Summary
To fund the continuation of our family day project, a very succesful project of running short activity breaks for our families during school holidays. We arrange a number of events around Dumfries and Galloway.
What Family Day Events did
We organised 30 activity days over the year across Dumfries and Galloway during all school holidays, an example of these activities include horse riding, nature reserves, local museums, cooking, swimming and creative art sessions. These activites were open to our membership who expressed an interest in joining in. Where activites were over subscribed we prioritised families local to the event and new to our membership. We worked in partnership with local organisations such as D & G Council, Dumfries and Galloway leisure and sport service and NHS health improvement scheme who had members of staff trained to deliver an adapted session to accomodate the whole families needs.
Our project benefited disabled children, thier siblings, parents & carers. Our familes age range is from 2 - 18 with a variety of support needs including severe and complex multiple support needs. We provided oppertunities for young people to access diability sports, transition activities to promote independance and access a social life independant from the family home. We supported new families which included 'harder to reach' groups by offering more local activites to them and in some cases prioritising thier place on the activity.
By having smaller and localised activities such as cooking it enabled families to build closer relationships with each other and create a stonger support network around them, which would be a particular success.
We had to reduce and organise our events differently to accomodate the reduced budget therefore we did more localised smaller partnership working.
What Parents Inclusion Network has learned
As our membership grows daily we have noticed the increase young adults on our membership and will be looking for ways to engage these members in our family days. We had age-specific activities for younger children at a local soft play area which was a great success. This is something we will definitely look a growing this year.
As new members came on board we identified that it might be daunting for them to attend their first event with us so we made sure to offer priority to these families and those who were local to the event, by targeting families in this way it built their confidence to attend other events throughout the year.
We identified that less young people 15+ accessing our activities so we are planning this year to work in partnership to deliver family quiz sessions on a monthly basis which we hope to engage the older disabled child/young adult and thier carers.
How Parents Inclusion Network has benefitted from the funding
We have been able to run our highly successful family day activities for another year because of the funding received from better breaks. We have over 700 members and each year our family days become more and more popular and as the need for these short breaks increase we were able to meet the demand. Our family days are highly anticipated and often become fully booked within a few days of our activity newsletter going out which highlights the need for these events in our families lives. School holidays can be difficult for our families and by having these events if provides a structure and routine that their children need. PIN s reputation is only strengthened by making sure our family days are well organised and relevant to our members and all funding we recieved is used accordingly.
Project Outcomes
Outcome
Disabled children and their families will have taken part in multiple social opportunities throughout the region during the 12 months. These activities are organised throughout the school holidays.
Results
We offered 30 fully accessable family day activites throughout the year, which were all fully subscribed with full capacity reached due to excellent planning and organisation.
Case study
We sourced and hired a private cinema which is fully accessible where families could come with young people of all abilities to have the cinema experience in a elaxed setting. In dumfries the main cinema is not wheel chair accessable so some of these families have never had this experience. In working together with the management team they are now offering relaxed sessions with people with disabilities thus giving some families a recreational hobby to continue to participate in.
Outcome
Our families will be in contact of the network of families locally to gain support and advice with the adults and children built friendships and experienced new social activities.
Results
By providing local activites we could target families local to each other in rural areas, where they could meet up and come together.
Case study
Sanquhar is a rural location which historically members have not participated in family activities. We organised horse riding and art sessions in the town and invited the Sanquhar families to participate in. As a result the families have build a strong support network with each other and now have the confidence seek improved well being and isolation wheer some parents now provide transport to other families.
Outcome
Our members will have less isolation and a support network they can access for life.
Results
We have encouraged and prioritsed new families to the family activites to enable them to build a support newtowkr around them and access the strong support network that PIN has build over the years. they have then went along with other members to new activites that they have not tried before.
Case study
We organised an activity for young people in the transition stage, by doing this the parents and carers came together and were able to discuss the issues facing thier young people and how they could help them. As a result parents and carers felt better informed as to what was available for thier child and it made thier child accessing adult services alot less scary and they could for see a future and the prospects of thier own fuure as an indivdual.
Outcome
Our members will be more informed of statutory and third sector services. We will have a healthy growth in membership. Members may take leadership in being peer members in their local community.
Results
We had 30 new families join our membership and our members have a menu of social, recreational and educational activites.
Case study
We have been able to enable families to create friendships and a valuable support system with a choice of accessable activities to participate. We had a new member with 3 year old twins both o whom had disablitlies. We organised a soft play session for under 8 years olds and prioritised new members with young children. As a result the new member was able to relax in a safe environment and not feel judged or anxious and have a chat with other members where they were able to swap contact details. We will follow this up with the same group to cement these connections.
Outcome
We will establish positive relationships with local organisations and business to ensure and cement their knowledge and understanding for our families to have better access. All our activities will be fully booked with an array of opportunities and choices.
Results
We worked with a variety of other organisations, private and statutory to deliver accessable activites.
Case study
We worked with a local driving range where we invited 20 young people to have an experience at Golf. As a result 2 families who have boys of similar age have continued to access this activity outwith PIN. Which they the contunue to enjoy.