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Read the latest news from Amaze below.
Plus national and local SEND news for Brighton & Hove and East Sussex
Amaze’s Awesome Art Auction launches
30th November 2023
Are you feeling lucky? Then get ready to bid on some amazing art at Amaze’s Awesome Art Auction! If you’re looking for a special gift this Christmas, or a piece of art to decorate your house in the New Year, then don’t miss Amaze’s Awesome Art Auction. Launching on Thursday 30 November, our auction runs for two...
Amaze Patron Annabel Giles dies aged 64
22nd November 2023
Sally Polanski, CEO of Amaze says: “We are terribly sad to hear of the death of Amaze Patron Annabel Giles and send our well wishes to her family and those who loved her. “Annabel was a patron of Amaze for over ten years, and we are incredibly grateful for her support. This included an appearance...
Amaze seeks Young People Services Manager
14th November 2023
We are looking for a passionate and dynamic professional with experience of managing youth work or services for young people. Young People Services Manager 28 hours per week, to be worked flexibly £39,186 – £41,418 p.a. pro-rata equivalent to NJC Spinal Point 31-33 2 years fixed-term contract with the possibility of extension Working out of...
Amaze’s Awesome Art Exhibition
8th November 2023
We are thrilled to announce ‘Amaze’s Awesome Art’ – a FREE exhibition, open to the public for viewing Friday 1 December – Sunday 3 December, at Phoenix Art Space, Brighton BN2 9NB. This exhibition is curated by young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), to showcase their art and highlight the Amazing Futures...
Quiet Covid-19 vaccinations this November
7th November 2023
Children and young people in clinical risk groups who live in Brighton and Hove can book a quiet Covid-19 vaccination appointment this November at Mile Oak Medical Centre and Whitehawk Family Hub (formerly Roundabout Children’s Centre). These bookable quiet sessions are for people who would like a longer appointment time in a less busy environment....
Amaze Needs Artists to Donate their work
1st November 2023
Amaze’s Awesome Art Auction needs art! Can you help? Amaze is launching an online art auction fundraiser and WE NEED ARTISTS TO DONATE THEIR WORK. Young people with special educational needs and disabilities will be donating their art, but we would like to feature lots of local artists too, to make this auction a big...
10th October 2023
This summer we’ve been lucky with an amazing selection of fundraising activities taking place for Amaze. Our staff member, Boo, swam around the pier, raising over £500, Balfour Beatty took part as a team in the London to Brighton bike ride, raising over £7,000 for us, and actor Will Ellis completed the first of his...
10th October 2023
Another year, another great Big Cheer! Thursday 5 October saw us come together at Komedia in Brighton for our annual night of fundraising and fun times! With huge thanks to our patron (and host for the evening), Angela Barnes, our amazing line up was; Marcus Brigstocke, Joe Foster, Ahir Shah and surprise headliner Tom Houghton....
Extratime youth club and participation project transferring to Amaze
10th October 2023
Over recent months we’ve been in discussions with our colleagues at Extratime about transferring Extratime’s youth club and participation project to Amaze when Extratime closes at the end of October. Extratime and Amaze have worked together to support young people with SEND and their families for many years and we share similar values and approaches...
9th October 2023
Amaze is very sad to share news of the death of a much-loved colleague and Amaze parent, Sinead Gillespie. Parents of adult children may remember Sinead, who helped to develop and co-deliver our Insiders’ Guide course for parents of teenagers with SEND. Sinead remarried and moved to Somerset with her son Oliver several years ago....
Latest from the children’s speech and language therapy service in Brighton & Hove
29th September 2023
Clinical Service Manager, Penny Taylor, has a short update for families about the children’s speech and language therapy (SLT) service in Brighton & Hove. Hear about some new additions to the team, learn how they’re building the therapy team for the future, and their plans for DLD Awareness Day: The children’s SLT service supports children...
Flu and Covid-19 autumn vaccination programmes brought forward
25th September 2023
The autumn vaccination programmes for flu and Covid-19 have been brought forward, and people in the most at-risk groups are able to book their vaccinations now. This is a precautionary measure in line with the latest expert guidance on the new Covid-19 variant. Information about the local vaccination programme is available on the Sussex Health...
Amaze seeks paid intern aged 18-25 for our peer support project in East Sussex
20th September 2023
Amaze is seeking a new intern aged 18-25 for our Amazing Futures peer support project in East Sussex. This is a fantastic opportunity for a young person to help us reach more disabled young people who need our support. The successful candidate will help our Amazing Futures team run peer support groups and activities for...
