also have access to charities who can offer support and advice through the process. We invite families to visit our website www.educationlawsolutions.co.uk to see the work we do.

Parents should visit www.sendist.gov.uk to give them an understanding of what they can expect a First Tier Tribunal appeal to involve.

Leena Hurloll, Moore Blatch - Education Law Specialist

www.educationlawsolutions.co.uk

Local Authorities are required by law to issue amended Statements of Special Educational Needs today at the very latest - www.educationlawsolutions.co.uk

Today many families will have been notified about where their child with special educational needs will go to secondary school from September 2012. Local Authorities are required by law to issue amended Statements of Special Educational Needs today at the very latest.

If the local authority has failed to do this, parents can bring Judicial Review actions against them to do so.

If parents have received the amended Statement of Special Educational Needs and they are unhappy with the School, then they must lodge their appeal with the First tier Tribunal as soon as possible.

The next few months will be a very difficult time for families with children with special educational needs.

Thank you

Leena

Leena Hurloll

Senior Solicitor

Moore Blatch Resolve LLP

If you need anymore information about this subject please contact Leena Hurloll by e mail or by visiting the website

E-mail:      leena.hurloll@mooreblatch.com

Website:   www.educationlawsolutions.co.uk

Where to turn if you and your children are suffering a Bereavement - Written by Hertfordshire Cruse

Cruse Bereavement Care Hertfordshire

A voluntary support service for children and adults

The role of Cruse is to offer support, advice and information following bereavement. We are somewhere to turn when someone dies.

At Cruse we are:

·         Responsive – we respond promptly and personally to the individuals’ experience of grief and recognise there is no ‘normal’ or ‘right way’ to grieve.

·         Compassionate – we empathise with our clients’ feelings, care about their grief and work with them to alleviate their distress.

·         Respectful – we treat our staff and volunteers with respect, appreciate their contributions and value their diversity.

·         Supportive – we listen to bereaved people learn from their experience and work to promote their needs.

·         Innovative – we take pride in our professionalism and aim to develop, promote and lead the best practice of bereavement care.

Across the UK, in 2010, Cruse responded to nearly 100,000 requests for assistance; it helped 32,700 bereaved people through face-to-face support. This figure includes 2,500 children and young people under the age of 18. Our 5,000 volunteers gave well over half a million hours of their time to their work with bereaved people.

In Hertfordshire we received over 900 telephone calls during 2010/11 and visited 457 clients.  Our volunteers gave over 9,000 hours of their time to help the bereaved in Hertfordshire.

Cruse helps our Clients to deal with:

·         Losses of many kinds. For example, traumatic deaths, age related deaths, suicide, terminal illnesses and accidents

·         The loss of anyone close. For example family, friends, teachers, colleagues or school friends

·         Loss over any period of time – recent or not

·         Losses that happen in any location

A Mother's Day Crafting Project for Children - The Perfect Present for Mum ! Written by CubbyKit

MOTHER'S DAY MAKE - WRITTEN BY CUBBYKIT  Click to visit the facebook page for Cubbykit

For little ones, it can be a bit tricky to get gifts for Mother’s day. Rather than buying something, why not get crafting and make a personalised, hand-made gift? At CubbyKit HQ we are big fans of activities that let us get creative with our little ones, and making gifts is no exception!

Here is a different take on a traditional mother’s day gift. It lets children incorporate flowers and photo frames all into one. The photo flower bouquet is not only a bright and colourful activity, but is also quick and simple to do.

What you need:

·         Green and Yellow paper (sugar paper is ideal)

·         Pencil

·         Glue

·         Children’s scissors

·         Hole punch

·         4 x Straws with a bendy neck (green is ideal, but any colour will do)

·         4 x Tissue paper  (bright colours, these are your petals)

·         Ribbon

·         Small pictures of child’s face

·         Plastic cup (optional)

·         Paint (optional)

·         Brush (optional)

How to do it:

1.       Take the straw and cut it in the middle of the bendy bit.

2.       Fold the green paper in half. Do this another two times so you are left with a small rectangle. Then draw a leaf shape on it. Cut around the leaf that has been drawn and you will now have 8 separate leaves.

3.       Use the hole punch to create a small hole on one side of the leaf and thread it onto the straw. Thinly glue it in place near the top of the straw (but make sure to leave space for the petals). Another leaf can be added to the straw stem by repeating this step.

4.       To make the petals, fold the tissue paper over a few times then draw a flower shape (be creative and try out a lot of different shapes). Cut out the flower you have drawn which will leave you with a set of tissue petals. Hole punch them in the middle so they can be put onto the straw. Secure them with glue.

5.       To finish, cut a very small rectangle of yellow paper (about 2cm long) and roll this up. Dab some glue on the end and put this into the top of the straw.

6.       Photo flowers: If you want to make some flowers with photos in the middle, do not leave too much straw sticking out from the flower. Then cut the photo into a circle and glue it into the middle.

7.       You can make as many or as little flowers as you want. Tie all the flowers together with the ribbon to make a bouquet.

