Calling all young artists!
Art competition - prizes to be won!


We are looking for a new design for the Hackney Family Backup postcard and are inviting children to send us their art work. The designs can be made from any medium (drawing, painting, printing, collage, etc) and needs to be roughly A4 in size. The subject of the drawing is up to the children - it might be a picture of something specific or it might be more abstract using colours and shapes. All the entries we receive will be displayed at our AGM (see below) on the 29th November where we will announce the winner and prizes will be awarded. (There will be runner up prizes for everyone who enters).

The closing date for the competition is Tuesday 15th November, please send entries to HFBU at The Print House, 18 Ashwin Street, London, E8 3DL

Summer Picnic

Many thanks to everyone who attended our summer picnic in Springfield Park. This year the weather was kind and it was a beautiful day. We had a really good turn out with around 80 people coming to join in the fun.

Annual General Meeting (AGM)

Hackney Family Backup are holding their AGM on Tuesday 29th November at the Vortex in Dalston. Some of you may remember that last year we had a really interesting talk from the author Charlotte Moore, who is the parent of two autistic boys, George and Sam. This year we have a guest speaker called Peter Whelan who is a Music Therapist who works with disabled children. Peter has worked extensively with children with autism and other complex needs and has recently come back from lecturing in Australia and India.

We will also be displaying all the art entries for our competition (see above) and awarding the prizes. Everyone is welcome to attend, please let us know if you would like to come along, and especially if you require a place for your child in the creche.

HFBU Inspection Feedback

You may or may not remember that, back in August, HFBU had their annual inspection by the Commission for Social Care. The aim of the inspection was to check that, as an organisation, we support our carers appropriately. The inspection went very well indeed and the inspector was very impressed at the standard of care and level of commitment shown by all our carers. She also wanted us to thank all the carers that she met individually, for their time, openness and honesty, so THANKS!

If you would like a copy of the inspection report let us know.

Parent's Group

HFBU are facilitating a parent's group at the Huddleston Centre, E5 for parents of disabled children. The meetings are a really important chance to meet other parents, find out about services for disabled children in Hackney and have your say about how services could be improved.

The next meeting is on Thursday 3rd November at 9.30am -12.30pm and will focus on the subject of play. There will be staff from Hackney Play, Evergreen Adventure playground, the Huddleston Centre and KIDS Adventure play who will give short talks about their services and answer any questions you have. There is a creche available and an interpreter or transport can be organised on request. Please call HFBU for more details.

We are currently compiling a directory of disabled children's services in Hackney which will be available through the parent's group.

Congratulations Emma & Jono!

Emma Hutton, our Volunteer Coordinator, got married in August to her childhood sweetheart, Jono. The wedding took place in a fort on the beautiful, if wild and windswept, coast of Cornwall. The unseasonal weather could not, however, dampen the occasion and it was a happy and joyous day not just for Emma and Jono, but also for their families and friends.

Saturday Afternoon Autism Playdates

After our summer picnic, several parents said how great it was to meet other parents and their children. This was particularly heartfelt in the case of parents of autistic children, who felt that other parents were the only people who understood their kids and who were not judging them as "being naughty".

So we have given some thought to setting up a series of Saturday afternoon playdates in local parks and indoor venues, specifically for autistic children and their parents or carers. These would be supported by HFBU staff and volunteers who can provide a bit of extra person-power, pairs of eyes and ability to help. The main thing is, however, to give parents and their children the chance to get together informally in a setting where you are more likely to hear "My son did that last week!" than "What a naughty child".

What do you think? Please let us know if you would be interested.

Training sessions and courses running in Hackney for your info...

Free training for parents and carers of disabled children

Hackney Parent Partnership Service are currently running a series of training sessions for parents / carers of disabled children at the Learning Trust in Hackney. Amongst other things, sessions cover areas such as:

• what to do if your child is excluded from school
• understanding dyslexia
• types of speech and language therapy
• sex education
• community safety and bullying
• making the right choice of secondary school