Welcome to our newsletter. Each month we will be sending this to all staff, service users, families and other agencies and organisations we work with to keep you informed about all things Access All.

If you have anything that you would like included in the newsletter such as an event you know of, news about a great activity or trip you have been on with our team or service users then please let us know.

We would also like to inform you that we have access to large specialist bean bags and other soft play resources which we are willing to loan to families. If you are interested in learning more please give us a call.

Thank you Mary and Amy

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As some of you may be aware we recently recruited four Team Leaders to further support our service users and their families as well as us in the office.

We would like to congratulations to Jodie Williams, Ruth Stratton, Jake Langford and Sophie Laxton. We are really excited to for you to join our management team.

We have sent out an email regarding our new on call policy, please contact the office if you have not received this.

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Congratulations to one of our directors Amy Jenkins. Amy is expecting her second Child in February 2018. We can’t wait to meet the new addition to your family and wish you Brian and Noah the best of luck at this exciting time.

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Employee of the Month

Each month we will be asking you all to let us know who your employee of the month is. This can be any of our carers or team leaders.

All you need to do is send us an email or give us a call to let us know who you would like to nominate and what they have done to go above and beyond that month. Our management team will then make a decision and reveal it in the newsletter each month and the successful employee will receive a voucher.

Our very first employee of the month is Amy Stratton. Amy has been a complete angel all summer covering countless shifts sometimes at very short notice. We are so sad she has gone back to university now for her second year as a student nurse but we wish her the best of luck for this year!

Thank you so much Amy, you are an absolute star!!

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Monthly Focus

Each month our management team will be looking at one of the CQC standards to ensure we are doing all we can to meet their requirements. We will be undertaking audits, spot checks, surveys and reviewing policies and procedures so we can ensure we are getting information from different points of views.

Each month we will be letting you know which standard we are looking at and the sort of things we will be focusing on. If you have any questions or would like to get involved any month please let us know.

For the month of November, we will be looking at what makes our service Safe. We will be reviewing a number of areas of our service including:

• How we follow Safer Recruitment
  
• Support Plans and Risk Assessments
• Staff training relevant to ‘safe’

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Christine’s Corner

Hello everyone and welcome to Christine's Corner!

Some of you already know me from working with your wonderful kids. Whilst others I'm extremely excited to meet. After a few years of working with Access All I have been given the exciting job of being an Activities coordinator.

This month we have lots of interesting things happening, it is of course Halloween and half-term which means lots of opportunities to try new things available in the community, Diwali will be lighting up our now darker days but also it is the start of a new season.

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Halloween Activities

So, I think it is appropriate to start off with some good old fashioned pumpkin picking and Halloween decorating, below are four place where you can go to do this:

• Foxes Farm - www.foxesfarmproduce.co.uk
  
• Blake House Craft Centre - www.blakehousecraftcentre.co.uk
  
• Lee Valley Farm - www.visitleevalley.org.uk
  
• Old MacDonald’s Farm- www.omdfarm.co.uk

Dracula’s dentures these can also be changed to monsters as seen below, done by the fabulous Adam!! We found that using a small 5ml syringe to do the details and chocolate buttons worked beautifully (we have these in the office)! The teeth are made out of marshmallows.

Gooey jelly and worms Sensory and edible. You can hide all sorts of things in jelly and it makes for a great Halloween snack.

This month is also particularly special to me as I have planned an event of my own! It is called Cardboard Cinema and it is a Drive-In for Children, only you guessed it...their cars are fashioned out of the finest cardboard. All the profits will be going to CHILD.Org and you can find out more at https://www.facebook.com/CardboardCinema.org

I will be posting more on the Facebook soon! The poster is at the end of this newsletter.

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Diwali Activities

These wonderful scented candle holders are a lovely activity to do regardless of if you're celebrating or not! 

Take a look at this really easy henna recipe with things you may have lying around https://www.pennypinchinmom.com/diy-henna-tattoos/

Rangoli patterns can be cut out and stuck around the house and make for beautiful decorations and sensory play. https://nurturestore.co.uk/diwali-rangoli-patterns

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Autumn Activities

These activities can be done by going on a long autumn walk or trail or can simply be enjoyed by going outside in your garden or for a quick stroll down the road and the best thing is that they are super easy to do!

Painting with leaves: http://meaningfulmama.com/day-291-fall-leaf-prints.html

Pinecone bird feeders: For our birdy friends (or naughty squirrels) https://www.freebiefindingmom.com/easy-fall-crafts-using-pine-cones/

Sensory jars: Simple but effective https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/fall-sensory-bottles-for-exploring-nature/

Now no autumn is complete without dens. These can be made indoors or outdoors and fun for everyone to get involved!

Outdoor dens: http://www.edenproject.com/learn/for-everyone/how-to-build-your-own-den

Indoor inspiration: http://www.bellebebes.co.uk/2011/08/delicious-dens/

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So that's a rap for now, dress snug! Drink pumpkin spiced lattes for those crazy early morning and I hope you have an exciting October!