The IRISMagazine Autumn 2019 IT’S PANTOMIME SEASON! COLOURFUL HANDS CHERISH ME For Parents Of Children And Young People With Special Educational Needs And Disabilities in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire CONTENTS 2 Rumbletums 3 Autumn Recipes 3 Cherish Me 4 It’s Pantomime Season RUMBLETUMS Rumbletums, in Kimberley, is a community hub Colourful Hands with a café and supported training project. The 4 group began eight years ago as an idea between parents of children with learning disabilities and 5 Support and Advice additional needs. They noticed that there was a for the New School lack of opportunities for their children and others like them to develop the skills and experience Year needed to succeed in life and decided to do something about. YOUNG PEOPLE’S ZONE The café opened in 2011, with a fully voluntary staff base and has grown organically over time. Fundraising and 6 - 11 Events generous donations from local people and businesses has meant that the project has been able to grow organically and now employs a number of full-time staff, who work 12 Independent alongside the volunteers and trainees. Living: Travel and Transport The café provides an opportunity for 16-30 year olds with learning disabilities and additional needs, such as physical Nottingham disabilities, to work in a café environment. With a variety of roles to fill, trainees could be working in the kitchen or front of house, depending on their comfort levels, abilities 13 Beauty and preferences. Shifts last a maximum of three hours. Instagrammers with Disabilities Trainees benefit from a wide range of experiences and skills outside the café too. The group has a local allotment, where trainees learn to grow food, and there Charlotte Moves are regular daytrips to see businesses and employability 13 skills in action. Onto Further Education In July, Rumbletums celebrated their eighth birthday and announced the excellent news that they have been awarded a grant of £150,000 from Power to Change. This 14 Wordsearch money means that they are able to buy the building they have rented for eight years and secure the future of the café. The group will also be taking the opportunity to grow 14 Get In Touch the charity and introduce more full-time roles to help with this expansion. The café and community centre is on Victoria Street in Kimberley and regularly hosts events, coffee mornings and activities. For more information, visit rumbletums.org.uk and follow @Rumbletums on Facebook. 2 2 *Please take care when cooking or baking, some recipes use heat or sharp implements. Ask a parent or guardian for help* Marshmallow Snow Men Large white marshmallows Icing pens, in black and orange Cocktail sticks Deluxe Hot Chocolate Strawberry laces Chocolates - a mini Reese's peanut butter 600ml milk cup or other domed chocolate is perfect 142ml pot double cream Skewer the marshmallows together with a 100g chopped chocolate cocktail stick - cut off any of the stick that Mini marshmallows sticks out from the top. Use a little of the icing pen to stick a chocolate button and Pour the milk, double cream and chopped peanut butter cup to the top of each chocolate into a pan. Bring gently to the marshmallow stack, then draw on a face boil, whisking until smooth. Serve topped and 3 dots for buttons. Plait 3 strawberry AUTUMN RECIPES AUTUMN with mini marshmallows if you haven’t laces and tie around the neck for a scarf. eaten them all whilst stirring the Try sticking the snowman onto a cookie with chocolate mix! some icing for an added extra. INTRODUCING CHERISH ME This summer, IRIS met Carolyn Clarke, the founder of Cherish Me, a company set up by a mum who wants to change the way young girls see themselves. Carolyn says: “Cherish Me is a have recently undertaken courses company I started just over three around helping children who have gone years ago with my two daughters, through trauma. With the skills these and I had lots of reasons; from my experiences have given me, I do not personal view, it was to help raise the wish to sit back and not help change self-esteem/worth of young girls – and an issue I have observed. young black girls specifically. Raising “A key aspect of Cherish Me is two daughters myself, I witnessed how creativity. Our brand is recognisable societal standards of beauty scrutinise through our illustrations. Having two girls and black girls are subjected to black girls, I wanted to develop a an even more intense level of scrutiny. journal which included imagery that Particularly, black femininity is often reflected who they are and how they misrepresented or portrayed in a look. I want girls to read my journals negative light. My aim is to change and feel seen, so our