Resources for families to make life easier
Autism Central is a programme co-designed to provide high-quality and accessible autism information, education, and coaching for families and carers and co-delivered by autistic people, families, and carers.
Autism Central has been commissioned by NHS England’s Workforce, Training, and Education Team and is being delivered nationally by nine not-for-profit organisations.
It has been set up to help Parents & Carers access information you can trust, all in one place. Resources have been developed together with autistic people, parents and carers, and subject matter experts, and follow the most recent research and guidance. The service includes 1-2-1’s, virtual group sessions, and free online training.
There is no diagnosis needed and if parents have any queries, they can access the website North West delivered by Great Minds Together | Autism Central or email autismcentral@gmt.team.
Calibre Audio is a national charity which provides free audiobooks to children and young people under 25 years with SEND.
Poster: Free audiobook for kids
Poster: Free audiobook for under 25s
We are a free service providing information for parents, carers, children and young people and those working with families in Bury.
We are the main contact for updating and searching information for Children and Families on The Bury Directory, where we have information for children and young people aged 0-19 ranging from searching for Childcare Provision to a section for Teenagers.
We also have information on activities for children and families such as guides and scouts and community activities in our Leisure and recreation section. There is even a section on Sports.
There is also a section dedicated to Information for Childcare Providers, which has information relating to various services available to providers in the Bury area.
Unable to find the childcare you need
If you are still unable to find the childcare you need our Brokerage Service may be able to help.
This service is for parents and carers who:
- have exhausted the normal routes of finding childcare and are still unable to find childcare which meets their needs
- need extra support to understand the options available to them, this may be because of individual child's circumstances such as a disability or special educational needs
- need childcare as an emergency/short notice
- are unable to find a free early learning or childcare place for their child.
For brokerage enquiries to find childcare, please complete the enquiry form below
Family Information Service Enquiry Form
Search for the following categories of childcare and activities on Bury Directory:
Free Family Learning courses
The Family Learning team will be delivering a Therapeutic Art course and an ESOL course in East Bury Family Hub (previously, Redvales Children's Centre).
They are also now recruiting for the first ever What's Cooking - School Dinners Specials course at Bury Adult Learning Centre, which has been put together with the support of the School Catering team.
Further details are available on the course flyers attached:
- Therapeutic Art - Mindful Crafts for Parents - starting 11 November Flyer
- Family Language - English (ESOL) Class - starting 14 November Flyer
- What's Cooking? School Dinners Specials! - starting 14 November Flyer
To be eligible, learners need to be parents, carers or grandparents of children aged 16 or under.
In order to avoid oversubscription, we would encourage enrolment over the phone via 0161 253 5772 so that places can be secured. This can be done by support workers or family members if parents are not able to do this themselves.
However, for the courses running from the East Bury Family Hub, interested parents can simply turn up on the day to enrol with the support of the tutor on their first class, particularly those wishing to join the ESOL course.
What do we do?
As well as providing front line services for children and young people, we provide a free telephone service for residents of all ages in Bury who are experiencing difficulties with their emotional wellbeing
What do we offer?
We provide non-clinical, non-urgent support for individuals who are experiencing low level emotional health and well-being difficulties
- Help to access services, or understand how to access services
- Help with low mood, worrying thoughts or a bereavement
- Help with loneliness - help to meet people or to get out and about
- Help to find local social activities e.g. lunch clubs/friendship groups
- Help to find support groups- anxiety, health, mindfulness, physical activity etc
- Access to online tool kits and resources
How do you get in touch?
The service is available Monday to Saturday 10am-7pm by calling 0161 464 3679 or emailing: gettinghelpline@earlybreak.co.uk
Website: Getting Help Line - Early Break - Early Break
Facebook: Early Break- Facebook
Twitter: Early Break- Twitter
A symbol for non-visible disabilities (hdsunflower.com)
Some disabilities, conditions or chronic illnesses are not immediately obvious to others. For some people, this can make it hard to understand and believe that someone, with a “non-visible” condition genuinely needs support. Some people question whether you have a disability because you don’t look ‘like you have a disability".
