{"id":30811,"date":"2023-06-16T09:16:54","date_gmt":"2023-06-16T08:16:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/?p=30811"},"modified":"2023-06-16T10:06:11","modified_gmt":"2023-06-16T09:06:11","slug":"were-thrilled-to-be-bringing-free-play-sessions-for-disabled-children-to-more-locations-in-england","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/blog\/were-thrilled-to-be-bringing-free-play-sessions-for-disabled-children-to-more-locations-in-england\/","title":{"rendered":"We’re thrilled to be bringing free play sessions for disabled children to more locations in England"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Thanks to an incredible grant from the National Lottery Community Fund, our Connect and Play service<\/a> is growing! This means that we\u2019re going to be able to offer free accessible play sessions to thousands more disabled children across England. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rachel, who heads up our programmes, explains why this support is so vital.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

All children deserve to get the best possible start in life. But often that\u2019s denied for children with complex disabilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s why Sense launched Connect and Play<\/a> this year. At our Hubs in Birmingham, Loughborough and Denbigh, we offer free play sessions for 0-8-year-olds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our play leaders support disabled children to communicate and explore the world, and help their families learn how to play and connect with them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re thrilled that, thanks to an amazing \u00a31.2 million grant from the National Lottery Community Fund, we\u2019re going to be able to take this service to thousands more families across England. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Play isn\u2019t just fun \u2013 it\u2019s vital for children\u2019s development and communication<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve heard from families with children with complex disabilities that there\u2019s very little support available to them in their children\u2019s early years. Often, they can\u2019t access mainstream play groups. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most common reasons that parents come to Sense in the first place is that they don\u2019t know how to play with their young children. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connect and Play has given families a safe space, where they can not only learn how to do this, but simply have fun and experience joy with their children. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also gives them the opportunity to meet other parents in similar situations. They can share experiences, and form a community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sense has provided a real lifeline for these families.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"two<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

So far, we\u2019ve supported over 800 children and their families<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Since launching earlier this year, we\u2019ve supported over 800 children and their families in Birmingham, Loughborough and Denbigh and through our virtual programme. This has been so successful, and the feedback we\u2019ve had has shown how much families needed this support.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve offered a range of different activities, all designed to help parents learn how to communicate with their children. Whether it\u2019s forest school, sensory play, arts and crafts or rowdy dancing sessions!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve also introduced families to communication tools and accessible technology that has opened up their worlds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our play leaders bring a huge range of expertise, from hospital-based play therapy, to baby massage and speech and language therapy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve also created dedicated play studios in Birmingham and Loughborough<\/a>, thanks to support from other funders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Children with complex disabilities and their families often have to make lots of hospital visits. The spaces we\u2019ve created at Sense are warm, friendly and welcoming. They\u2019re packed with specialist accessible equipment, so there\u2019s something for every child. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With this funding from the National Lottery Community Fund, we\u2019ll be able to have ten dedicated staff members working across seven play studios, to bring joy to even more families.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to the National Lottery Community Fund, we\u2019ll reach thousands more families<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Our ambition is to reach 5,000 more disabled children and their families with our Connect and Play service by 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m absolutely thrilled that, thanks to the National Lottery Community Fund, we\u2019ll be able to build a solid foundation to reach that goal, and to keep supporting thousands of children for many years into the future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ll be setting up new accessible play studios in four more locations around England, and launching a virtual Connect and Play service, too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That means thousands more children and their families will be supported to build relationships with each other. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connect and Play is all about the fun and joy we can bring to people\u2019s lives. I\u2019m so excited to be able to do that all over the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Interested in partnering with Sense?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sense partners with companies big and small all over the UK. Show your organisation\u2019s commitment to making the world a better place for disabled people.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n

\n Find out more<\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thanks to an incredible grant from the National Lottery Community Fund, we\u2019re going to be able to offer free accessible play sessions to thousands more disabled children.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":27244,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"display_author":[1202],"class_list":["post-30811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","display_author-rachel-perrin"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30811"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30811\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30811"},{"taxonomy":"display_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/display_author?post=30811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}