Dear Parents and Carers,

As part of our whole school Mental Health Strategy we have linked with the research centre
based in the Autism Wellbeing Hub at the University of Reading to launch a series of
events,training and workshops that are tailored to meet the needs of our school community.

We are delighted that Dr Fiona Knott, Associate Professor for Clinical Psychology at
Reading University and the Autism Wellbeing Hub, is leading on the design and
implementation of the training events.

The first training event is an introductory talk on 31st January from 10:00 am – 12:00
pm. It is open to all parents. Fiona’s talk will focus on anxiety, as this is a common
problem for children with SEND. She will give an overview of some of the reasons anxiety
develops and describe some strategies that can be helpful. She is also keen to hear from
you about the issues your child experiences and what you have found works and does not
work.

Part of this introductory session will be set aside for you, as parents and / or carers to
support Fiona to build content for further workshop series. Later in the year, Fiona will be
offering anxiety workshops for selected parents / carers and teachers to work closely on
supporting the mental health and development of our children and young people at
Addington School. In her introductory talk on 31st January, she will explain the purpose of
the workshops and describe their content for those who may be interested in signing up.

Further Workshop Series - Understanding and Managing Anxiety

Following Fiona’s introductory talk, parents / carers can sign up for a work shop series
aimed primarily for parents and teachers of autistic children at Addington School who
experience high levels of anxiety. Please be aware that your child or young person does not
need to have an autism diagnosis for this training to be applicable to your family needs.

What will happen in the workshops?

The aim of the workshops is to help parents and teachers understand more about their
child’s anxiety and to work together to develop strategies to help them. Each workshop will
consist of a mix of presentations from Fiona Knott, activities and plenty of time for
discussion.

There are four linked workshops in the series – you will get the most out of them if you can
commit to attending all four workshops in the series.

Numbers for the workshops series will be limited to 12 parents and, if over-subscribed, places will be allocated based on need in discussion with Fiona Knott and with school. The dates for the workshop series are:

To sign-up to attend the the Introductory Talk tomorrow (31st January), please complete the
registration form below.

If you need further information about the workshops, please phone or email any of our family
support workers: Ellie Robinson, Toni Cannon or Joey Proudley.

Yours Faithfully

Emer Moore
Acting Deputy Head

Series 1

Main Target Group Age 4-11
Workshop 1: 22/02/24
Workshop 2: 29/02/24
Workshop 3: 07/03/24
Workshop 4: 14/03/24

Series 2

Main Target Group Age 12-19

Workshop 1: 18/04/24
Workshop 2: 25/04/24
Workshop 3: 02/05/24
Workshop 4: 09/05/24

Series 3

Main Target Group
Non- Verbal and / or Sensory
& Complex Learners

Workshop 1: 16/05/24
Workshop 2: 13/05/24
Workshop 3: 23/05/24
Workshop 4: 06/06/24

Introductory Talk: Wednesday 31st January 2024 10am – 12pm
Open to all parents / carers.

Application only– max 12 per series; commitment needed to attend all workshops in series
.