At Minstead Trust we nurture the unique potential of people with learning disabilities. We support them to achieve greater independence and live happier and healthier lives. This can be through support to live in their own homes, learning new skills at day opportunities or receiving work training to move towards employment.
Minstead Trust supports over 300 people with learning disabilities to develop skills that allow them to gain greater independence and lead fulfilled lives.
We support people to choose work, life and health and well-being goals on our independence scale and help them to work towards achieving these goals.
These ‘12 month’ projects started in January 2022 and offer the following opportunities:
– Supportive & safe environment for those participating
-An opportunity to find your passions and set your own goals for the growing seasons
-Supported learning with personalised projects, aims and outcomes
-12-month placements (reviewed annually with your keyworker)
-Be part of a team to grow flowers, fruit or vegetables
-Evidence your progress and plans
-Easy to access location via public transport
-Promote good physical and mental health and nurture wellbeing
-The project is supported by ‘Boscombe Connect Day Opportunities’
Please contact us for any information on this wonderfully inclusive and exciting project.
For an informal visit please call 01202 228500 or contact the project lead on [email protected]
This unique Project offers adults with learning disabilities the opportunity to be involved in the production and service of hot school lunches for King’s Park Academy in Boscombe. For almost 20 years we have worked in partnership with the school and developed a quality service, highly valued by the school and local community. With a dedicated key worker for each client, our experienced staff team provide support, training and guidance to promote independence, help people grow in confidence, and to gain new skills. Activities include:
Food Preparation
Food service
Kitchen Hygiene
Setting up the dining area
Working with other adults
All staff are committed to supporting diversity by ensuring all ages, sex, race, disability, sexual orientation, ethnic origin, religion, or spiritual diversities are always acknowledge and respected.
Trainees can attend up to 3 days per week and are expected to participate fully in a skills based training program.
The Kitchen Project team can be contacted on 01202 727963.
The CRUMBS Project is a charitable foundation dedicated to supporting disadvantaged adults by providing learning and development programmes which enable them to develop a wide range of professional and life skills, increase their confidence and self-esteem and to prepare for employment and independent living.
We support adults with learning disabilities, mental health issues, stabilised addictions, or brain injuries to learn employment and life skills through professionally recognised training in food production & service, housekeeping or administration and provide opportunities for trainees to achieve Institute of Hospitality endorsed awards.
We support people to access many activities both inside and throughout our community. We are aware of the need to be physically healthy so provide sporting opportunities through the week including swimming, football, cricket, bowling etc. We also have a focus on independent living skills so encourage people to people to develop their cooking and money skills.
Social relationships are key with the service we provide and by using group activities such as drama, art, film making and music, we help people develop and maintain friendships.
We run Social evenings, outings and holidays to further expand our range of social and independence- building opportunities.
Person centred approach- we will work with you and your parents or carers to best support you. We offer a key worker scheme as well as individual support plans to make sure we understand your needs. We are an independent service so can offer the flexibility to meet most peoples needs.
Awesome Nights is a weekly youth club for young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) from the ages for 13 to 18-years old.
The group chooses its own weekly activities on a Wednesday, usually between 7-9pm. Popular activities include swimming, meals together, trips out, movie nights, games, crafts, and themed activities at our centre in West Moors.
Coping with CHAOS supports the whole family, so all children and young people have equal access to play sessions and suitable activities to have fun together.
We provide for children and young adults with complex, profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD) and challenging behaviour that cannot easily access other resources and play schemes. We also provide help and support, information and advice, friendships, and short-term respite care for families and carers who look after a child or children with disabilities
A variety of staffed play sessions are held at different locations throughout the county including play/leisure centes, local attractions, special schools and at our own Families Centre in West Moors.
Parents and carers must stay at all session venues but have the opportunity to meet others in a similar situation. Our play support workers, the CHAOS crew, will support your children. Siblings are welcome to attend but remain the responsibility of their parents/carer. This hopefully allows parents to take a break and enjoy a tea or coffee.
Coping with CHAOS, Bond Avenue, West Moors, Ferndown, BH22 0LL
We provide dental services in Somerset and Dorset for adults and children with additional needs. These may include people with learning disabilities and certain mental health, medical or physical health problems.
Our Somerset service also provides treatment for people who have moderate to severe dental phobia, along with minor surgery under local anaesthetic for smaller operations such as removing wisdom teeth, impacted teeth and other procedures such as biopsies.
