It’s Neurodiversity Celebration Week (17th – 23rd March 2025), which encourages everyone to celebrate neurological differences and recognise the talents and strengths of neurodivergent individuals. Neurodiversity Celebration Week is a global initiative founded in the UK in 2018 by Siena Castellon MBE, who has campaigned to support young people with special educational needs (SEN)...
Achieving better care for people with learning disabilities and autistic people
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has been leading on a project to review the care and treatment that people with learning disabilities and autistic people receive. Britain’s care watchdog was asked by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to lead Independent Care (Education) and Treatment Reviews (ICTR) over the next two years...
Learning Disability Week 2024: challenge barriers and improve lives
It’s Learning Disability Week in the UK and the theme for this year is ‘Do you see me?’, which aims to challenge the barriers people with a learning disability face and ensure they are seen, heard and valued. Running each year during the third week of June (17th – 23rd June 2024), Learning Disability...
Get as colourful as possible for World Autism Acceptance Week
World Autism Acceptance Week 2024 is being held from 2nd to 8th April, with Tuesday 2nd April also being designated as World Autism Awareness Day. The international awareness week helps to improve awareness, raise vital funds, breakdown barriers and tackle discrimination. The National Autistic Society encourages schools, workplaces and local communities to get involved,...
Neurodiversity Celebration Week 2024 celebrates different minds
Neurodiversity Celebration Week is observed from 18th-24th March 2024 in the UK. The awareness week is actually a worldwide initiative that celebrates neurological differences and challenges stereotypes and negative misconceptions surrounding them to change the way learning disabilities and neurodivergent individuals are perceived. Neurodiversity Celebration Week encourages schools, universities and organisations to consider the...
One million people complete Oliver McGowan eLearning
Over one million people have now completed the e-learning segment of the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism. The “significant milestone” comes one year after the Oliver McGowan e-learning package was launched and seven years after Oliver’s tragic death in November 2016. The e-learning programme, which forms the first part of...
Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training ‘vitally important’
NHS England have developed a powerful video animation to help the health and social care workforce understand the importance of the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training package. It has been made available as the Department of Health and Social Care runs a consultation on its draft code of practice for the training. The Oliver McGowan...
Child safeguarding needs major overhaul after failings
A safeguarding review panel has made nine recommendations designed to overhaul child safeguarding practices following an inquiry into abuse across three services. The Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel have called for Councils to take on a bigger role in monitoring residential settings in their areas to tackle failings in safeguarding children with disabilities and...
Plans to reform SEND support
The government has announced new plans to reform support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in England. Plans announced by the Department for Education, which aim to improve SEND support and the alternative provision system, include earlier diagnoses and a commitment to build 33 more special free schools....
CQC focuses on learning disability care during the pandemic
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has released its latest insight report, which focuses on care provided for people with a learning disability during the Covid-19 pandemic. Ahead of the publication of their provider collaboration review (PCR) on people with a learning disability living in the community this month (July 2021), England’s care watchdog has...