8.       If you would like to make something to hold the flowers, you can take a plastic pot (or jar) and decorate it with paint and ribbon. Once it dries, the flowers can be put in their new pot so they are perfect to give as a gift.

The great thing about a craft like this is it can be kept on show for the rest of the year. Plus the use (and recycling) of a lot of everyday items means that it isn’t something that will take a long time to prepare for. Feel free to get even more creative by using different materials to make the flowers like felt or fabric cut-offs. There is no end to what you can make, so get creative together and start crafting!

Thank you so much CubbyKit - here at Education Recycle we love crafting and we love recycling so get making folks !

Click to visit the Cubbykit website !

"CubbyKit is a new company that delivers exciting activity boxes for young children designed to spark their creativity and keep  them entertained for hours.

CubbyKit is a subscription based service offering creative crafts delivered to your door. There is one theme each month such as outer space, spring or music. There will be full instructions and supplies for several activities as well as suggestions for ways to explore further. CubbyKit aims to help busy parents have one-on-one time with their child whilst getting creative with exciting craft activities.

We are a new company dedicated to entertaining, educating and inspiring young children. Our panel of experts has designed monthly activity boxes which we deliver to your doorstep, brimming with educational and entertaining projects for three to six year olds. CubbyKits are age-appropriate with two boxes available each month: one for 3 - 4 year olds and the other for 5 - 6 year olds. "

Read 7 proven tips to boost your child’s confidence: Written by Kidz4Mation's Seema Thobhani

Raise Confident Courageous Kids

Do you think your child would be happier and/more successful if he/she was more

confident?

Parents who consciously and proactively help their child to develop emotionally and build life skills such as trust, confidence, self-esteem, positivity and empathy alongside their education and technical skills may in doing so be reserving a seat at the top table in life for their child. But nurturing one’s offspring in this way puts the spotlight on parents. “Until I became a parent, I never knew I had the capacity to love so much.” This comment reflects the new emotional frontiers we cross when we bring a child into the world. Parenting is, for most, a cocktail of joy, laughter, fun… chaos and high stress levels.

Let us look at The 3 A’s of Positive Parenting:

Acceptance - This requires great courage from parents but accepting the children as they are (not comparing them to another child) can help us in raising their confidence.

Availability - Gift of time is biggest gift parents can give a child because a child wants more time and love than anything from their parents. As Jesse Jackson nicely quotes, ‘Your children need your presence more than your presents’

Appreciation – This is something that everyone craves for. All human beings want approval. It is very important for you as a parent to appreciate children publicly and criticise privately. Children often misbehave because they want attention from their parents. So appreciate their good behaviour and apprehend their bad behaviour!

Education Law Solutions - The Moore Blatch Education Law Team undertakes work in all aspects of Education Law, exclusively for children and their families.

So why do we need Education Law?

One of the reasons can be to help the families of children with learning difficulties to get the help and support they need and are entitled to - what do you do if this help is not offered to you?  Find out in this blog written by Education Lawyer...Leena Hurloll from Moore Blatch solicitors.

Help for children with learning difficulties 

It can be incredibly distressing for parents when their son or daughter’s education is in question. Too many parents of children with learning difficulties can be left feeling they have to battle a complex system to get what their child needs.

It’s thought over 50% of children with a statement of special educational needs are still being educated in mainstream schools, despite government research recommending dedicated teaching to improve performance.

We recently helped a mother from Bedfordshire whose son has Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism.  After being given a statement of special educational needs, and due to a lack of appropriate local provision, her son attended a residential secondary school. But problems started when the teenager was due to transfer into post-16 education.

The family sought our advice after delays from the local authority were threatening to prevent him from continuing in specialist education.

If a parent is unable to secure the specialist support their child needs, the effects can be devastating, and have lasting implications for their child’s development.

If the needs of a child are not met, then in some cases parents are even blamed for their child’s apparent ‘bad’ behavior, when it is actually a lack of appropriate provision.

Local authorities have a legal requirement to act within a set deadline and parents can appeal a decision if they feel it is wrong.

What is clear is that there needs to be greater transparency from local authorities, as the current system leaves many parents unsure of their options. If parents are concerned or unhappy about a decision that has made, then they should seek independent advice and see what their options really are.

Leena Hurloll, Moore Blatch - Education Law Specialist

www.educationlawsolutions.co.uk

How can we help

Our work spans issues including exclusions, admissions, special educational needs, school transport, failure to provide suitable education, disability discrimination, race discrimination, bullying, negligence, complaints, appeals and applications to the High Court, further and higher education related issues, appeals to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator and general civil litigation claims.

Why choose Moore Blatch

It can be an enormous relief to parents worn down by the system, to stop and hand their cases over to a specialist firm which will go that extra mile.

                                                             

We offer our clients a bespoke solution to education law related problems, with pragmatic and clear advice. Our expert team guides our clients every step of the way, offering a high quality service. We are very experienced and offer the insight of having worked for both parents and local authorities.

Find out more

Initial consultations are free and if you decide to instruct us we will explain all the available funding options including legal aid, pre-existing legal expenses insurance and private funding.

Please visit our website for further information www.educationlawsolutions.co.uk