More than 100 children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities have been supported in the last 18 months thanks to our fantastic new Pathway Programme. We are now proud to launch this heartwarming video that tells you all about it.
When you come here, you just automatically feel accepted. You don’t feel like you’ve got to hide who you are.
Sophia, Age 9
The programme was launched in April 2021 following the closure of local children’s charity Aspired Futures to prevent the void this would have created in the availability of accessible activities for children in the town. Maggie Cornall, a former Trustee at Aspired said: “It’s a comfort to know that the important work of Aspired Futures is continuing through The Boathouse Youth”.
Exactly 12-months after our adoption of the programme, in April 2022, we received funding from the National Lottery’s Reaching Communities Programme to secure the medium-term future of the delivery.
The programme is essentially a phased introduction to our mainstream services that is designed to build children’s confidence and push their boundaries a little further each week. The activities are very much aligned with those delivered on our Universal Programme but higher staff-to-child ratios and smaller groups create a more relational and nurturing environment.
The smallest groups consist of only 5-7 children at any one time, but as children’s abilities improve they progress into larger groups with up to 20 children before the transition process starts to mainstream services. There is no set timescale for this process, meaning that children are able to develop at their own readiness.
A notable achievement of the programme came in the Summer 2022 when we successfully delivered a fully-inclusive version of our Summer Camp to a group of 15 children from the Pathway Programme. The youngsters enjoyed all the usual activities from Crate Stacking to Go Karting whilst also spending time mixing with groups from other programme areas during meal times and around the campfire.
Adele Langford, Pathway Programme Manager said: “The video made me feel quite emotional. It’s so powerful hearing the children talk about the differences the programme makes. I’m so proud of them all”.
To find out more about our Pathway Programme, or how you can support us, please get in touch.
