Services

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Creative Minds, Trafford

Hello, I am Katie and I run a charity called Starling. We are all about bringing the arts and creativity to neurodivergent young people aged 13-25 across Greater Manchester. We have recently set up a project in Trafford with the kind support of Trafford Housing Trust, which runs at Gorse Hill Studios every Wednesday evening.

But what does this term ‘neurodivergent’ mean? You might have heard it referring to those with diagnosed conditions such as Autism or ADHD, but really it means that you think or experience the world differently to the majority of other people. That can include a diagnosis, but it could also cover those who have experienced difficult childhoods or who have mental health challenges. It is a really broad term and we welcome any young person who is struggling to fit in, no matter if they have a diagnosis or not.

Our projects are all about celebrating difference and expressing our uniqueness through lots of different artforms. This term we have been working with clay, print-making, cartoons, storytelling, music, augmented reality and drama. The best thing about the workshops is that we work at young people’s pace and we have a ‘no-pressure’ approach. Sometimes just making it to a group session is a massive achievement, so we like to say ‘come as you are and do what you feel like doing.’

In the new year we have some exciting artists and creatives coming in to work with us and we will be welcoming new members to the group, so if you know a young person that would benefit from joining, please contact us (katie@starlingcio.org.uk). We also run weekly online sessions for young people that don’t feel comfortable in groups yet, so you can also enquire about this if you are interested.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Creative Minds

Multi art form workshops run by professional artists for neurodivergent young people aged 13-25 living in Trafford, Tameside or Manchester.

Are you interested in the arts and creativity? Want to develop your skills in a relaxed and supportive environment?

Our Creative Minds sessions provide a no-pressure, friendly and accepting space for self-expression.

Small groups, inspiring artists and lots of time to develop your own work and try new art forms.

To find out more, register your interest at our registration form.

January - March 2021:

4.00 - 5.30pm, ages 13-17

5.45 - 7.15pm, ages 18-25

Tuesdays: Moravian College, Droylsden

Wednesdays: Gorse Hill Studios, Old Trafford

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Kooth

Kooth is a free, safe, and anonymous emotional wellbeing service available for young people in Trafford aged 11 - 18. We got started in 2001 in Stockport and now offer the service in a large portion of England and Wales. 

We are a BACP accredited organisation and we offer texted based counselling to young people via a 1-2-1 chat system. Here young people can speak to a real person every single day of the year up until 10 pm in the evening. We also offer an asynchronous messaging option for young people to get support from us outside of those hours. 

Alongside the counselling service, we also offer a range of self-help tools, emotional wellbeing resources and activities for young people to try to support their emotional wellbeing. 

There is a range of workshops and training sessions available to young people, parents/carers and professions that are all currently delivered remotely. If you are a parent and you have a question, please get in touch on parents@kooth.com.  

If you are a professional and you would like Kooth to get involved with your school/organisation for free, please get in touch on trafford@kooth.com.

Health Services Updates

The Complex Needs Service Changes During Coronavirus Outbreak document was last updated at the end of October 2020.

This is a document bought together by Trafford’s Local Care Organisation and details how the following services are continuing to support families during this time. All details are also on the individual service listings upon Trafford’s Local Offer:

• Children’s Community Nursing Team (CCNT)
• Trafford Early Development Service (TEDS)
• Children’s Speech and Language Therapy Service
• Children’s Intensive Behaviour Service (CIBSS) and Children’s Learning Disability Nursing Team (CLDNT)
• Orthoptics Service
• Trafford Autism and Social Communication Assessment (TASC) Pathway
• Children’s Therapy Services
• Community Paediatrics and  Trafford Combined ADHD Service (TCAS)

Trafford Occupational Therapy Sensory Assessment Service

A letter was sent out on 17 November 2020 regarding the waiting times and current closure of the Sensory Assessment Service pathway due to the coronavirus delaying the start of a new clinician. The pathway had been due to re-open on 1 December 2020 but this has been delayed until the new post can join the service in the New Year.

By extending the closure, this will enable the Occupational Therapy service to continue to manage the existing referrals. There is a waiting time currently being maintained at around 15 months.

To enable families to be engaged with support while waiting for assessment, the service will be offering to those families on the waiting list a webinar session to provide an overview of strategies as interim support, with a Q and A for any individual guidance needed. The service will be in touch to ask for any particular sensory issues that are of primary concern for specific attention.

Read the full letter to SENCOs here.