Sunshine Support helps Bridge the Gap to greater audience

TWO organisations that support families with children who have special educational needs or mental health issues are joining forces to allow them to reach more families in crisis.
Bridge the Gap is a non-profit making organisation, based in Friar Gate, that provides a range of mental health services for children, young people, and their families.
In order to reach a wider audience it is collaborating with fellow Derby-based CIC Sunshine Support which will deliver its online webinars across the UK.
The collaboration means that more families will benefit from the help and advice of experts working at both organisations at a time when enquiries are on the increase.
The series of live webinars will also be aimed at teachers and other professionals working with children.
Chrissa Wadlow, founder of Sunshine Support said: “Prior to Covid we were experiencing a mental health pandemic among young people and the last two years have seen enquiries to both our organisations go through the roof.
“By collaborating with Bridge the Gap more parents will have access to expert advice and workshops, which can only be good news for those families who need help.
“Our webinars usually reach hundreds of parents across the UK and are very often attended by teaching staff and professionals who want to improve their own knowledge in specific areas too.
“This has become a very popular part of our service – we have been increasingly asked to go into schools to train staff in understanding how an EHCP works or how to support pupils with certain conditions.”
The first webinar being delivered by the collaborative is on March 15th and is called Supporting your Child’s Emotional Regulation through Co-regulation and Connection.
It is one of Bridge the Gap’s most popular presentations and covers what behaviour is, sensory needs and how to use emotionally intelligent language to support maintaining existing relationships as well as building new ones.
Nikki Webster, who is a qualified mental health nurse and behavioural family therapist at Bridge the Gap said: “We are really pleased to be announcing our partnership with Sunshine Support. They have a proven record in producing great quality webinars, which are informative and a lifeline for a great many families.
“The work we do at Bridge the Gap is predominantly in the East Midlands but more recently we have been approached by families looking for one-to-one support in places like Cheshire and Glasgow.
“Our new webinar service will allow us to offer the knowledge we have to a wider audience and in turn help address the enormous amount of work that needs to be done in this area.”

To book a webinar visit Sunshine Support workshops, clinics and social events (sunshine-support.org)