To mark Learning Disability Week 2011 (20-26 June), Norwood is organising a range of activities to raise awareness about the issues that affect people with a learning disability. Norwood believes that people with a learning disability should be given every opportunity to live the life they choose. Norwood recently restructured its Adult Learning Disability Services to focus more on those services, such as Life Long Learning and Supported Living, that help people to achieve greater choice and control in their lives.
Special events organised for Learning Disability Week 2011 include:
• A group of Norwood service users and staff will be promoting the charity’s social enterprise projects, include an online gift shop, at the Harlequin Shopping Centre in Watford on Tuesday, 21 June. The following day, Wednesday, 22 June, residents from Ravenswood, Norwood’s residential community in Berkshire, will be taking part in a jewellery making workshop in Bracknell town centre which will be open to members of the public. Social enterprise projects like jewellery making aim to give people with a learning disability the opportunity to help run a business, learn new skills and, potentially, earn an income from their endeavours. The projects are part of Norwood’s supported employment programme, which help people to access training and employment opportunities to develop skills and, where possible, find paid jobs. A recent study showed that although 65 per cent of adults with a learning disability in the UK would like to work, only one in 10 is in paid employment.
• Also on 21 June:
o Norwood’s life long learning team has organised a special cycling workshop in Redbridge for adults with a learning disability. It follows on from the success of Get on Your Bike, a Norwood scheme which last year gave more than 300 people the opportunity to have fun on a bike and learn new skills, such as cycling proficiency and bike maintenance. The project, which has received additional funding this year, also provided training to Norwood staff in order to ensure its long-term continuation.
o Members of Links, Norwood’s recreational group for adults with a learning disability, will be manning a stall at a Happy Healthy Fun Day in North Finchley, which is an event for people and their carers to experience a range of activities and therapies on offer in the Barnet area.
• Residents at Ravenswood, Norwood’s residential community for people with a learning disability in Berkshire, are taking part in a fun sports day at Bracknell Sports Centre on Wednesday, 29 June. Events are ability-banded and include a wheelchair 50m push, a wheelchair bean bag or cricket ball throw and running and walking races over various distances. On Thursday, 23 June, a team from Ravenswood will also be taking part in a 5-a-side football tournament organised by the Wokingham Partnership Board at the Acorn Centre in Wokingham. Norwood organises a wide range of activities as part of its extensive multi-sport and leisure programme. Through such events, the people who use Norwood’s services are able to learn new skills and, in turn, this helps to improve their confidence and self-esteem.
Norma Brier, Norwood’s Chief Executive, said: “Norwood believes that everyone, regardless of ability or circumstance, has the right to make their own choices in life and fulfil their potential. We are committed to ensuring that all our services provide those who use them with every opportunity to learn new skills, have a greater say over what they do and where they live, and become as independent as possible.”
