Current Hertfordshire SEND courses 2026
Our SEND courses are designed for parents living with children with special educational needs and disabilities, autism, ADHD and all neuro-diverse conditions, including those awaiting assessment or diagnosis. The courses are designed to give parents tools, skills and knowledge which make a lasting positive impact and change to family life.
Over the past 19 years, 98 per cent of our parent attendees would highly recommend our services to other parents.
All courses are delivered by founders Francine and Lesley, who have over 25 years of personal and professional experience of SEND. Attendee group sizes are limited to ensure an interactive, personal approach is maintained.
Complete guide to parenting children with Autism or ADHD
This free 9-week course is for those parenting children aged two to 11 with all Special Education Needs living in Hertfordshire including those on assessment pathways
Facilitated by founders, Lesley and Francine, the course aims to help parents:
- Gain a greater understanding and answer the question, ‘Why does my child do that?’
- Learn a range of strategies and solutions, to better manage behaviours that challenge
- Understand sensory issues which affect behaviours
- Gain more understanding of anger triggers and strategies to reduce angry meltdowns
- Learn how to support siblings living with a sister/brother with additional needs or challenging behaviours
- Learn communication techniques to reduce emotional traffic jams and improve children’s emotional regulation
- Meet other parents living in families similar to theirs and share experiences
- Learn techniques to manage stress, conflict and so much more….
April 2026: All online via ZOOM Parents must attend all 9 interactive sessions
Wednesday mornings 9.30-11.30 Bookings open
April 15th 22nd 29th, May 6th 13th 20th, June 3rd 10th 17th
Wednesday evenings 6.30-8.30pm Bookings open
April 15th 22nd 29th, May 6th 13th 20th, June 3rd 10th 17th
email to get booking procedures – bookings@familiesinfocus.co.uk
Parents need to live in Hertfordshire, have a diagnosed or awaiting assessment of needs child aged 2-11, and able to attend all sessions
All ONLINE VIA ZOOM
Feedback from parents December 2024
Francine and Lesley are so professional and experienced and I felt so safe in their hands. It has taken a long time for me to find this group and life changing, and feel a better calmer happier parent
I looked forward to each session and always took away simple things that have made our house and family so much happier and calmer. I get my child now and understand her more. I also feel much more confident when speaking to the school about my daughter’s needs and we are now working together on an EHCP
I was so nervous when I first started but soon felt safe enough to talk honestly to everyone. Francine and Lesley are just amazing and have so much personal and practical experience and learned so much about the world of SEND. Finally the jigsaw pieces have fallen into place and I feel more confident more empowered and having such a positive effect on my family.
Email bookings@famliesinfocus.co.uk for further details on either of these courses
Handling anger of primary aged children with ADHD and/or Autism
A free six-week course for parents with primary aged children with ADHD and/or Autism, living in Hertfordshire including those on assessment pathway’s.
This CANparent quality mark course for parents of primary aged children provides practical and proven techniques to reduce angry meltdowns in your family.
This very popular, effective and award winning anger management course helps parents to:
- Gain understanding of Autism and ADHD and how behaviours can be effected
- Attain awareness of a child’s sensory world and the affect on behaviour
- Understand how anger and other emotions live in your family
- Increase your understanding of triggers that cause angry outbursts
- Learn healthy anger management strategies for children and parents to reduce angry outbursts
- Discover creative ways to support children to ‘let go’ of anger safely
- Gain effective empathic communication techniques to reduce angry outbursts
- Meet and share experiences with other parents
When April/May 2026
All online via ZOOM Parents must attend all 6 interactive sessions
Tuesday mornings 9.30-11.30 Bookings open, email bookings@familiesinfocus.co.uk
April 14th 21st 28th, May 5th 12th 19th
OR
Tuesday lunchtimes 12.30-2pm Bookings open, email bookings@familiesinfocus.co.uk
April 14th 21st 28th, May 5th 12th 19th
OR
Tuesday evenings 6.30-8.30pm Bookings open, bookings@familiesinfocus.co.uk
April 14th 21st 28th, May 5th 12th 19th
Parent reviews 2026
“Great structure, and tips were just pure gold. Comforting and insightful to hear from other parents living in families like ours. Fantastic content, with tools to try out at home each week. I didn’t think I could ever learn to be empathetic with my children, but the simple way it was taught helped me so much, and it’s having such a positive impact on the whole family. So grateful to the amazing Lesley & Francine, who are brilliant trainers.”
“Really appreciated the empathy section and understand my own emotions now, and also those of my children and partner. It was my biggest takeaway; my son has really opened up to why he is so anxious at school. Some reasonable adjustments have been put in place following this, and he is so much happier now, and wants to go to school every day. Thank you so much.”
Lesley and Francine are a great double act and such a calming presence! Could listen to them all day, and so much experience and such valuable knowledge. Each session was so informative and so useful.
I wish I had done this course when my older child was younger. Learnt so much about myself, Autism, ADHD and what school can do to help that I had no idea about.
Wonderful trainers with so much experience, and each week I looked forward to the sessions. We could ask questions that always got answered about our individual families, and understand my child’s anger now , and there is less shouting now
Parent reviews December 2025
“Best course so far and been on a few! Just loved speaking to other parents and format was so useful. Empathy technique taught, was fabulous and works so well for our family”
“It was a safe group to share concerns. learned a lot about myself and how I effect what goes on in my family. I understand more now and everyone is much calmer and happier”
Parents review 2024
“I enjoyed the way you work together to bring the course. It presented as professional, slick, well-paced, inclusive, and knowledgeable. The recaps were good at reminding us of skills learned, and giving us the confidence to learn new topics. Both your knowledge and experiences brought solace, confidence, and real life to the examples you gave, and the scenarios that we then worked through each week to help embed were relevant and realistic to me as a parent.”
More courses coming after September 2026
Email bookings@familiesinfocus.co.uk for further details on any of these dates