illustrations this and that led to the beginning of showcase a range of skin colours, hair Cherish Me. textures and body types. “The name of my brand aims to Journal writing helps children with combat the low self-esteem I have every level of their development. It witnessed in young girls as a mother helps them to develop confidence in and as a professional. I want girls to their writing and helps channel their see the words ’Cherish Me’ and put it emotions. We have recently started into practice and cherish themselves. Cherish Me workshops which build Cherish Me believes that every girl self-esteem through: affirmations, needs to be cherished and should gratitude and self-love activities. Our cherish herself. My overall message is affirmation cards are another product a message of positivity. In my career, that we have to help young girls love I have worked with children and I who they are.” 3 IT’S PANTOMIME SEASON! (Oh, yes it is!) Each year we like to find out what’s going on at theatres over the festive season and how you and your little ones can experience the joy of panto in an accessible way. There are loads of different stories being told across Nottinghamshire, and each promises to be packed full of jokes, songs, dances and the usual fun! Theatre Royal Nottingham – Nottingham Arts Theatre – Nottingham Playhouse – Cinderella Aladdin Sleeping Beauty Starring Les Dennis, Connor Runs from 30/11/2019 to Accessible Performances McIntyre and Gareth Gates 15/12/2019, please contact BSL Interpreted: 12/12/2019 Accessible Performances the venue for accessibility 7:30PM, 14/12/19 2:30 PM Sign Language Interpreted: information. Caption/ Audio Described: 12/12/2019 1:30 PM, 15/12/2019 07/12/2019 2:30PM, 1:30 PM, 03/01/2020 7:15 PM Mansfield Palace Theatre – 11/12/2019 7:30 PM Cinderella Audio Described: Relaxed performance: 14/12/2019 2:30 PM, Starring Melanie Walters 08/01/2020 11:00 AM 05/01/2020 1:30 PM and Adam Moss Relaxed Performance: 30/11/2019 - 05/01/2019, 03/01/2020 2:30 PM contact venue for accessibility information. Captioned: 04/01/2020 2:30 PM COLOURFUL HANDS Colourful hands is a local project founded by Matthew Dolby. The organisation currently provides a range of services for young people with complex additional needs. These include: siblings. His aim is to help people 1 to 1 and 1 to 2 befriending to live fuller lives and overcome services the barriers and issues which are Holding group sessions including commonly experienced by those an animal relaxation group, with SEND needs and their families. siblings group and a structured One of Matthew’s priorities group for the future is to be able to Holidays and day trips during offer employment and training school holidays opportunities to young people with supporting 6 families in the additional needs and disabilities. Founder Matthew draws on his own beginning, to now providing Currently, Colourful Hands has experiences of growing up with support to 100 families in three staff members who identify ADHD and Dyslexia, which fuel his Nottinghamshire. Over the past as being on the Autistic spectrum, passion to provide support services year, Colourful Hands DOLBY has including Matthew, and this is for children with additional needs. been recognised as an approved something he has plans to provider by Nottinghamshire The Colourful Hands team work build upon. with families to provide tailored County Council and is proud to Since starting Colourful Hands packages to support young people, announce a 100% positive in April 2018, the organisation and their parents, carers and feedback rate. has grown very quickly. From To find out more and get in touch with the team at Colourful Hands, email [email protected] or [email protected] or contact Matthew on 07746995731. SUPPORT AND ADVICE FOR THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR It’s been over a month since schools started back, which is plenty of time to know whether things are going well, or if something’s not quite right. We see hundreds of parents and young people each year and know that moving up a year at school, changing school and transitioning between schools can cause stress and bring challenges for students and their parents. Common issues we hear from parents include: Transitioning between schools has not gone well We haven’t had enough information from schools We don’t know how to get the help we need to support our child If your child (or yourself, if you’re a young person) is struggling with the new school year, you’re not alone and there are ways you can get the help and support you need. We usually recommend that you set up a meeting between the school, the school’s SENCO (Special Educational Needs Coordinator) and yourself.