Amaze seeks Head of Fundraising and Marketing
9th August 2023
This is a fantastic opportunity for a proactive, flexible, driven, and organised person to lead our growing fundraising and marketing team, helping us to deliver on our ambitious organisational strategy and reach more families who need our support. Head of Fundraising and Marketing Equivalent NJC 31-38, £37,261 – £44,539 pro rata according to experience. Amaze...
19th July 2023
We are pleased to welcome a new Fundraiser to our team, Georgina Clare. Georgina joined Amaze at the beginning of July and will be developing our individual and corporate giving. One of her first tasks will be producing the 2022/23 Impact Report, which will no doubt make her an expert on all things Amaze in...
Developing Amaze’s website for young people: how your feedback has shaped our plans so far
17th July 2023
Over the past few weeks we have been reaching out to young people with SEND to ask about their needs and ideas for the new Amaze website for young people. We’ve held focus groups in Brighton and Eastbourne, and shared a survey online which we received a fabulous 98 responses to. We held four group...
Amaze seeks a part-time Administrator
13th July 2023
Are you a highly organised and confident communicator who can help support our busy staff team in Brighton and Hove and East Sussex? We are seeking to recruit to the following role: Administrator 18-24 hours/week for 12 months, with the possibility of extension Amaze hourly rate £13.71 – 14.75 (based on 35 hours week) Equivalent...
Extratime inclusive after-school and holiday club provider announces closure
20th June 2023
It is with huge sadness that we share the news that Extratime, Brighton & Hove’s after school and holiday club provider for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, announced its closure last night. The ending of services is being managed to ensure that schemes continue this summer and into the autumn,...
6th June 2023
We are delighted to announce that Amaze has launched a new weekly lottery! Players have the chance of winning a £25,000 jackpot whilst helping us fund our vital work helping families in Brighton & Hove and East Sussex. Find out more about the new Amaze lottery here. In other big news, Amaze is excited to...
Amaze launches new weekly lottery
6th June 2023
Amaze is excited to offer a brand new way to support the charity – a weekly lottery! For just £1 per play, per week, supporters could have the chance of winning up to £25,000 whilst contributing to our work supporting families to deal with the challenges they face. How it works Once you’ve filled out...
Outcome of Brighton & Hove SEND inspection by Ofsted and the CQC
1st June 2023
A few months ago, we shared that preparations were underway for a local area SEND inspection of arrangements for children and young people with SEND, in both Brighton & Hove and East Sussex. The Brighton & Hove inspection by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) was completed in March 2023, and the outcome report...
Key numbers from the past year
29th May 2023
Having just completed our annual reporting for year 2022/23, we wanted to share some of the key numbers that tell the story of Amaze services and how they are delivered and used. SENDIASS Our SENDIASS service has seen a huge number of referrals, 4586, in the financial year, up 21% from the previous year. The majority...
Amaze seeks Adviser – Family Training and Navigation Worker
25th May 2023
Could you offer information and support to parent carers of neurodiverse children and young people in Brighton and Hove and East Sussex? Amaze are seeking to recruit to the following role: Adviser – Family Training and Navigation Worker 18 – 22 hours/week until end of March 2024, with the possibility of extension Amaze hourly rate...
25th May 2023
Are you interested in strengthening support for parent carers and their children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in Brighton and Hove and East Sussex? Amaze are seeking to recruit to the following role: Fundraiser 18-21 hours/week for 12 months, with the possibility of extension Equivalent NJC 23-24 £30,149 – £31,099 pro...
Amaze’s website development – how your feedback has shaped our plans so far
23rd May 2023
In March, we asked you to complete a short survey about how you use the Amaze website and how you value it, as part of our plan to redevelop the site during 2023 and create a separate site just for young people with SEND. We had a great response to the survey (probably due to...
Accessing Child Trust Funds for children without mental capacity
27th April 2023
You may have read national news items recently about the difficulties families are facing accessing their Child Trust Fund (CTF)* if their child doesn’t have mental capacity. Renaissance Legal, longstanding partners of Amaze, are campaigning to simplify the process so that families don’t have to go through a costly legal process to become a Deputy...
Changes to the structure of SEN statutory services in Brighton & Hove
20th April 2023
Brighton & Hove City Council is restructuring its SEN Statutory Service. The council have asked us to share the following information with families about how this restructure will work and how caseloads will be allocated. “Brighton and Hove SEN Statutory Service is changing its structure to better be able to deliver services to children, young...
13th March 2023
Brighton & Hove City Council today received notification from Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) that a local area inspection for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) will take place during the next three weeks. The purpose of the inspection is to provide an independent, external evaluation of the...
