After a bit of a longer sleep (for most anyway!) we woke up early to get ready for another day packed with activities. We had our breakfast of toast, cereals and fruit and then prepared for our morning. Today, Grace and Lucy joined us as volunteers to help out until Friday and we all gave them a big welcome. The weather was misty and damp this morning with potential thunderstorms in the afternoon, but we dressed accordingly and didn’t let it affect our fun!
Thursday was the second day off our round robin of activities including bushcraft, climbing, high ropes and archery. Everyone enjoyed their activities of making dens and fire, shooting arrows at targets, the reached new heights on the climbing and showed great teamwork on the high ropes.
For lunch we all made our own sandwiches again and then had some free time. We’ve all settled in really well now and love our free time together. We have even been asking for it on session!
This afternoon we were back out for our last round robin activity and the sun even came out for us! We then had some free time before it was time to eat; this evening we had a choice of pasta bolognaise or baked potatoes with toppings. We ate strawberry mousse for dessert.
After dinner, we all got dressed up for ready for the disco tonight! At 7pm the tunes started blaring and we all got our groove on! With our DJ Alex for the evening, we enjoyed old dance tunes like the Cha Cha slide and Macarena as well as the latest chart songs.
We were very lucky and the rain and storms held off and we ended the evening outside with the sun setting, having chilled conversations on the picnic benches and playing in the field.
It was then time for hot chocolate, packing and bed. We’re very sad that this is our last night here but looking forward to seeing our families tomorrow.
Stay tuned for our last blog post tomorrow!
The young people woke up after a fairly late night for most and got ready for breakfast. We fuelled up on cereals, toast, fruit and yoghurt ready for a jam packed day of activities. After breakfast they were split into their teams and told what they would be doing for the day.
The activities for Wednesday and Thursday are on a round robin basis comprising of climbing, archery, bushcraft and high ropes. After getting ready and putting on our waterproofs and outdoor shoes we were ready to get going and we weren’t going to let the very light rain dampen our spirits!The morning was a success and most of the young people were really excited to go on everything but everyone had a go and conquered some fears!
After working up an appetite the young people went in for lunch and this involved them all making their own sandwiches from a variety of fillings and salad. They all did really well and some even ended their lunch with some cheese and crackers!
After lunch and a short period of free time, we were right back into our activities. This time group 1 did archery, group 2 bushcraft and group 3 did climbing. Not much rain this afternoon. Gemma, the Children’s Operation Manager, was visiting us today and was very proud of her bullseye on the archery! The young people all did really well and many got very wet when their shelters were tested out in Bushcraft.
Dinner was a choice of chicken nuggets, chips and spaghetti hoops or a jacket potato with beans and cheese. I’m sure you can guess which one was the favourite! This was followed by a delicious apple sponge and custard. We then had some free time before our evening activity where chilled outside. We said goodbye to two of our volunteers, Becky and Christian, as they finished their time we us. We are looking forward to welcoming two new volunteers tomorrow!
Our evening activity was a campfire down in the woods. We enjoyed playing around in the woods whilst Tom got the campfire up and roaring so we could make our hot chocolate over it. We then all sat around, drank hot chocolate and had some supper. We finished the camp fire by attempting to sing some campfire songs with varying success!
We finished off the night by some of us watching a film and some of us just chilling whilst getting ready for bed. A very tiring but fun day with even more to come tomorrow!
Day 1 of the residential is over so catch up below with everything we got up to!
24 young people arrived very excited to the Frank Chapman Centre, wanting to see their dorms and the centre straight away. After settling into their dorms, making their beds and getting to know the other young people, it was time for a lunch of various filled rolls, fruit and homemade cake.
After lunch, we had a tour of the outside areas and then set off on our first activity in our groups. This was a teambuilding exercise so we could learn to communicate with others in our group and work well together. This involved crawling on hands and knees through the mine, taking part in the low ropes course, and working our way around the blind line.
After working up a healthy appetite, we tucked into a delicious dinner of chicken tikka or jacket potatoes, with jelly and arctic roll for dessert. With some much anticipated free time, we headed out into the sunny evening and enjoyed exploring around, playing on the swings and spending time with each other. Some of us enjoyed a quiet game in the common room.
It was then time for our evening activity; huge games of hide and seek! Some hid so well we couldn’t be found by all the staff! We were getting pretty tired after a few games so heading back in to the centre for some hot chocolate and supper then up to the dorms to get ready for bed.
Lights out on a busy day ready for even more fun tomorrow!
Canoe River trip, Friday 27th July
Come and have a relaxing paddle down the River Severn and stop in Bewdley for some Fish and Chips!
Learn more
Be safe online course, part 1 Wednesday 1st August, part 2 Thursday 29th August
Come along to our relaxed sessions to learn how to use the internet and social media safely. Learn how to spot someone ‘real’ online. Learn which sites are safe to use.
Learn more
Climbing and bowling, Friday 3rd August
Come along for a fun morning of adventure climbing followed by bowling in the afternoon.