That is why we created the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower - to encourage inclusivity, acceptance and understanding.
It is a simple tool for you to share that you have a hidden disability voluntarily. Simply by wearing the Sunflower, you’re just letting everyone know that you might need extra help, understanding, or just more time.
The Sunflower - always here to support you
The Hidden Disabilities Sunflower is here every day of the year to support people living with non-visible disabilities in their communities by raising awareness, training businesses and sharing stories to help create a more inclusive, understanding society.
Since its launch in 2016, businesses from every sector have been joining the global Sunflower network - ranging from retail, travel and tourism, transport including over 200 airports - as well as railway networks, coach and bus services and ferries, education (universities, schools and colleges), healthcare, central and local government agencies to football teams, theme parks, theatres and financial institutions.
The Sunflower has now been launched locally in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, Latin America, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the UK, the UAE and the USA.
Find out where it is known near you using our Sunflower map
Early Years will be delivering a home safety course for parents with children aged 0-5 from East Bury Family Hub.
The course is two weeks long running on the 13 January 2025 and 20 January 2025 from 9.30am to 10.30am and there is a creche available.
For further information or to book a place please email ccvirtual.session@bury.gov.uk.
At Learn and Thrive, we offer completely FREE educational materials specifically designed for children and young people with Down’s syndrome, which can also be adapted for other special educational needs. If you haven’t come across our projects, Teach Me Too and Learning for Life, here’s a brief introduction:
Teach Me Too
This project focuses on early years and Key Stage 1, covering key subjects such as Literacy, Mathematics, the Wider Curriculum, Language through Play, and Exploring Language.
Learning for Life
Aimed at primary, secondary, and beyond, this project focuses on Relationships and Sexual Education (RSE) and Health Education. Topics include Growing Up and Keeping Safe, Emotions, Caring Friendships, Being Healthy, The Changing Adolescent Body, and Families.
Both projects feature instructional videos and accompanying student packs to encourage interactive learning. Comprehensive information on these projects and more can be found on our website: www.learnandthrive.org.uk.
We’ve received amazing feedback from our users, and we’d love for more people to benefit from these resources. Best of all, everything is completely free! Simply sign up to access the materials:
Once you’re signed up, you can explore both projects with the same account. You’ll also find brochures and access sheets for additional guidance, but we recommend diving right in to see all we have to offer.
We hope you find these resources valuable and look forward to supporting your educational journey with us!
The RADAR National Key Scheme (NKS) offers independent access to disabled people to around 7,000 locked public toilets around the country.
The National Key Scheme (NKS), sometimes known as the RADAR Scheme, was developed because some public toilets designed for disabled people had to be locked to prevent damage and misuse resulting in them being locked. The scheme aims to provide disabled key holders with independent access to the toilets provided for them and increase the likelihood of the facilities being in a useable state.
When a Council joins the scheme, standard locks are fitted to their accessible toilets and keys are made available to people with disabilities. Over 400 local authorities in all parts of the country have now adopted the scheme. In addition to public conveniences, toilets for disabled people provided by a wide range of other public, voluntary and commercial organisations have been fitted with the NKS lock. So it can now be found in shopping centres, country parks, railway and bus stations, bars, motorway service areas and sports venues.
Keys are available from Adult Care Connect and Direct for £4 or delivered to your home for £4.50
Free Adult Training courses in Bury:
- SEND (special education needs & disabilities L2 )
- Understanding Autism Level 2
- Children’s Mental Health Level 2.
All course run from various locations in the community in Bury:
- 1 day per week for 12 weeks
- 9.30am – 2.30pm.
Criteria to join:
- Must be over 19 years of age
- Lived in UK 3 years plus
- Unemployed.
For more information, please contact Tracy Galvin:
Mobile: 07951751074
Website: www.realisetraining.com
Email: Tracy.Galvin@realisetraining.com.