Government publishes SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan
2nd March 2023
This week, the government finally published its SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan, in response to the Green Paper published in March 2022. You can read improvement plan in full here: SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan We haven’t had time to get our heads around all the detail yet but, as well as some...
Win one of five adult sized Raleigh bicycles!
1st March 2023
We are thrilled to be able to offer Amaze families the chance win one of five top of the range adult-sized Raleigh bicycles donated to us by o3e, a locally based team building and events company. Tickets cost just £2 each and you can purchase as many as you want to increase your chances of...
Responding to the rising mental health needs of our children and young people
27th February 2023
Our expanded Amazing Futures and Face 2 Face services. It’s no secret that there has been a massive increase in the mental health needs of our children and young people. Although it has been identified as a national and local strategic priority by the NHS and local authorities, we know services remain under huge pressure,...
Cross channel swim for Amaze, plus 65km swim round Jersey!
27th February 2023
Parent carer Will Ellis is undertaking not one but two incredible swimming challenges for Amaze! In September this year, Will is swimming 65 km around Jersey, then following that up by tackling the English Channel next year. Will and his wife received support from Amaze after their son’s diagnosis, including support to apply for Disability...
Upcoming Ofsted SEND inspections
27th February 2023
Preparations are underway in both Brighton and Hove and East Sussex for a local area Ofsted inspection of arrangements for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The purpose of the inspections will be to: provide an independent, external evaluation of the effectiveness of the local area partnership’s arrangements for children...
27th February 2023
We are delighted to announce that Amaze was successful in winning the East Sussex short breaks contract to provide peer support to young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in East Sussex for the next three years. Whilst this is very welcome news, we have significant funding gaps for 2023/24. As well as...
PaCC & ESPCF seek Parent Carer Forums (PCF) Support Worker
16th February 2023
Are you interested in strengthening the voice of parent carers of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in Brighton and Hove and East Sussex – with the goal of improving support available for families? Brighton and Hove Parent Carers’ Council (PaCC), East Sussex Parent Carer Forum (ESPCF) and Amaze...
2nd February 2023
NHS Sussex has just announced three dedicated ‘Quiet COVID–19 Vaccination Sessions’ across Brighton & Hove for children and young people aged 5–15 who are eligible for the vaccine but may need extra support during the process. This includes children and young people who: are neurodivergent are immunosuppressed or living with someone who is immunosuppressed have learning disabilities...
Amaze chosen as Drusillas’ Charity of the Year!
24th January 2023
We are absolutely thrilled to be Drusillas’ Charity of the Year 2023! When you visit the park, you’ll be able to donate cash to Amaze via our collection tins or by scanning a QR code which will take you directly to their Just Giving page. Look out for some exciting fundraising events happening this year...
How Amaze is supporting families during the cost-of-living crisis
29th November 2022
Statement from Amaze CEO, Sally Polanski We know that these are difficult times and we’re here at Amaze to support you as best we can. We are making sure we keep up to date with help is available and updating our website cost-of-living advice on accessing benefits, managing debt, getting help with utility bills,...
Festive fun with your Compass Card
29th November 2022
With the Christmas break just a few short weeks away it’s time to have some festive fun with your Compass Card. If skating is your thing you can use the card for one carer to skate free of charge, when accompanying a Compass Card holder, at Royal Pavilion Ice Rink and Worthing Ice Rink. If you prefer...
21st November 2022
Amaze is celebrating our 25th birthday this month! Our story began in 1997 and 25 years later, we now support over 3,000 families every year across Brighton & Hove and East Sussex, working directly with young people with SEND as well as parent carers. We are really proud of all our achievements and have made...
Youth Voice team shares young people’s views with NHS Sussex
9th November 2022
Young people from our Amazing Futures Youth Voice team attended a recent meeting focused on changes to the health and care sector. Representatives of various Sussex-based youth organisations shared what they would change within the system and what matters to them. Jem Hadert and Pagane Gacheva represented the views of young people with SEND on...
Autumn Covid-19 vaccinations and flu jabs for parent carers
11th October 2022
Covid-19 autumn boosters and flu vaccines are now available for parent carers who want a vaccination. Anyone aged 16 and over who receives Carer’s Allowance, or who is the main carer of someone who is at increased risk from flu or Covid-19, is eligible for both vaccines, and this includes parent carers. Other groups are...
