Resources to help parents as children prepare for new school term Costs can be high at this time of the year what with new school uniforms, shoes, bags and stationery. Contact has lots of resources to help. Take a look at...
How has the pandemic affected your family’s finances? Tell us about it in our new survey Our landmark Counting The Costs survey is back. Help us build a unique snapshot of how Covid-19 has affected the incomes of families with disabled children in the UK. We’re...
Stroke Background Stroke is defined as the rapid loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. Around 25 per cent of patients are under 65...
Have your say to make safeguarding work for disabled children Has your family asked for help from social care only for them to refuse it? Or worse, have you been put through an unwarranted child safeguarding process? If so, we...
Charitable trusts and foundations Trusts and foundations play an invaluable role in helping us provide advice, information and support to families of disabled children, whatever their disability and wherever they are in the UK....
Our Fledglings shop is now available in multiple languages Our Fledglings shop is now available in multiple languages Our online Fledglings shop is now available in a number of different languages for shoppers whose first language is not English....
Government publishes updated school transport guidance The Department for Education has finally published its revised statutory home to school transport guidance for children of compulsory school age in England. This follows Contact’s School Transport Inquiry, which found...
Families at the sharp end of the school transport loophole share their stories Yesterday we released the findings of our latest school transport research which reveals the scale of the difficulties facing disabled young people aged 16-18.
Friedreich’s Ataxia Also known as: Recessive Spino-cerebellar Degeneration Background Friedreich’s ataxia (also called FA or FRDA) is a rare genetic condition that causes damage to the nervous system, the spinal cord, peripheral...
Retinitis Pigmentosa Background Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is the name given to a group of genetic conditions of the retina, the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye. The retina converts light...
Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy Also known as: FSH MD; FSH Muscular Dystrophy Background Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is a genetic muscle wasting condition. Weakness usually starts in muscles of the face (facio-), shoulder blade...
What we want to see in Chancellor’s Autumn Statement Last week, the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced that his Autumn Statement, originally scheduled for today, will now take place on 17 November. Following his reversal of much of predecessor’s Kwasi...
New summer holiday food grant announced by Northern Ireland government The Northern Ireland Government has announced it is to provide £12.6 million to fund summer holiday food grants this year. How much will my family get? Under this new scheme,...
1 April return to school for clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV) children in England The Department for Education (DfE) has updated its schools coronavirus operations guidance for England, which confirms that all CEV pupils should attend their school from Thursday 1 April. The only...
Second Covid vaccine dose approved for 12-15 year olds Following guidance from the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), the government has approved a second dose of the Pfizer Covid vaccine for all children 12 and over. The...
Eligible families better off by £5,000 a year thanks to Contact Family Finance’s advice Eligible families who make a call to the Family Finances team on our helpline are better off by an average £97 a week, the findings of our latest impact report...
Why you should submit a meter reading before price hike hits on 1 October On Saturday 1 October, the energy price cap for an average household will rise to £2,500. This is up 27% from the current cap of £1.971. It’s a good idea...