Festive Winter Workshops

For the last week of November and throughout December, we welcomed 155 children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities to our Centre for a wonderful festive workshop.

These workshops cater for young people with a wide range of needs, including speech, language and communication difficulties, visual impairments and severe health conditions.  Our workshops are bespoke and we adapt them to suit the needs of the groups so that all who visit can access the activities in a meaningful way.

Our activities are sensory based, visitors might feel the ice, taste the gingerbread, listen to sleigh bells, see the wooden reindeer, smell the Christmas tree and more!  Our nature themed crafts were a hit – particularly our Rudolph wood slice decorations and wreaths adorned with pine, lavender, rosemary and sage .

This year, we adapted our Victorian classroom foyer to create a sensory area with twinkling lights, cushions and sensory toys – providing a space for anyone that needed a little time to relax and regulate away from the group – we received a lot of positive feedback about this addition and will definitely include it again next year.

The Victorian classroom, transformed into a magical festive setting with decorations and a stunning 6-foot Christmas tree (donated by Pines and Needles) provided a memorable backdrop for our sessions.

The nature trail adorned with enchanting woodland reindeer (courtesy of our fabulous, skilled maintenance team) and filled with sensory activities, nature themed crafts and encouraging and enthusiastic volunteers, was a highlight for many.  Many of our visitors use wheelchairs, buggies and walking aids so our accessible paths are an absolute must so that they can all explore our fabulous outside space, and feel the calm and beauty of the nature that surrounds them.

We are incredibly grateful to The National Lottery Community Fund for their support which enabled us to develop a new programme for 2024 and to purchase a range of sensory resources.

We would also like to express our sincere thanks to our amazing volunteers whose dedication and passion makes these workshops truly special.

Please see a selection of our very positive feedback:

• Thank you to you and your team for making our visit a great morning yesterday!  We really enjoyed all the activities.  I loved the new breakout room you have created – it is perfect for our learners. One learner with Down Syndrome felt so happy and content in a way we haven’t seen before. (Strathmore)
• Such supportive staff, all the additional help and the fantastic activities were just right for our group. (Manor Mead)
• All students were engaged and enjoyed the activities prepared.  The students clearly understood what they were asked to do.  The support was excellent.  The session was well organised and adapted to our students needs.  Thank you. ( Paddock)
• Positive and engaging staff and enticing activities.  The children loved it!  We’ll be back.  One student who really struggles to regulate her emotions and can find unpredictable situations upsetting was so calm, smiling and engaged for the entire trip.  It’s such a lovely calming atmosphere. (St Ann’s)
• The staff were child centred and able to adapt to the children’s’ needs and agendas in the moment.  Staff were very friendly and calm and made us feel very welcome.