SEND Support in The Bag for Health Visitors
Thanks to funding from the Birmingham Bodenham Trust, BCHC Charity were able to provide 50 support bags for families with children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) living in temporary accommodation.
Specialist Health Visitor Nikola Demetrius approached the charity with the idea for the project. “A lot of the children are at a disadvantage due to limited space, parents lacking confidence to seek health advice due to language barriers or not knowing their local area. Some have not been shown how to play with their children who have SEND needs, especially with limited resources and toys. The SEND bags can be a starter pack for some families, giving them an opportunity to build on the toys that are given.”
The bags contained a variety of sensory toys and were given out to families living in temporary accommodation with young children who have SEND. Providing these children with these basic items at an early age will stimulate their development, helping to prevent developmental delays and emotional problems later in life.
The initial 50 bags went down so well that the Charity Team pitched the idea to Tesco, successfully securing grants from stores in New Oscott and Quinton to provide a further 100 bags!
Specialist Health Visitor Tonya Sillman shared a story about how the bag impacted one of the families she sees; she gifts a bag to a 4-year-old non-verbal boy with a diagnosis of autism, living in Birmingham City Council hotel accommodation because of an eviction. He looked at the slinky, turning it over in his hands and studying it. His mum thanked Tonya for the toys and agreed she feels they are very beneficial as her son is very sensory, and she especially liked the rainmaker toy.
Usha Braich, Specialist Health Visitor, says, “I have received very positive responses from parents who have been given the SEND bags for their children; they have been really surprised and grateful at the gesture and appreciate the number of items in the bags. Families cannot afford these resources, so it is particularly pleasing to witness the children’s faces glow when they realise what is being given to them. All the children are in temporary accommodation settings with limited space, and this allows the child to sit and play with the toys whilst Mom watches over. Thank you to everyone at Tesco for your grant.”
A mum of a 3-year-old with limited vocabulary and developmental delay was given a bag; when the child saw a squeezing ball, they grabbed the ball and began to play. The mum was so grateful that she thanked Usha three times. Another mum was very excited and thankful, and said that the toys will help her son, who has limited concentration, keep busy, remarking particularly on the fidget gadgets. Another child, with developmental and speech delay, got excited when given the bag, asking her mum to open all the packaging to reveal the toys. The mum stated, “I can’t believe there is so much, she will love playing with these”.
Tonya gave her personal thanks to Tesco for the donation which has created the SEND bags. “I think the bags have been very comprehensive with very sturdy sensory toys and have been well received by patients.”