Do You Need to Talk?
If you are worried about anything, you should always talk to someone you feel safe with, like a member of your family, or an adult at school. It is important that you feel happy and safe talking about your worries, fears, and problems. If you prefer, there are also organisations that you can speak to:
In this section, you will find links to helpful information and advice about a variety of disabilities, including deafness, blindness, and learning difficulties.
General Information
- Family Fund
- Aiming High: Short Breaks for Disabled Children
- Disability Law Service
- Disability Living Allowance
Disability-specific Links
Deafness
- Hearing Times
- Advanced Bionics
- Med-el
- Cochlear Implants
- NCDS Family Sign Language Project
- DLA
- Action on Hearing Loss
- Signed Stories
- BBC See Hear
- GWH Audiology
- BSL Dictionary
Blindness
- Royal National Institute of Blind People
- Blind Children UK
- Guide & Buddy Dogs
- RNIB Information & Advice
- RNIB Financial Support
Physical Disability
- SCOPE
- Rainbow Trust- Swindon Team
- Whiz-Kidz – Children’s Mobility
- Swindon Dolphin – Swimming Project for Disabled Children
Learning Disability
Family Support Resources
At The Croft, we are very lucky to have a family support worker dedicated to the families of our pupils — Kate Rowland. As we know, children don’t come with a handbook, and each child can present a range of challenges that can subsequently affect their ability to learn. Family support workers offer practical advice and guidance on the variety of challenges parents face. These often include issues such as:
- Challenging behaviour.
- Picky eaters.
- Poor sleepers.
- Concerns about your child’s emotional wellbeing.
- Money worries.
- Housing difficulties.
Our Family Support Worker is Kate Rowland.
"I am here to help with any concerns or questions you may have about your child or family life in general, or if you just need a cuppa and to unload about the challenges of being a parent — it is hard.”
Mrs RantFamily Support Worker
Arrange a Meeting
If you would like to arrange a meeting with Kate, either at your home or at school, please download and complete a referral form and drop it in at school. Alternatively, you can speak to a member of staff, who will help you arrange the meeting, or call us on 01793 430084.
At The Croft, we believe that all children and young people have the right to an education, regardless of their home circumstances. We acknowledge that there are likely to be young carers among our pupils and that being a young carer can have an adverse effect on a young person’s education. We have adopted our young carers policy so that we will be able to relieve some of the worries that young carers may have about home and their school work.
Who are Young Carers?
Young carers are children and young people whose lives are affected by looking after someone at home. They are carrying out tasks and responsibilities in addition to those appropriate for their age. The person they look after may have one or more of the following:
- Physical disability.
- Mental health issues.
- Learning difficulties.
- Alcohol- or drug-related problems.
- Long-term illness.
The person they care for may be a parent, sibling, or grandparent and the care they give may be physical and/or emotional. Young carers’ responsibilities may include:
- Personal care (e.g. bathing, dressing, feeding).
- Giving or prompting medication/injections.
- Shopping.
- Housework.
- Emotional support.
- Looking after younger siblings.
- Budgeting and paying bills.
If you feel that your child may be a young carer, please feel free to get in touch to discuss support that we can put into place.