Learn more
Graffiti day, Saturday 11th August
Join Charlie and learn about graffiti methods and design. Take home your own personal canvas. Be part of designing and making a graffiti mural at The Enterprise Hub.
Learn more
Kayaking 2 day Course, Thursday 16th August and Friday 17th August
Come and improve your kayaking skills over this 2 day course and work towards your Paddle Power Awards (Nationally Recognised Qualification). This trip may include a trip along the canal.
Learn more
Alton Towers, Friday 31st August
Come along and spend a day on the rides at our Alton Towers day trip. Cost includes park entry and transport from The Enterprise Hub or Clifton Road.
Learn more
Midland Mencap is celebrating after being awarded £343,465 of National Lottery funding from Sport England to help low income families of children with Special Educational Need and/or Disabilities (SEND) in Birmingham get active with their children.
Four out of five primary school children do not get the recommended amount of daily exercise of 60 minutes a day, and are missing out on the benefits it brings. Children from low income families are most likely to do very little physical activity.
Midland Mencap’s ‘parkride’ family cycling project is one of the first projects to receive investment from a £40 million National Lottery funding pot that Sport England has dedicated to helping families get active together.
The fund is a key part of Sport England’s focus on helping young people have an enjoyable experience of sport and physical activity so they develop a positive attitude towards being active at an early age and continue being active in later life.
Sport England are funding organisations that help families get active together, because parents and close family members can have a big impact on children’s experiences. As well as giving children direct access to sporting opportunities, Sport England research shows that they are also significant role models in helping their children get active – because how a parent behaves impacts what a child sees as important.
Parents who are active themselves, and enjoy it, can encourage positive feelings about exercise and its value in their children. Yet many parents lack the skills or confidence to take part in sport with their children as they fear they cannot keep up. For example, if adults don’t know how to swim or lack confidence on a bike, this has a knock-on impact on the activities they feel they can do as a family and how much they encourage children to take part.
Each of the funded projects will work to address this by building adults’ confidence around getting active with their children, and by providing experiences for families that are enjoyable, convenient and low cost.
Midland Mencap understand that people can lead very busy lives so finding time to take part in activities together as a family can be a real challenge. For families of children with Special Educational Need and/or Disabilities (SEND) it can be even more difficult to find activities, events and things to do as a family.
1. The Chief Medical Officer recommends that children and young people do at least 60 minutes of moderate physical activity every day. Currently, just 23% of boys and 20% of girls meet the national recommended level of activity. 47% of children from the households with the lowest incomes do low levels of activity. Health Survey for England 2016: Children’s health information Sport England commissioned-research conducted by The Behavioural Architects 2017
‘parkride’ is a fun, free and flexible inclusive family cycling project that provides the whole family, regardless of need with the opportunity to enjoy cycling.
The project will be based at Midland Mencap’s Outdoor Learning Centre in Sutton Park, and will provide families access to a range of adapted and mainstreams bikes and specially designed routes.
Sport England’s Director of Children and Young People Jayne Molyneux said:
“It’s not right that four in five children don’t get enough exercise and are missing out on the health benefits it brings. Just by seeing their parents being active, children can be inspired to do the same, and if they have an enjoyable experience they’re far more likely to continue as an adult.
“Parents have many demands on their time, and often lack the confidence to get active with their children. That’s why Sport England is working hard to make getting active with your children an easy choice. With this new National Lottery funding, Midland Mencap will be able to provide families with access to a range of adapted and mainstream bikes to enjoy together for free.
Midland Mencap’s Head of Children, Young People and Community Services Edd Terrey said:
“We are thrilled to have received this National Lottery Funding to develop the ‘parkride’ cycling project. This funding will allow us to start breaking down some of the main barriers that can prohibit families of children with SEND from taking part in physical activities together”
For more information:
Email: parkride@midlandmencap.org.uk
Twitter: @ParkRideMM
Facebook: ParkrideUK
Website: www.parkride.co.uk
About Sport England
Sport England is a public body and invests up to £300 million National Lottery and government money each year in projects and programmes that help people get active and play sport.
It wants everyone in England, regardless of age, background, or level of ability, to feel able to engage in sport and physical activity. That’s why a lot of its work is specifically focused on helping people who do no, or very little, physical activity and groups who are typically less active – like women, disabled people and people on lower incomes.
About Midland Mencap
Midland Mencap is a charity which works and campaigns for accessible and inclusive services and a better quality of life for everyone with experience of learning disabilities and additional needs.
Our vision is a world where everybody is valued and included as active and equal citizens in their community regardless of need.
Tuesday 22nd May
Only 1 week to go until Midland Mencap’s first children and young person’s residential! 24 young people along with staff and volunteers will be heading off to the Frank Chapman Centre in Bewdley to take part in a fun and exciting week of activities from Tuesday 29th May to Friday 1st June.
The Frank Chapman Centre is set in some lovely woodland near the Wyre Forest and has everything we need on site. All of our meals will be provided and we are very much looking forward to the homemade cakes and biscuits!
