Activities for Wiltshire SEND families urged to apply for Council cash
The authority's offering grants of up to £10,000
Grants of up to £10,000 are being made available in Wiltshire, to help increase the number of opportunities and activities for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and or Disabilities (SEND).
Wiltshire Council is calling on groups, organisations and individuals to apply for the funding which can be used to buy or increase the things needed to start a club or activity for children and people with SEND, such as resources and materials.
The small grants scheme was established after parental feedback and aims to create more opportunities for children and young people with SEND in their local communities, providing greater access to clubs, activities and other groups.
Cllr Richard Clewer, Leader of Wiltshire Council said:
“Anyone can apply for these grants. You may be an individual, a voluntary or community parent led organisation, a charity, a co-operative, or a school looking to offer new or additional activity. The most important thing is to increase the availability of opportunities and activities for children and young people with SEND in the Wiltshire area.
“Parents’ and carers’ thoughts and ideas are a key thread running through our current SEND strategy and their feedback led to us setting up this pot of funding. We now want more groups and programmes to benefit from this funding so please do get in touch with your ideas of how it can be best used for SEN children and young people in your area.
“Last year twelve individuals and organisations received funding to provide activities for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities and we have some great examples of where having this additional funding has meant schemes can buy additional play equipment for their SEND programmes.”
Where did grants go last time?
Rachael Harris set up the Ludgershall stay and play group after finding that there were no local SEND groups in her area. She said:
“The children love coming to the club to play and just be children with no one judging them and the adults enjoy a cuppa and a chat with other adults in the same situation. It means so much to the children to have new equipment and toys to play with. The group has grown so much, and the children have now come to rely on the group which runs every fortnight. The children have come out of their selves so much and have grown in so much confidence. Friendships have been made amongst parents and children alike.”
Barford St Martin parent Emma Claydon, applied for a grant for a new playground locally and said:
“Having a facility within the village that enables children with additional needs to play alongside their mainstream peers provides a perfect forum for the children to integrate, socialise, learn new skills and have fun.”
The deadline for submissions to the scheme is midnight on Sunday 7th January 2024, with applications being assessed later that month.