SEN SEVA

20/09/2026

06/09/2026

🎭 Could your child or young person benefit from a SEND-inclusive drama group? 🎭

SEN Seva, in collaboration with Nalini Theatre, is exploring the introduction of a weekly after school drama group for children and young people with SEND.

The proposed sessions would be for young people aged approximately 10–16 years, although the final age range may change depending on the interest we receive.

This would be about much more than acting or performing. Through drama, games and creative activities, the sessions would aim to help young people:

✨ Build confidence and self-esteem
🗣️ Develop communication and social skills
💛 Express themselves in a safe and supportive space
🤝 Build friendships and work as a team
🎭 Work towards a small showcase or performance

The drama sessions would be facilitated by Nalini Theatre, with support from SEN Seva, and adapted around the needs of the young people attending.

We are hoping to begin during the first week after the October half-term. Sessions would take place once a week after school in Redbridge on either a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, with the final day determined by availability and the interest received.

At this stage, this is simply an expression of interest to help us understand demand and plan the most suitable groups.

If your child or young person may be interested, please message SEN Seva privately on 07958 007871, including their age and preferred day.

Please share with other families who may be interested. ❤️

All faiths and backgrounds are welcome.

31/08/2026

📣 South Asian parents — your voice matters

SEN Seva is pleased to support and share this important University of Hertfordshire research exploring South Asian parents experiences of finding and accessing support after their child’s autism diagnosis.

We know that families can face cultural stigma, language barriers, limited culturally appropriate services and difficulties knowing where to turn after diagnosis. Too often, South Asian parents’ experiences are missing from research and decisions about services.

By sharing your experience, you could help inform more culturally responsive, inclusive and equitable support for autistic children and their families across the UK.

You may be eligible if you:

✅ Identify as South Asian
✅ Are the parent of an autistic child aged 2–18
✅ Have a child who was diagnosed in the UK
✅ Currently live in the UK
✅ Are aged 18 or over

The confidential one-to-one interview will take place on Microsoft Teams, last approximately 60–90 minutes and can be conducted in English or with an interpreter. Participants will receive a £15 Love2Shop voucher as a thank-you for their time.

📲 Please scan the QR code on the poster or contact Simran Chana at [email protected] to register your interest.

Every experience matters. Every voice can help create change. 🧡

Please share this post with South Asian parents and communities who may be interested.

21/07/2026

🔵 SEN Seva INCLUSIVE SCIENCE CLUB 🔵
In partnership with ATAM ACADEMY SCHOOL

We’re excited to launch a small, supportive and hands on science club for SEND children aged 7–14.

Children will have the opportunity to take part in fun practical experiments, build confidence, explore science in an inclusive environment and work towards a CREST SuperStar Award.

Activities may include volcanoes, slime, parachutes, paper helicopters, bath bombs and more.

📅 MUST attend all 3 sessions to receive the crest award
• Wednesday 5 August 2026
• Friday 7 August 2026
• Monday 10 August 2026

⏰ Time: 10:30am – 12:00pm
📍 Venue: Atam Academy, Science Department
👧🏽👦🏽 For: SEND children aged 7–14
🎟️ Spaces are limited

Booking will be via Eventbrite - https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1993568560229?aff=oddtdtcreator

A huge thank you to Atam Academy for working in partnership with SEN Seva to create more inclusive opportunities for SEND children in our community.

01/07/2026

🌟 FREE Parent Carer Session 🌟
💙 Communication, Sensory Needs & Eating 💙

Are you a parent or carer of a child/young person with SEND? Join SEN Seva for a safe, supportive and informal session to ask questions, feel heard and gain practical strategies.

We are delighted to be joined by:

💙 Chetna Jetha – Occupational Therapist
Chetna has over 15 years’ paediatric experience across South Africa, Canada and the UK. She works in the NHS as a Clinical Lead Neonatal OT and also provides sensory profile assessments through Blossom OT. She has specialist training in Sensory Integration, SOS Feeding, Hands-On Autism and Neurodevelopmental Therapy, using a relationship-based, sensory-informed and neurodiversity-affirming approach.

💙 Rajni Davegun – Specialist Speech & Language Therapist
Rajni supports autistic children, young people and families across NHS, education, community and independent settings. She works in the NHS Autism Team in Redbridge and is Founder of Sunshine Speech and Language Therapy. Her expertise includes autism, social communication differences, Gestalt Language Processing, feeding, speech and language development. Rajni’s approach is warm, practical, compassionate and neurodiversity-affirming.

💙 Ruby Davegun – Highly Specialist Paediatric Dietitian
Ruby supports infants, children and young people with neurodiversity, feeding difficulties, selective eating, faltering growth, blended diets, enteral feeding and complex nutritional needs. She is SOS Feeding trained and takes a family-centred, culturally responsive approach, recognising that food is deeply linked to culture, identity, community and belonging.

Together they will share practical advice around:
✨ communication
✨ sensory needs
✨ routines
✨ eating, feeding & wellbeing
✨ supporting children at home, school and in the community

📍 Gurdwara Singh Sabha London East
100 North Street, Barking, IG11 8FZ

📅 Sunday 5th July
⏰ 2pm – 4pm

🎟️ Booking is essential via Eventbrite

📧 [email protected]
📞 07958 007 871 / 07956 448 660

16/05/2026

“We manage. We smile. But inside, we break.”

Behind closed doors, many SEND parents are carrying more than people realise.

🟡 The constant advocating.
🧡 The exhaustion.
🟡 The guilt.
🧡 The isolation.
🟡 The pressure to stay strong even when you’re struggling yourself.

Within many Sikh and South Asian communities, these conversations are still too often hidden behind silence and stigma.

This Mental Health Awareness Week, SEN Seva is shining a light on the quiet emotional weight many families carry every single day.

