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Youngsters to benefit from Buddies Scheme

A pilot scheme in Ipswich and Bury St Edmunds aimed at broadening the horizons of youngsters with learning difficulties has proved so successful it is set to be repeated across schools within the region.

The Buddies Scheme was launched by Dimensions - a specialist provider of support for people with learning disabilities and autism – last year initially to provide short breaks for children from the age of eight years during the school summer holidays.

Thanks to funding from the Aiming High Initiative, Dimensions was able to run the pilot scheme for five weeks at Thomas Wolsey School in Ipswich; a school for children with moderate and severe physical and learning difficulties.

The aim was to make available a scheme that provided youngsters with varying different support needs with the opportunity to try out new experiences. At the same time it gave local families additional support during the school holidays.

Drawing on her own past experiences of running play schemes, Jane Neil, Service Development Manager at Dimensions in Essex and Suffolk, was inspired to start an innovative and new Buddies Scheme locally for youngsters.

The initiative will be extended and more youngsters will benefit from the activities and support thanks to funding up to 2011. A second scheme has been introduced at the River Walk School in Bury St Edmunds. This scheme followed the model of the pilot scheme with activities that included go karting, theatre shows and sailing and days out at theme parks. Funding has now been agreed for this to continue throughout the year.

Explained Jane: "The activities were carefully planned to meet the needs of each child. I prepared initial profiles for each individual by gathering information through using person centred tools then developed their support plans. This is a quite different from the support provided by providers in the past, which traditionally has involved care in respite homes.

"During our scheme we organised lots of activities that included trips out, ice skating, bowling, going to the beach, cinema, dance workshops, cooking, crafts, music… the list goes on. Our aim was to give kids the chance to have a go at activities that they might not normally get access to. It gave them the opportunity to learn new skills and meet new friends. We also helped to provide parents with additional support during the school holidays."

For further details about the Buddies Scheme contact Jane Neil, Service Development Manager