“The parents had been feeling too anxious and overwhelmed to attend Child In Need Meetings (CIN) due to the language barrier, and the high number of professionals involved with supporting their children. We were pleased when this changed and the parents felt confident enough to begin attending. A large part of this is that parents have built up a good working relationship with both of the SIS Community Interpreters. They have a lot of faith that they are able to correctly interpret and in terms of regional accent the family also find them easy to understand.
These meetings can be very intense with so many professionals providing feedback around the additional needs and disabilities of each individual child. The two interpreters I have worked with from Sussex Interpreting Services, have shown great skill, professionalism and appropriate empathy, as well as knowledge and experience in their work.
I feel that it is for these reasons they have been able to work so successfully with our families. This has included interpretation for home visits, virtual home visits, support with medical appointments and support for families to attend meetings, sometimes with a wide range of professionals from different agencies; schools, nurseries, medical professionals, Occupational Therapists, Speech Therapists etc’
Please pass on my thanks to the interpreters for the incredible job they do. As a result, the parents feel confident enough to attend the next CIN Meeting, which is really important for this case”.
Sarah Johnson | Social Worker | Specialist Community Disability Service | Families, Children and Learning |Brighton & Hove City Council