Specialist Training and Support for Professionals
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Down’s Syndrome Scotland provides ‘all through life’ support across Scotland. As well as supporting individuals with Down’s syndrome and their families and carers we are also here to support professionals in midwifery, health & social care and education who work with them.
We do this through providing specialist CPD accredited training, online courses and consultation support, informative resources and our monthly lunchtime talks. Whether you work in healthcare or education, however you support people with Down’s syndrome you can know that the training you receive is up to date and well evidenced.
CPD Accredited Training
Support for Professionals
Midwives & Health Visitors
We support midwives, health visitors, community nurses and other health and social staff in supporting new and expectant parents through prenatal screening, diagnosis and the early years of having a child with Down’s syndrome.
We can provide specialist information and guidance on a range of topics including:
- Supporting parents through prenatal screening for Down’s syndrome
- Supporting expectant and new parents
- Growth and development milestones
- Feeding – breastfeeding, weaning and diet
- Health screening and specific health conditions that are associated with Down’s syndrome
If you have a query that we can help with, please contact the Family Support Service team at familysupportservice@dsscotland.org.uk or give us a call on 0300 030 2121.
We also offer bespoke teaching sessions to hospitals, maternity and neonatal services to help raise awareness of Down’s syndrome and help you support new and expectant parents – details of these sessions can be found here.
Health & Social Care
We are here to support healthcare professionals including Allied Health Professionals and those working in social care who work with and care for people with Down’s syndrome. We are able to give specialist information and strategies to help you better support people with Down’s syndrome at every age and stage of life. We work jointly with a large variety of professionals supporting children or adults with Down’s syndrome.
As part of our work, we have attended joint visits with Health visitors to new parents as well as attended social work meetings with families to discuss care planning/assessments etc.
We offer bespoke teaching sessions to hospitals and health centres – you can find details of these sessions here.
We work in partnership with NHS Education Scotland (NES) to provide Down’s Syndrome Awareness Training to a wide range of Health Professionals you can find out more about these sessions here.
Our Tuesday Lunchtime Talks Series
Every month we host a short talk from specialist health professionals on various topics relating to the health needs of children and adults with Down’s syndrome. These sessions are free of charge and are aimed at helping healthcare professionals increase their knowledge and awareness of specific health conditions associated with having Down’s syndrome. The talks take place on the last Tuesday of every month between 12.30pm – 1pm.
You can find details about all the upcoming sessions and book your place here.
Education
We are here to support teachers, early years practitioners and educational support staff in supporting and positively including children with Down’s syndrome in their nursery or school.
We work jointly with a large variety of professionals supporting children or young people with Down’s syndrome, providing information, strategies and support, although not direct support to the child or young person. We provide CPD-accredited training, support and information to nurseries and schools in all 32 local authorities across Scotland.
Education Consultation Service
Our bespoke consultation service can support you with specific guidance or information related to the development or learning of a child or young person with Down’s syndrome and provide practical and effective strategies to positively support their inclusion in your school or nursery.
A dedicated, in-person consultation visit includes observation of an individual child within a nursery/school environment followed by a feedback and support session with key staff. These sessions can also include support with how to differentiate curriculum learning materials and a written feedback consultation summary report is provided.
To book & arrange training or a consultation support visit for your nursery or school please contact us directly on 0300 030 2121 or email familysupportservice@dsscotland.org.uk
Makaton & Communication
We are able to support and help professionals who work with people with Down’s syndrome to learn and introduce Makaton to support understanding, communication and language development.
This support is available to education professionals, club volunteers and personal support assistants at nursery, pre-school, primary and secondary levels and beyond.
We can offer Makaton training from our in-house qualified Makaton Tutor, you can read more about this here.
Become a Member
We are keen to work with professionals who support and care for individuals with Down’s syndrome. We offer professional membership which gives you access to resources, our monthly e-newsletter and early access to our training events.
Donate to us
As a small, committed charity we want to ensure we reach every community in Scotland that needs us, by not only providing support, services and training but also calling out injustice and inequality. Donate today to help us make amazing things happen for people with Down’s syndrome living in Scotland.
We want to help everyone with Down’s syndrome reach their fullest potential through every age and stage of life. We know that one of the best ways of doing this is by supporting families and carers.
Help us to reach more families more often as we reach into every community in Scotland.
You can either make a one-off donation or sign up to make a regular donation here.
Fundraise with Us
Would you like to bring your team together to undertake a challenge event and scale some heights? Read more about how you can fundraise with us here.
Or maybe you would like to become a workplace giver and start payroll giving. Find out how here.
All funds raised are hugely helpful to us achieving our vision and in reaching more families more often.
Contact
For further information or to enquire about training and support for Midwifery, Health & Social Care or Education Professionals please contact Varshali Swadi.
For Makaton training and support enquiries please contact Katy Lironi.