Our activities during the day will include archery, climbing, orienteering, bushcraft and high ropes. In the evenings we will be doing a night walk, dancing at a disco and having a campfire.
We will be sending out a daily blog from the residential so you can stay up to date with all of our fun antics. This will be posted on the Midland Mencap website so keep your eyes open for more!
Frequent visitors to the Enterprise Hub will certainly have met fresh-faced Oliver Clayton. Seated attentively at reception, you can be sure Ollie will give you a cheerful greeting upon arrival. Get him going on his favourite subjects (hockey and football) and he’ll keep you amused for ages.
Earlier in the year Ollie became the first person to ride one of Midland Mencap’s hand cycles in Sutton Park. “It was quite cold to start off with, in the snow,” he tells me, before going on to say he peddled in the park for ninety minutes. Was he tired and freezing by the finish? Hardly. He cycles every week, thus building strength and stamina.
Ollie is a seriously active man. An avid swimmer and hockey player, he was a key component of the Midland Mencap Flyerz Hockey Team that won Gold in Amsterdam last year at the 2017 Euro ParaHockey Championship. He hopes to match this achievement in Barcelona, in a few weeks.
In 2015 the Big Flyerz became the first team of adults with learning disabilities to represent England in a recognised tournament. All of the signs indicate they will take Barcelona by storm. With Ollie on board how can they fail?
-Tim Wright, Volunteer Reporter-
Over the weekend Sophie Thornhill and Helen Scott won gold and broke a world record at the Rio UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships! Read more about their success on the British Cycling website.
Read below how winning a Helen Scott signed shirt has inspired a young person at Midland Mencap “to ride her bike straight away”!
“As a volunteer for Midland Mencap I get to be involved in lots of great events and spend time with lovely people on a regular basis. It’s the most rewarding thing I do and just before Christmas I saw how it could also have an amazing effect on my ten-year-old daughter.
She came along with me to help out at the ‘Weoley Winterland’ event at the community hub. As well as assisting me with selling jewellery and bows to the many attendees she also enjoyed taking part in the activities and bought herself a raffle ticket.
This turned out to be one of the winning tickets and, being too shy herself, my daughter sent me to collect a prize for her. The one I chose was a cycling shirt signed by Gold Winning Paralympian Tandem Pilot, Helen Scott.
My daughter seemed confused about my choice (I think she had her eye on a box of chocolates!) but when explained what it was she became curious. As soon as we got home we looked up Helen Scott online and found out all about her achievements in tandem cycling in the Paralympics and the Commonwealth Games. My daughter became incredibly excited. She put the shirt on and announced she was going to ride her bike straight away.
Since then, she has told everyone how she won something very special in the raffle at Midland Mencap and she always wears her ‘Helen Scott Cycling Shirt’ for any sporting activity. She’s very proud of it and it’s clear that the story behind it has inspired her.
It goes to show that getting involved at Midland Mencap and the contribution of great role models, like Helen Scott, can make a real difference.”
It’s Tuesday afternoon at the Enterprise Hub and that means ‘Just Desserts’ and the chance for young and not-so-young wannabe chefs to roll up their sleeves and contribute to the making of a sensational sweet treat. Today’s tasty challenge is to create a batch of chocolate brownies to rival those of Domestic Goddess, Nigella.
Kelly has been coming to the Hub for about five years. Spooning butter into a mixing bowl, she tells me she has made lots of new friends here. Eddie says he likes watching MasterChef and loves making chocolate brownies. Louise fills a cup with sugar and enjoys friendly banter with Kelly. Nagina has been coming for an impressive eight years. Her favourite food is chips.
Sam Budd drops an egg into butter and tells me he likes rhubarb crumble. A man of great ambition, Sam would like nothing more than to create a delicious dessert for Leona Lewis. Staff member Tess confirms that only a couple of people attended this class when it first began. Now around twenty people drop-in to hone their culinary skills. One great thing about Just Desserts is that participants can take the recipes home and practice and perfect their favourite items.
Samma is a big fan of The Great British Bake Off. Clearly a chocoholic, she has made chocolate cake and chocolate muffins in the past. Samma is happy to come to the Hub, chat with her friends, and wait patiently for her hard work to emerge from the oven.
You can expect something spooky if you dare to approach Just Desserts at Halloween. Go there at Christmas and you’ll find glorious festive favourites. Thoughts are now turning to Valentine’s Day. So what will it be: Pink and red cookies? Sweet romantic cupcakes? Can’t wait to find out!
Tim Wright, Volunteer Reporter.
Where:
Frank Chapman Centre, Bewdley.
Who:
Ages 11+
Cost:
£150 per person.
We are very excited to offer this residential opportunity during the May Half Term at the Frank Chapman Centre in
Bewdley. You will be staying in spacious dormitories and taking part in a variety of activities including archery, bush-crafts and climbing and many more.
The price includes all meals and activities and can be paid in installments if needed.
For more information and an application form please email
Deborah.Mcgarvey@midlandmencap.org.uk or ring 0121 256 1500