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Digital support for families

Staying up-to-date with fast-paced technology can feel overwhelming. That's why we offer digital skills support to help you and your family make the most of technology and learn new digital skills.

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Discover Digital workshops

We’re here to help families raising a child or young person with additional needs get the best out of technology. Whether you’re looking to set up a new device, explore accessibility features, or discover creative activities, our digital workshops are available to support you.

These sessions are practical, easy to follow, and tailored to help your family feel confident and empowered when using technology. Best of all they are free to access!

Take a look at our free virtual workshops

“I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the training to other parents.”

What can you learn on the Discover Digital programme?

The first step, after getting your new device out of the box, is to open the settings application. We’ll help you adjust the settings, to make it work more easily and smoothly for you, and your child.

In our ‘Getting Started’ workshop, we’ll help you with the basics, before getting you started on next steps. Join us to learn how to:

  • find your way around the device
  • set up shortcuts, to make your experience easier 
  • find options you might need in your settings application, and how to use these
  • use the app store to download apps onto your device

Depending on your child’s needs, learning how to tailor your device effectively can really help. This can make learning easier and using the device more fun.

In our ‘Make it work for you’ workshop, we’ll help you use features already built into your device to support your child.

Join us to learn how to:

  • use the zoom feature to make text larger, so it’s easier to read
  • change the text and screen colour, for easier comprehension 
  • set up other spoken content features, like dictation (so your device will write for you). And much more!

A device is becoming an essential tool for children and young people but managing access to the internet, or knowing where to find parental controls, can give you peace of mind when your child is using the device to learn, and play.

In our ‘Staying safe’ workshop, we’ll help you support your child to stay safe when using their device. Join us to learn how to:

  • create passcodes
  • set time limits on apps
  • add restrictions to websites, or other content
  • download, and use, child friendly apps, like YouTube Kids

A social story can help children with additional needs to develop greater understanding about how the world around them works, and support them to stay safe.

Using the free Canva app, we’ll show you how to use your device to create a digital social story for your child. Developing an effective social story can help children feel secure and understand what to expect in certain situations.

Alongside learning the basics of your device, we know that having fun as a family is just as important! We offer a range of creative workshops, that offer fun learning opportunities for the whole family. Join us to learn a range of creative digital skills.

These creative workshops are aimed at children and young people, but we recommend you enjoy them as a family, as an adult needs to be present at all times.

What happens on a Discover Digital workshop?

Once you’ve booked onto a workshop through Eventbrite, you’ll receive an email confirming your place.

You’ll need your iPad or android device, plus another device, like a smartphone or laptop, so you can access the virtual workshop through Zoom.

As the workshop approaches, our friendly digital team will call you, to introduce themselves. They’ll talk to you about the workshop and check if you have everything you need to take part. This is a great opportunity for you to ask questions or let us know about any specific needs you or your child may have before the workshop. If you have not used Zoom before, we can also help you with that.

During the workshop, our experienced trainer will share their screen and talk through what to do. You can follow the trainer’s demonstration on your device at home. These workshops are very friendly and informal, and you can ask questions at any point in the workshop.

“I would definitely recommend the training to a friend, because the trainer left time at the end for me to ask questions about what I wanted to know. They tailored the session to the specific needs of my family, which I probably wouldn’t have got out of a group session elsewhere.”

Join our Facebook community group Find out more about Discover Digital workshops and book your place
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Grants for tablets and computers

We partner with Converge to deliver computer and tablet grants. After receiving an iPad, mum Nikki attended one of our free Discover digital workshops, which helped her son Alex get the most out of his new device.
Read Alex's story