Link Newsletter December 2021 - Advice and Guidance

Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND)

picture of a signpost against a cloudy sky. signs post to support, help, assistance and guidance

Jump to: Link Newsletter Home Page | In the Spotlight | SEND News | Local Offer | Trafford Parent Forum | What's On 

 

 

Help over the Winter Months

Trafford SENDIASS Service Update and Information 

 

Help over the Winter Months

 

Winter Household Support Grant for families

Trafford Council is committed to supporting low income families who are in receipt of Free School Meals to pay for food, fuel or water over the Winter months.

‘Free School Meals’ during Holidays

If you are eligible for free school meals you may have received Supermarket vouchers previously during the holiday periods. This scheme is now changing.

What’s changing?

The School Holiday Food Support will now be a ‘cash-first’ scheme, meaning that you will be paid the cash equivalents of the vouchers directly into your bank account.

It takes three working days from the application approval to be processed through the banking system (BACS).

If you do not have a bank account you can request a voucher instead but you will still need to apply online.

Why the change?

The change is because the latest research into poverty has revealed that cash, instead of a voucher payment, is the most effective way to reduce poverty. Find out more about the decision.

What will I get?

The scheme will continue at £15 per week per child up until Easter 2022.

For December you will be awarded an additional £15 per week.

How do I apply?

For Trafford Families:

You must apply online by 3 January 2022:

Free School Meals Holiday Payment

What information do I need?

To pay the award the Council needs to take your up-to-date information, including your bank details.

My children attend different schools

There is only one application per household.

Make sure to include all your children (school age, home educated or under 5) regardless of what school or early education setting that they attend.  

I need help filling in the application form

If you need support in completing the online form, please visit your local library after 14 December.

Can I appeal the decision?

If the eligibility check has come out as a no and you feel that is wrong, or you have any other queries about the application process, please email: enqtotraffassist@trafford.gov.uk

 

Other Food Support

Trafford South Food Bank operate from 5 community hubs on each week day:

To access Trafford South Food Banks you need to have a voucher that are held by social care and health organisations as well as some charities or libraries.

Stretford: Tuesdays and Fridays, 10.30am to 1.30pm

Last Christmas Deliveries on Thursday 23 December from vouchers received on 22 December 2021.

Open 29 and 30 December 2021. Re-opening as normal on 4 January 2022. 

For other information: Support with food | Trafford Directory

Trafford Citizen's Advice

You can talk to Citizens Advice Trafford | Trafford Directory for vouchers to access Food banks as well as advice around more support. 

Freephone number: 0808 2787803.

 

Fuel and Water Support

In addition to support with food, Trafford Council offers support to families and vulnerable adults who are struggling to heat their homes or pay their water costs.

Trafford Assist

The Trafford Assist Scheme has a range of support: www.trafford.gov.uk/traffordassist

You can also find out more about Trafford Assist, Local Energy Advice Programme (LEAP), Warm Home Discount, Energyworks, useful numbers to contact if you’re having trouble paying your bills and other money advice or support at:

Support with money matters | Trafford Directory

For families with SEND

Warm Homes is a family support service that works specifically to support households with disabled children. Warm Homes | Trafford Directory

 

Other Support

Community Response Hubs

Support for other wider essentials will be provided by Community Response Hubs. These are located in 6 areas across Trafford and are run by voluntary sector organisations.

Contact your nearest: *Community Response Hubs Trafford | Trafford Directory

Housing Options Service Trafford (HOST)

HOST have established a fund to support families who are at risk of eviction due to rent arrears.  Please contact HOST on 0161 912 2230 or email host@trafford.gov.uk

 

Trafford SEND Information Advice and Support Service Update

At this time of year we often take a moment to reflect on the last 12 months. We had hoped for a less challenging year than the previous one but the global pandemic has continued to impact on all of our lives in different ways. As a service we have experienced record numbers of new referrals this year; to date we have had 731 new referrals for information, advice and support. We have also continued to work with some families who have needed more long term support.

To manage this demand we have continued to offer a hybrid approach to support and we have attended many meetings virtually over platforms such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams, as well as face to face meetings. To promote the service we have got involved in many events over the last year that have supported engagement with our families. Some of these have included: attending the Hideaway Information Days at the Partington Hub, Information Session for Hong Kong families at UA92, school SEND coffee mornings and RESET 21 hosted by Calm Connections.

We have been very lucky to have had two Kickstarters working with us this year and we would like to say a very big thankyou to Alex Heald and Nolan Barratt for their contributions to the service. They have done a fantastic job promoting and making content for our Instagram account as well as attending events with us. We have really enjoyed working with them and wish them the very best of luck for the future.

A woman and young man in front of a table with lots of promotional items on it and a sign in the background

Nolan Barratt and Jo McLeod for Trafford SENDIASS at RESET 2021 UA92 November 2021

We hope you manage to take some time for yourselves over the festive period. We understand changes can be unsettling for some of our families and taking a break is not as easy as it sounds. We thank you for trusting in us to support you and your children and young people and we look forward to continuing to do the same again next year. We have received many lovely comments via our survey and we do appreciate you taking the time to give us this feedback. If there are any ways in which we can improve our service we are always interested to hear your views. They can be added to the survey which only takes a few minutes to complete.

We continue to communicate the very latest news and events both locally and nationally using our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram social media accounts. Please do give us a like and a follow to stay up to date.

The service will be taking a break over the festive period. The helpline will close at 12 noon on 24th December 2021 and will reopen at 9am on Tuesday 4th January 2022. The answer machine service will be available during this period or you can email us. We will respond to any messages during the week of 4th January. Don’t forget about our online referral form.  It is now even easier to get in contact with us; this can be used at any time to make a referral to our service. Information and advice is also always available on Contact’s website.

Trafford SENDIASS Website: sendiass.trafford.gov.uk  Online contact form available.

Email: sendiass@trafford.gov.uk

Helpline: 0161 912 3150 9am-12 noon Monday to Friday. 24 hour answer machine service.

Actions

Save to Shortlist

Share

Is this information correct?

Last updated: 21/12/2021

Go back to top