Parent Coffee Meetings and Support Groups for Parents/Carers

We aim to work in partnership with parent/carers to meet the needs of every child.

We have termly 'Cuppa and Chat' Mornings and Afternoons where parent/carers are invited to meet with the Wellbeing Team to hear about what we are doing in school to support the children.

Autumn Term Support - 2026

Owlets Wellbeing and Inclusion Team Workshop supported by SPACE - 'After School Distress'

SPACE Cuppa and Chat - Tuesday 17th November, 1:30pm-3:00pm.

SPACE (Support for Parents And Carers in Essex) will be once again in school this year to offer support and advice to all of our parent/carers.

They have offered a face-to-face workshop to take place in school on Tuesday 17th November, 1:30pm-3:00pm.

The workshop will focus on strategies to support with 'After School Distress'. Many parent/carers have reported that they would like support with this and we are very grateful to SPACE for coming into school to offer their support.

The workshop is aimed at all parent/carers who have children with special educational needs, or who may be wondering about additional needs and would like to find out more about how to support their children at home. You do not need to have a child on the SEN register or with a medical diagnosis to attend.
Come along for a cuppa and cake and hear more about it or just take the opportunity to meet us and other parents/carers in school.

Please come to the main school office on arrival.

We hope you can join us

SPACE supports parents and carers of children and young people with SEND. They offer one-to-one support and online group sessions led by peer educators, who are all family members of a child or young person with additional needs and disabilities. The website has an Advice on SEND section, offering guidance, information and resources to support your child or young person with SEND. https://parent-send-support.essex.gov.uk/ 

Understand and support your child's needs

Understanding your child's behaviour, sensory needs, demand avoidance, visual supports.

Daily routines

Guidance on eating, sleeping, toileting, self-organisation and planning.

Family life and relationships

Brothers and sisters becoming Young Carers, explaining a SEND diagnosis to a child or young person.

Education and school engagement

School applications and attendance difficulties, communicating between home and school, after-school distress, Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO), Mental Health Support Teams (MHST)

Growing independence and future planning

How to get Personal Budgets to help fund support, preparing to start work, vocational profiling.

This ‘Cuppa and Cake’ event is aimed at all parent/carers who have children with special educational needs, or who may be wondering about additional needs and would like to find out more about how to support their children at home.  You do not need to have a child on the SEN register or with a medical diagnosis to attend.  Come along for a coffee and hear more about it or just take the opportunity to meet us and other parents/carers in school.  
 

Owlets Wellbeing and Inclusion Team Workshop supported by MHST - Understanding ADHD

MHST Cuppa and Chat - Friday 20th November from 9:15 to 11:15am

As you will be aware Barnes Farm Primary School are once again working with the Mid-Essex Mental Health Support Team this year.

We recently had a MHST coffee morning in September, and one of the areas that parent/carers requested support in was understanding ADHD. We have had a significant rise in requests to school from parent/carers to support with this area and an increasing number of children being diagnosed throughout the school, so we very much value the MHST supporting our families.

They have offered a face-to-face workshop to take place in school on Friday 20th November from 9:15 to 11:15 am

As a result of the workshop, further support may be available if needed.

This workshop will focus on:
• Providing you with an introduction to ADHD.
• Ways that you, and the system around them, can support your child.

We have had excellent feedback from past workshops and parent/carers have found them reassuring and informative.

The workshop is aimed at all parent/carers who have children with special educational needs, or who may be wondering about additional needs and would like to find out more about how to support their children at home. You do not need to have a child on the SEN register or with a medical diagnosis to attend.
Come along for a cuppa and cake and hear more about it or just take the opportunity to meet us and other parents/carers in school.

Please come to the main school office on arrival.

We hope you can join us

We also run support groups for parent/carers, such as ParentGym and TPP for Families and regularly invite outside agencies and charities in to support our families. 

We will be arranging ParentGym sessions soon for the Spring Term: Please see below session overview:

Week 1  - 'Chat' - Get you and your child talking and listening in a positive way every day.

Week 2  'Love' - Boosting your child's confidence, with a balance between closeness and independence.

Week 3  'Behave' - Bring calm to your family with rules and routines that really work.

Week 4  'Care' - Keep yourself and your family healthy and happy with good sleep, eating and exercise.

Week 5  'Discover' - Help develop healthy learning habits with your child, including managing screen time.

Week 6 'Together' - Keep your family feeling happy, supported and loved.