Speaking Up for Family Fun!

What a fantastic way to start the week, and shake off those Monday blues. Our Family Fusion Fun Day was great fun for the families who came along... and for all the staff who volunteered to help out for the day!

Pictured: getting creative and making a personalised t-shirt at the Family Fusion Fun Day

By lunch time the event was packed with happy families, who had come to enjoy the free day of family fun here in Cambridge. It was a fun, energetic and creative environment in which families could work together in all of the activities - between making t-shirts, creating dream photo shoots (where the children, and some parents, were transformed into astronauts, pirates, and footballers!) and chilling in the sensory zone, there really was something for everyone to enjoy.

Pictured: one young pirate about to get his dream photoshoot!

Take a look at our photo gallery to see more of what we all got up to... is it wrong to want to hold another fun day straight away?! The artwork and dream photographs from the day will be on display in a local art gallery in the near future - we'll let you know when we've confirmed the final details!

Pictured: the Sensory Zone was a great place to go and relax

Although the day was mostly geared to get everybody having a great time as a family, we also wanted to understand what barriers families with disabled children face, and what their wishes for the future are. Our brand new Next Steps Family Fusion project will be user-led and tailored to the needs of each family, and we got some really useful information from the families which we can use to shape the project and make sure that it will be a fantastic service for all the families who access it. Family Fusion will combine life skills workshops and family mentoring aimed at improving family dynamics, developing confidence - and will give 10 to 16 year olds with learning difficulties a chance to have some fun with their families!

Pictured: Next Steps staff member Ellie collecting up the dream balloons...

Pictured: The big dream balloon release!

At the end of the day, we all wrote our dreams on a slip of paper and tied it to a balloon, before going outside to release them into the (somewhat gloomy!) sky. Some of the dreams were really poignant, and it was lovely to hear such wonderful dreams and aspirations.

Pictured: two of the dream cards written by the children at the Fun Day

We're really excited to be launching such a great new project - Family Fusion will kick off in January and is being funded by the Big Lottery Fund for 3 years. If you missed out on the Family Fusion Fun Day but would like to find out more about the project or how to get involved, please contact Project Co-ordinator Estelle on Estelle.bryson-hill@speakingup.org or give her a call on 01223555841.

Speaking Up holds our first High Support Needs Forum!

On Monday, Speaking Up's Cambridgeshire Parliament held our first High Support Needs Forum, attended by people with high support needs from across the Cambridgeshire area.

Pictured: Jake, an attendee at the High Support Needs Forum

We discussed loads of issues, but the main points that people raised were about the lack of late night activities, lack of opportunities to meet up with other people with high support needs, and lack of Changing Places* facilities at large venues like football grounds.

Pictured: our 'Ideas Wall', showing some of the issues & solutions we discussed

People had some great ideas about how these things could be improved, and we'd love to know what you think! If big venues won't install a Changing Places toilet, would it be a good idea to install hoists in first aid rooms so that people can be changed on the benches? Could there be better communication between people with high support needs, their carers and other staff members to make it easier for them to get together with other people for nights out? Could we make better use of social networking sites to link between all disability groups & people with high support needs to keep everybody informed of what's going on?

Pitctured: the High Support Needs Forum, with committee members Susanna on the far right and Simon in the centre.

Over the next month the High Support Needs Committee will be exploring these issues further, and gathering information and responses from any relevant professionals. We'd love to get the views of even more people, so if you have high support needs or work with people who do, please leave a comment here on the blog or contact james.codling@speakingup.org

*Changing Places toilets are fully accessible for people with high support needs, as they include a hoist, a changing bench and plenty of room to allow them to use the toilet or have their incontinence pad changed. For more information, check out the blog article on our protest from earlier this year, and the Changing Places website!

Speaking Up for Family Fun in Half Term!

It's half term next week, and on Monday 26th we'll be holding a fantastic (and free!) event here in Cambridge, for children & young people with learning difficulties and their families.

Pictured: enjoying our last family event, with a VERY large dog!

Our Family Fusion Fun Day is a great opportunity to try out some new things, have some fun and - most importantly - to get creative as a family, working together to make artwork for our exhibition (which will be held later in the year), or to take home! There will be loads of different things to try - from designing your own t-shirts or trying out your dreams in a photoshoot, to chilling out in the sensory zone and having your fill of the free food...

We'd love for you to come along - please get in touch with the Project Leader Estelle, on Estelle.bryson-hill@speakingup.org or 01223 555841 if you'd like any more information!

Pictured: Giant Jenga was quite a draw at last year's festival!

The event will also give everybody a chance to find out more about our brand new Family Fusion project, which will provide life skills workshops and family mentoring for 10-16year olds and their families. The project will be focussed around families having fun whilst learning together, and it will be completely tailored to the needs of each individual family. It kicks off in january, so if you'd be interested in taking part please come along to our Family Fusion Fun Day or contact Project Co-ordinator Estelle on estelle.bryson-hill@speakingup.org or 01223555841.