The 'Bloopers' and Brighter Futures!

So yesterday was an exciting day! Not only did I conquer my Facebook Live Fear, but we also launched our brand spanking new website as well as some exciting training opportunities! What I did not share with you yesterday was these beauties pictured above! I think it is safe to say that Svenja photographed some of our more human/natural/crazy angles throughout the day...! But hey, we thought it would be fun to share with you, because let's face it, this sector could do with a little bit of laughter from time to time. So I give you permission to please take pleasure in, and laugh at our faces... :)

So yesterday I talked about lots of things on the live Facebook stream,  including our new mission.

Every day we advocate for and represent families. We are so so passionate about it and have such big hearts. The true core of Bright Futures rests on what is 'fair' and what is 'just'. On a weekly basis, we help families to secure EHC assessment, we register appeals, we negotiate with local authorities while defending the family's 'corner' and we represent in court rooms at tribunal. What has not been sitting well with me is the fact that with the greatest will in the world, I can not meet everyone's needs nationwide simply due to capacity.

SO! I have decided to develop a new strand of Bright Futures to reach and support as many as possible. One of the main features will be 'GoLives!'. These will be monthly presentations delivered live online by myself (Ruth), that will be topical and seasonal. The focus will always be on SEN (special educational needs) and EHCPs (education, heath and care plans). The next topic will be on 'transitioning to a new school or college'. The GoLives! will focus on the 'headlines' and key legislation you need to know to represent yourselves through the early stages of EHCPs.

Alongside this, we will be launching some study groups to support you to represent yourself with your own case. The groups will only have a maximum of 6 people per topic, and you will stay with this group for as long as you wish, through access to a discussion forum online after direct tuition has ceased. We will be focusing on everyone's bespoke circumstances, which will link directly to the topic of discussion. I will lead the group and will be checking any follow up work after the study group virtual session has finished. A key topic that we will be focusing upon in great, advanced detail, is ABA therapy on EHCPs.

So, if you need support and would like to learn for longevity purposes (to support yourself in years to come) please sign up to our mailing list, or contact us for for more information.

We are really keen to pitch this new strand of Bright Futures, in the right way, to meet need nationwide, so if you have any feedback or any topics you would like us to cover, please let us know! We will continue to represent families ourselves, but are really clear that we want to empower and education too.

For now, our first trial is 'transitioning to a new school/college. To sign up for this GoLive! please book your tickets here: https://bright-futures-waks.squarespace.com/config/pages/5a6f0f30e2c4832dd2f599cb

We look forward to talking to you more on the airwaves! :)

Ruth and the Team (EHCP Advocates)