Stay and Play sessions

Children aged 2 to 5 with SEND and their parents or carers are welcome.

A formal diagnosis isn’t required, children just need to be starting the process and waiting for a Child Development Centre (CDC) appointment.

Before your first session, Donna will call you to talk about your child’s interests and any concerns you may have. She’ll also send a photo of herself and the venue to help you and your child feel more comfortable.

You can arrive early if your child needs a quieter start or come later and leave early if that works better. Feel free to bring snacks, drinks, or anything else that helps your child settle in.

Children enjoy playing in a safe, welcoming space where no one feels judged. Parents and carers feel supported—not just by Donna, who runs the sessions, but also by each other. Many families have built friendships and now meet outside the group, creating strong support networks.

Donna also invites professionals to visit the sessions and share helpful information. These visitors include:

• an oral health nurse
• Portage home visitors
• the Library Service, who talk about the disability register and share sensory stories
• Reaching Families
• Early years and childcare advisors and mentors
• a speech and language therapy assistant

These visits give parents and carers the chance to learn about services that can support their families. For example, some families have:

• accessed specialist dental care after meeting the oral health nurse
• joined Reaching Families training courses
• signed up to the disability register through the Library Service

Professionals who visit often praise the group for its warm, supportive atmosphere. They say it’s especially helpful to see children in a relaxed setting, especially those not attending other early years settings.

Parents say they feel listened to, supported, and better connected to services that can help their families.

Comments from parent carers who have attended SEND Stay and Play:

"Thank you for having us! M really enjoyed it and it was nice to be around like-minded people going through the same thing as us! We really appreciate that you have been able to offer this as the other SEN sessions M attends are set up by businesses and not people who can appreciate our situation and help with support for our little ones! We look forward to making this a regular part of our week."

"Thank you for the photo, we really appreciate it. G recognised you straight away, which was nice and the interaction he had was great."

"I wanted to thank you for your time and all your effort in helping us with T! We think very highly of you, and I think you are extremely compassionate and knowledgeable in what you do! Hopefully our paths cross again."