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Despite various controversies, this Olympics has been the most successful for our Paralympians who are at 2nd place in the Medals tables with a fantastic total of 98 medals (at the moment!)

It’s been thrilling to see our athletes reaching such highs, especially for a country that is famous for losing at most sports!

It’s a shame that the TV haven’t been covering it all as avidly as the other Olympic Games, but there have been some great coverage nonetheless.

We can’t wait to see all those young athletes in the London Olympics in 2012, come on Team GB!

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Put a circle round Saturday 4th October on your calendar and if you are anywhere near Trafalgar Square in London then please show your support at the ‘Keep the Promise’ Rally being organised by End Child Poverty.

The Government promised to end child poverty by 2020, yet 1 in 3 children are still living in poverty.  As we all know disabled children are at increased risk of living in poverty, so this is even more important for Parents & Carers.

End Child Poverty are hoping for 10,000 people to attend the rally, add your support and ask the government to Keep The Promise. 

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National Charity Contact a Family have launched a competition for parents and carers.

The aim is to highlight the issues faced by parents in raising a disabled child and the theme for the competition is ‘Me and my Disabled Child’.  Parents are asked to submit a short video about the joys and challenges of caring for a disabled child.

 If you don’t have a video camera entries are also welcome in written, audio and photography formats.

All entries need to be in by 30th November 2008, the best will be featured on the website and youtube, and the winner will receive a laptop.  Ideal for keeping up to date with Parents & Carers!!

Even more exciting news! The Parents & Carers website has now been officially launched.

With the majority of carers in the UK finding it difficult to access support, information and training, ParentsandCarers.com provides carers, charities and organisations a platform to open up the communication channels.

Carers can already start to use the tools that parents & carers have created to contribute & find out about local events and to discuss anything they like with other carers in the forum. But this is just the start! Soon, carers will be able to add information about local support groups, resources & news. This really is just the beginning.

Simply point your browser to www.parentsandcarers.com. Join in, register and tell as many people as you can.

credit: Creativity+ Timothy K Hamilton

Exciting news! The New Parents & Carers website is almost ready to launch.

The site promises useful tools such as events and news pages, along with a forum for Parents & Carers to share information and support.

With no National website of this kind for the thousands of hard working Parents and Carers of disabled children in this country, we are all excited about this fantastic new website and hope that everyone finds it useful and interesting.

The team have been working hard over the last months ensuring that the finished site is ‘fit for purpose’ and we look forward to hearing from Parents & Carers using the site with any ideas or comments.

The guide highlights easy access routes around the park for those who are unable to walk too far, or need to get around in a wheelchair or buggy.

The guide is available at the Information Centres in Llandovery, Abergavenny and Brecon.

Opinion appears to be largely divided about the usefulness of these dolls, and about whether children appreciate or need toys that reflect their own experience.

What do you think? Drop P&C a line and let us know how you feel about these dolls and whether you would ever buy one for your child.

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Schools Secretary Ed Balls has launched a new guide for schools to help stamp out bullying of children with learning disabilities.

According to Mencap a shocking 8 out of 10 children with learning disabilities have been bullied, and 6 out of 10 (more…)

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Last year Every Disabled Child Matters (EDCM) asked their young supporters what they would change if they were Prime Minister for the day. Top of their list was “having more fun things to do and places to go”.

(more…)

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Good news for parents of children aged between 6 and 16 or who are not recognised as having a disability - the Government have announced that they will extend the right to request flexible working to all parents with a child under 16.

Employers are under no obligation to say yes, but should have a very good reason for refusal. At the moment 9 out of 10 requests are approved, so this is good news for a substantial number of people who already knew that children need their parents around beyond the age of 6!

The announcement has been welcomed by unions and parenting groups, and for once their hasn’t been too much complaining from the business community.