New SENDIASS resources on home education, EOTAS and school avoidance
22nd September 2022
From calls to our advice line, we know that families need more information about home education. To answer some of your initial questions, our SENDIASS team has created three brand new fact sheets on: Elective Home Education fact sheet [pdf 760kb] Education Other Than at School fact sheet [pdf 750kb] School avoidance and attendance issues...
Latest from Face 2 Face: groups this autumn, supporting NDP families, volunteer training
15th September 2022
Our Face 2 Face befriending project is busy as ever this autumn! Our parent carer support groups are back after the summer break, plus learn about our new group for parent carers of 16 to 25 year olds, and our work with the Neurodevelopmental Pathway (NDP) Family Training and Navigation Service. We also have a...
Celebrating Amaze’s 25th anniversary
15th September 2022
Amaze is celebrating our 25th anniversary this year! Our story began in 1997 when a group of parent carers in Brighton and Hove set up the charity to help other parent carers through the challenges of bringing up a child with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). 25 years later and we have expanded our...
15th September 2022
We are delighted to say Amaze was successful in winning the contract to provide families in East Sussex and Brighton & Hove with information, advice and support (IAS) on special educational needs and disability (SEND) for the next three years. SENDIASS is a core service for parents and children and young people to be able...
New staff and structure at Amaze
13th September 2022
This new term sees quite a few staff changes at Amaze, with existing employees moving on to new roles or new team members joining us to help grow our developing services. Our new CEO, Sally Polanski, takes over from Rachel Travers this month. Rachel was at the helm for 13 years but the four years...
Covid vaccination update: autumn boosters and survey report
29th August 2022
As you may know, plans have been announced for an autumn booster vaccination programme; read on to learn who will be offered boosters. This update also includes info from when parents shared their experiences around vaccination earlier this year, via our Amaze/parent carer forum surveys. Read the report below and learn how we hope it...
PaCC seeks Participation Worker
11th July 2022
Can you help strengthen the voice of parent carers of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in Brighton and Hove and East Sussex? Come and join our amazing team in helping SEND families have improved access to the support they need to ensure better lifelong outcomes Brighton and Hove Parent...
PaCC & ESPCF seek Parent Carer Forums Partnership Co-ordinator
11th July 2022
Can you help strengthen the voice of parent carers of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in Brighton and Hove and East Sussex? Come and join our amazing team in helping SEND families have improved access to the support they need to ensure better lifelong outcomes. Brighton and Hove Parent...
11th July 2022
Can you help strengthen the voice of parent carers of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in Brighton and Hove and East Sussex? Come and join our amazing team in helping SEND families have improved access to the support they need to ensure better lifelong outcomes. Brighton and Hove Parent...
Face 2 Face support over the summer, new group and Family Fun event
4th July 2022
Here’s what’s coming up with our Face 2 Face peer support project in Brighton & Hove and East Sussex, including support over the summer, a new group in Brighton & Hove for parent carers of 16 to 25 year olds, and our upcoming Family Fun event: Learn more about Face 2 Face peer support, or...
Amaze thanks businesses across Sussex for their support
30th June 2022
Amaze is so grateful to local businesses who are supporting our vital work with families with disabled children in Sussex. Morrisons in Eastbourne are currently hosting young people from our Amazing Futures group, who have been helping to create food bank bags whilst learning valuable job skills. The Eastbourne branch of Plumbase recently donated £315...
New East Sussex neurodevelopmental pathway family service coming soon
25th May 2022
Amaze is delighted to share the news that the East Sussex Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) have commissioned us to provide a service to offer more support for families whose children are on the neurodevelopmental pathway (NDP) for conditions including autism and ADHD, both before and after diagnosis. See the Jargon Buster box below if you...
East Sussex Parent Carer Forum seeks Engagement Worker
23rd May 2022
Can you help design a new family support service in East Sussex and strengthen the voice of parent carers and SEND families in the process? (SEND is Special Educational Needs & Disabilities) East Sussex Parent Carer Forum (ESPCF) is seeking an Engagement Worker to play a key role in helping design and develop a new...
New guide to mental health for Peer Supporters
10th May 2022
Our Amazing Futures interns in East Sussex have created a brilliant guide to mental health for the young people who volunteer as Peer Supporters with the project. And even if you are not a volunteer or a young person, it’s a great resource for anyone wanting to know more about supporting young people’s mental health....
Foundations for our Future – improving mental health and wellbeing services across Sussex
10th February 2022
The number of children and young people needing help and support for their emotional health and wellbeing across Sussex is growing every year. And it isn’t surprising that this has increased further, and at a faster rate, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The majority of families contacting our SENDIASS advice line are facing mental health...