Blog
Through the blog, Rachel’s Memoir The Skies I’m Under and The Skies We’re Under podcast we share the stories of fellow parents so we can all feel a little less alone and little more understood.
Click the icon to the left to access a page of useful resources that we have compiled over the years.
Children in Need … or Children we’re Failing?
November. It’s that time of year again when Pudsey is dusting off his eye patch and schools around the country are asking children to come in wearing spots (because we all have spotty clothes in our cupboards) to raise money for Children in Need. What could possibly be wrong with supporting children who are [...]
It’s not fair …
I recently had a conversation with a head of SEN services in a local authority working incredibly hard to stretch scarce school placements for children with SEN. In the middle of our conversation, he explained how it simply isn’t fair for him to allocate resources based on who shouts the loudest. Rather, he has a duty to allocate based [...]
Camping with a disabled child
Before having children, holidays often consisted of lazy pub lunches, afternoon naps, late nights and spontaneous decisions. After children – well, I guess we all acknowledge, it is a ‘bit different’. When you have a child with additional needs though, just going outside the front door for a couple of hours can take an operation of military precision and preparation. [...]
Camping and kip
Sleeping under the stars It’s tough at the best of times to get enough sleep so add in the layer of holiday expectations and it can feel so much more of a loss. First, adjust your expectations (as always). Then do what you can to maximise the sleep you can get. Here are some of the things we do when [...]
Happy 4th Birthday Camp Jojo
Four years ago, 3rd August 2018, we launched the first accessible camp at Ivy Farm. Tim (the husband) and I, Rachel, had dreamed of creating a place where family holidays with children who have complex needs could be a restful and fun for the whole family. We know our own family holidays are normally harder work than being at home. [...]
MDTs or pre-schoolers in a sandpit?
Too many multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) work like a group of toddlers in a pre-school. Bear with me on this one. I’m not suggesting they aren’t fully toilet trained or have tantrums (although that isn’t entirely unheard of) but rather that their social interactions aren’t fully developed. Young children might think they have played with their friend because they have [...]