Curve To Host Two Major Events Around Special Educational Needs

Curve is to host two major Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) events; Local Offer Live on the 24 January 2017 and Pathways on the 25 January 2017.

Local Offer Live will be held at Curve for its third year running and will once again showcase services for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities as well as carers, parents, service providers and SEND professionals across Leicester and Leicestershire.

This free to attend event, supported by Leicester City Council, Remploy, NHS, People Dancing and Leicestershire County Council, is expected to attract a record number of exhibitors with the number of SEND providers showcasing their services set to rise dramatically since the events inception; over 200 professional and community service providers across Leicestershire and Rutland are expected to exhibit in 2017.

Employability Live also returns as part of the Local Offer event. Partnered with Remploy and Maximus, Employability Live aims to build on the success of last year by providing even more people with information on employment opportunities, support for disabled people in work, apprenticeships and supported internships.

Cllr Sarah Russell, Assistant Mayor for Children's Services in Leicester City said: "I am thrilled that Local Offer Live is entering its third year. This event, bringing together all of the targeted, specialist and universals services for children and young people with SEND, provides families with the opportunity meet the professionals and discuss services that directly affect their lives, as well as witnessing the fantastic achievements of our children and young people. Last year's event was attended by over 3000 visitors and 2017 aims to make information, advice and support accessible to many more Leicester Families."

Visitors to Local Offer Live will also be treated to a series of performances from community SEND artists and special schools across the city and county. Special needs performing arts school FTM will perform their own version of Grease: The Musical on Sunday 8th January 2016 on Curve's professional set of Grease; and Local Offer Live will close on the 24th January with a showcase of new work from People Dancing, who programme new work from professional dance companies and independent artists who work with disabilities.

Curve Chief Executive Chris Stafford and Artistic Director Nikolai Foster said: "We are incredibly proud to be a key partner on Local Offer Live for the second year running. We believe everyone should have access to great art and culture and accessibility plays a crucial part across all of our work. Local Offer Live 2017 will once again include performances and will provide a platform and showcase for the range of services available to support and enrich the lives of children and young people from across our region with special educational needs and disabilities."

Following hot on the heels of Local Offer Live is Pathways; a national professional development and engagement forum to be held at Curve on the 25th January. Pathways has been designed to connect representatives from the public, private, voluntary and charity sectors working in SEND.

Pathways is a Curve organised conference, supported by Leicester City Council and Leicestershire County Council, and will offer delegates the opportunity to gain an improved understanding of the challenges faced by parents and carers geographically alongside an assessment of best practice approaches to preparing for adulthood used by local authorities.

Pathways will feature a series of key note speeches and breakout sessions from Remploy, The Hawn Foundation, Paralympic champion Danielle Brown, The Self Esteem Team, the 4 All Programme as well as government representatives and national service providers on new and existing resources used to support young people and families in local authorities across the UK. Throughout the day there will be opportunities for delegates to network with colleagues, SEND professionals and, of course, the parents, carers and young people themselves.

Pathways is also set to include a Young Persons Forum, open to mainstream and special schools, to encourage young people with SEND to express their relevant, and vital, opinions on topics being discussed at the conference.

Joe Dawson, Head of SEND Services in Leicester said..."Pathways is an exciting initiative aiming to unite professionals across the UK who are specialists or have interest in Preparing for Adulthood for young people with SEND. We believe that sharing best practice, understanding new and existing services and listening to the views of children, young people and their families is of vital importance for everyone who works in the sector."

Tickets for Pathways are available to book at www.curveonline.co.uk or to book an exhibition stand for Local Offer Live visit www.curveevents.co.uk/local-offer-live/.

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