CROCUS-FEST 11th August
The 11th August will see us celebrate our 40th birthday!
To celebrate this achievement we will be holding "Crocus-Fest" in our garden.
It will be held from 4pm until 7pm and is open to all young people and their families.
There will be music activities, food stalls, raffle and a chance to meet other parents and families.
It will also be the grand opening of the recently installed "John Imms Sensory Pod". John Imms will be returning to cut the ribbon as well as representitives from Wodoen Spoon.
Wooden Spoon (The Children's Charity of Rugby) were kind enough to donate £18,000 towards this project. They will be recognised on the pod and will be joining us for the day. Members of the local press are going to be invited to watch John cut the ribbon.
It would be fantastic if we could get as many families to this event as possible. If it is successful we are hoping to hold four events each year for young people and families as a chance to meet each other and get to know the staff team better.
If any parents or carers have any ideas or would like to help with this day/event, do not hesitate to get in touch. Lucy Hall (Assistant Unit Manager) is organising it and can be contacted by email on lucy.hall@nottinghamcity.gov.uk.
Radio Silence
June's newsletter being published on the 12th July is poor, so please accept our apologies for the radio silence. The last few weeks have been a really busy time at Crocus Fields which has led to a (massive) delay in getting the latest newsletter out to you all!
Transport Club!
One of our parents (Jay Laister) has recently set up her very own transport club for young people and their families.
Jay set this club up due to the love and passion her son shows for all things "transporty". She is hoping this could be a way for children and young people with autism, Aspergers, learning disabilities or those just a passion for transport to meet each other and share their special interest their way.
Whether that be sitting next to someone all the way to Hucknall or talking and sharing transport facts.
Knowing how many young people with autism love transport Jay thought about making it into an activity group for young people to attend, rather than unstructured youth groups that don't always meet the needs of many autistic young people.
The group is open to everyone regardless of whether you have autism or other learning needs. There is a facebook group (Called "Transport Club") which you can join if you wish to know more about the group. The first scheduled outing is a tram ride to Hucknall meeting in Old Market Square on the 23rd July at 2pm.
Support or staffing will not be provided so it is really important that you join in the group with your son or daughter.
Anyone who would like some more information about this group, have a look at the Facebook page or you can get in touch Crocus Fields who will be able to relay information. Crocus Fields are planning to attend as many of these groups as possible and are hoping it will be a huge success!
Great Notts Bike Ride
A huge congratulations must go out to Jamie, Morton and Cristian for completing the Great Notts Bike Ride 25 mile course.
Having left Crocus Fields earlier this year Morton returned to complete the course with us for a fourth consecutive year. It was fantastic to see him again and everyone was delighted that he took part.
It was Jamie's first Great Nott's Bike Ride but he is keen to take part again next year.
The team stormed round the course in just over four hours, tackling the steep hills of the Nottinghamshire countryside on our wheelchair and tag along bikes.
The team were roared over the finishing line by a standing ovation for the fourth year running. It is a fantastic event and we would like to invite all families to take part in it with us next year.
Research Projects
As part of Ella Lawrence-Cowling's (Assistant Unit Manager) NVQ 5 she is conducting a piece of research into parents visions for the future of their children. Some of you have already replied to her with paper copies which have been sent out. The survey is only 13 questions long ans dhsould not take longer than ten minutes to complete. It would be extremely helpful if you could take the time to complete this survey. It is available by clicking -------------------------->here
Similarly from September Pete Corkhill will be completing his dissertation on fathers of autistic children. He is hoping to interview at least six fathers for this project which will look at fathers experiences of raising their child and their interactions with school, health and social services and how they are and wish to be supported. If you would be interested in taking part please email him on peter.corkhill@nottinghamcity.gov.uk.
Parent Group
Our parents group has continued to be a big success and the most recent meeting was well turned out. A huge thank you must be extended to Lucy Hall for setting this up and making it happen. The feedback we have had so far is that it has been really helpful for parents to get together and have the chance to talk, share stories or look for solutions to any issues they may have.
The next parents group is scheduled for 14th September 10:30-12:00.
Recent Care Cancellations
Finally we wanted to take this opportunity to apologise to everyone who has recently had their nights at Crocus Fields cancelled. We appreciate how frustrating this last month has been and we apologise profusely to everyone who has been affected. This has been due to a situation out of our control which we are trying our best to resolve as quickly as possible.
Wherever possible we will endeavour to replace any care cancelled. If any families would like to make a complaint about these sets of cancellations you can do so by clicking-------------> here
One Last thing....
Last month we emailed you all to invite you to complete the parents and young peoples OFSTED questionnaires.
Acquiring as much feedback from parents and young people is really important in helping us grow and develop as a service. It also helps with our annual OFSTED Inspection. Links to the to questionnaires are below:
