An afternoon of activities entirely conceived, organised and run by a group of teenagers with learning disabilities took place on Thursday 16 August at The Leonard Sainer Children & Family Centre in Redbridge.
The teenagers, who are the members of Norwood's Young People's Focus Group, laid on a range of activities for more than 50 of their peers, who included Norwood service users from London and Berkshire. As well as participating in art, sport and cookery sessions, guests were treated to a disco, a mini-olympics, a visit from the local police force and a performance of juggling and comedy from a children's entertainer. Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur also sent two coaches to the event to run a special football session for the children.
This is the second fun day the group have organised since the Young People's Focus Group was formed in 2005, to bring together young people from a range of Norwood services, giving them a platform to air their views, and the views of their peers, about the services they use. It has also enabled them to take charge of organising events for their fellow service users.
The group members are Sarah (17), Robyn (16), Lauren (16), Talya (12), Daniel (10), Daryll (13), James (19) and Max (14) who use Norwood's services such as Unity, a recreation service for children with disabilities, and Buckets and Spades Lodge, a respite care facility.
Speaking at the event, Young People's Focus Group member Sarah said: "We have had a really fun day. I organised the cookery session and the bean bag toss for the mini-olympics and everything went well. I enjoy being part of the Young People's Focus Group because we get the chance to let people know what we think."
Last year, the Young People's Focus Group received a grant of £132,000 over three years from the Big Lottery Fund. This enabled Norwood to bring in Hayley Shenholds to work with the group on a full-time basis. Hayley supported the group members with their preparations for Thursday's event. She said: "It has been a really successful day. The young people put a lot of hard work into organising today's event and it has all paid off. I hope that the next event will be as successful as this one."
For further information please contact David Wosner, Public Relations Officer at Norwood on 020 8420 6942 or email david.wosner@norwood.org.uk