🧡 You are not alone.

We’ve shared a reflection on mental health, stigma and the invisible load of SEND parenting in our communities.

Read the full article via the link below

https://open.substack.com/pub/senseva/p/the-quiet-weight-many-send-families?r=4mf20f&utm_medium=ios

BBC London ASK Care Ltd.Sunny and Shay Sikhs For AutismAtam AcademySikh Women SocietySikh ChannelDisabled Children's PartnershipSpecial Needs JungleAnnakennedyonline

28/04/2026

🧡 Your voice matters. Your experience matters.

We’re supporting an important piece of research led by a Trainee Clinical Psychologist at the University of Hertfordshire focused on South Asian parents of autistic children and their experiences navigating support after diagnosis.

Too often, our communities are underrepresented, misunderstood, or overlooked when it comes to autism support. Cultural stigma, language barriers, and lack of culturally appropriate services are real challenges many families face.

This study is about changing that, by listening, learning, and making sure services better reflect the needs of South Asian families.

💬 If you are:
• A South Asian parent
• With an autistic child aged 2–18 (diagnosed in the UK)
• Living in the UK

👉 You can take part in a confidential 1:1 interview (online)
👉 Interpreters can be arranged if needed
👉 £15 voucher provided as a thank you

Your story could help shape more inclusive, culturally responsive support for families across the UK.

📲 See poster for details and how to register your interest

Let’s make sure our voices are heard not just now, but for future families too.

24/04/2026

‼️‼️ I nearly missed this… and now there’s only about 24 hours left.‼️‼️

Somewhere between fighting systems, supporting families, meetings, and just trying to keep everything moving… I missed the email.

But I’ve been nominated for a Local Hero Award – Game Changer 2026.

And honestly that stopped me for a moment today, amidst the discussions of what our strategy will be to support families of children with special educational needs and disabilities.

This isn’t about me it’s about all of those who work relentlessly to support families.

It’s about every parent who has ever sat there feeling lost, unheard, or completely alone in a system that should have supported them.

It’s for the families who didn’t know where to turn.
The ones who just needed someone to listen.
The ones who trusted me with their stories.

The tears shared.
The battles fought.
The moments where we held each other up when it all felt too much.

Through SEN SEVA and , this work has never been about recognition, it’s about making sure no family walks this journey alone.

But moments like this matter.

Because recognition brings visibility.
Visibility brings influence.
And influence helps us push for the change families deserve.

So to whoever nominated me “thank you”.

It means more than I can put into words.

With such a short window left, if you’ve ever felt supported, heard, or even a little less alone through what we do, I’d be so grateful for your vote.

https://localheroawards.com/vote

👉 Link above
(Select Game Changer Award → Parveen Mahal)

This isn’t for me.
This is for all of us. ❤️

17/04/2026

⭐️ THREE YEARS OF SEN SEVA ⭐️

🟡 Silence wasn’t working. So we broke it.🟡

We turned 3 yesterday….. and yes, we are posting this a day late.
Because SEND doesn’t pause. And honestly… neither do we. As SEND parents ourselves we too are not immune to the problems faced by families.

Three years ago, something didn’t feel right.

Families were going into Gurdwaras, spaces that should feel safe and instead felt judged, misunderstood and sometimes even blamed.

At home it wasn’t much easier.
Extended families didn’t always understand.
Stigma meant things stayed hidden.
Parents were carrying it all on their own.

So we started SEN Seva.

Because this isn’t just about breaking stigma but also looking at the health inequalities which exist in our communities too.

If you don’t understand the system,
if English isn’t your first language,
if you don’t feel safe to ask for help…
you get left behind.

We see that. All the time.

So we’ve done things differently.

We’ve taken SEND into Gurdwaras and community spaces.
We’ve run activities for children, just giving them a space to be themselves, for the sangat to start accepting and championing them.
We’ve had honest conversations, even when they’ve been uncomfortable.
We’ve brought in therapists who speak the language, so parents can actually understand what support looks like.

And we’re grateful to those who have opened their doors and given us space to do this, it really does matter.

Slowly, things are changing.

We’ve seen parents go from sitting quietly to asking questions, to speaking up for their children.

That shift means everything.

We’re 3 years in.
Still learning.
Still pushing.
Still showing up.

We’re not done. Not even close. Exciting things ahead.

Thank you to everyone for your support, in helping us to start breaking down the barriers, to building culturally sensitive spaces for our families.

❤️

14/04/2026

Vaisakhi isn’t just history. It’s a moment of transformation.

On this day in 1699, Guru Gobind Singh Ji gave us the Khalsa, a path rooted in equality, courage, and standing for justice, no matter the cost.

A reminder that every human being has dignity.
That no one is less.
That we are all responsible for one another.

And today… that message feels deeply personal.

Because in the SEND world, too many children are still unseen and too many families are still fighting just to be heard.

Vaisakhi teaches us that faith is not passive.
It is lived. It is action.

✨ Daya (Compassion) — to truly see every child and family.
✨ Dharam (Righteousness) — to challenge what is unjust.
✨ Himmat (Courage) — to speak when others cannot.
✨ Mohkam (Steadfastness) — to keep going, even when it’s exhausting.
✨ Sahib (Leadership) — to serve with humility and create safe spaces for others.

This is Sikhi in action.

Not just in what we believe but in how we show up every single day.

Through SEN Seva, through every parent supported, every barrier challenged, every voice amplified this is how we honour that legacy.

Because every child deserves to be seen, heard, and valued not as an afterthought, but as equal.

Vaisakhi reminds us we don’t wait for change.
We rise. We serve. We stand together.

🧡 Sarbat da bhala — for the wellbeing of all.
🧡Happy Vaisakhi to all