People are usually referred to our services through a general dental practitioner or another health care professional. If you or a family member or carer feel you would benefit from our service, please contact us for further advice. Some people will attend our service for their long term dental care where others (and particularly children) may return to their general dental practitioner once they have completed a course of treatment.
We provide a fresh, structured day club to help explore and improve new and existing creative talents:
It costs just £40.00 per day with reductions available for self funded individuals. We offer a free trial session for all new members.
In certain circumstances, we can offer half day sessions – please contact us for more information!
Poole Park Pavilion Poole Park Parkstone Road BH15 2SE
Positive Path Foundation is a charity set up to support the development of friendship, social skills, independence and work opportunities for high functioning individuals with both learning difficulties and physical challenges. We help individuals aged 12+ with special needs, poor mental health, anxiety, stress, panic attacks and low self-esteem. Parents of children displaying challenging behaviour, aggression, and mental health issues.
We also offer therapy, mentoring, sibling support, play therapy and time out to assist the entire family living with special needs. Support and guidance is also offered to parents of children upon diagnosis, assisting parents navigate their next steps for their child. We can offer support in the practicalities, therapies and coping strategies.
The New Cabin, Station Road, Sway, Lymington, SO41 6AA
The club runs a session for Adults with learning disabilities every Saturday from the NEW time of 1.30pm – 2.30pm. The cost of each session is £6.00.
The session is designed to be fun and active and is available for all abilities. Two coaches and several volunteers run the session.
Parents and careers are welcome to use the club house where tea and coffee and homemade cakes are served!!
If you have any difficulty in paying this amount please contact the club where help is available.
It is critical to our work to ensure that the voice of people who have Down’s syndrome is heard and that they lead and direct the focus of our work.
People who have Down’s syndrome are at the heart of all that we do and fully participate at every level of the organisation.
Learn more about our work which has been summarised in the following areas:
The farm is targeted towards adults (18+) with learning difficulties and we currently support both Men and Women of ages, from 18 through to 65. We can offer support for a larger variety of needs so please get in contact to find out if we can help you.
Our clients work in groups of service users with one of our members of staff, assisting with a whole range of jobs across the farm. Every day is different but some of the jobs that clients take part in can be seen below.
Holtwood Community Farm Pondhead Lane Holtwood Holt BH21 7DX
We are a therapeutic farm in Longham, Ferndown. With the experienced guidance and support from our Staff and the generosity of our Volunteers we offer a day service to members of the public living with mental health issues, physical disabilities, addiction, Alzheimer & dementia diagnosis, brain injury, vision & hearing impairment, autism, children excluded from school, Parkinson’s and learning difficulties to engage in an array of interesting activities on the farm.
We work alongside local businesses, churches, social services, local authorities, schools, universities, organisations and charities. We are open to the public to purchase fresh seasonal vegetables, our own honey, eggs & kindling, from our on site Farm Shop.
Some of High Mead Farm’s Therapeutic Activities include:
Fortune College is a specialist college for young people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities aged 16-25. The college’s Further Education Through Horsemastership (FETH) Course offers an educational residential/day programme, working with horses, that prepares young people with learning disabilities to live as independently as possible and participate in their local community. The college provides the opportunity to achieve accredited qualifications, develop communication skills, independent living skills, self-confidence and skills for working life.
These HUBs offer fun and enjoyable cricket sessions for both learning and physically disabled participants. These sessions are run by highly committed and qualified coaches.
Ferndown Leisure Centre
Currently run sessions fun indoor sessions every Friday at 17:00pm – 18:00pm
@ Ferndown Leisure Centre, Cherry Grove, Ferndown, Dorset, BH22 9EZ
Contact – Andy Sill on 01202 877468 or via email on [email protected]
Cost – £4 a session
Broadstone Cricket Club
We currently run fun outdoor sessions on a Thursday at 17:00pm – 18:00pm starting from April 2022 at Broadstone CC, Delph Woods.
Come along to enjoyable and exciting cricket coaching sessions. All coaches are enthusiastic and experienced in dealing with minor and severe disabled participants.
If you are interested in joining us or would like more information please contact us.
Contact – Dorset Cricket Board via [email protected] or [email protected]
Our Day Services are based in the heart of the local community and offer a great range of activities and support designed to keep people healthy and well for as long as possible. They are inclusive and open to all adults, regardless of age or disability.
Our buildings and facilities are accessible to people of all abilities, and our Day Services offer a range of community based services, and community projects.
Loring Road, Christchurch, BH23 2GZ
SFHT offers a wide range of services to people with a learning disability through our residential home, a day time personal development programme and our supported living services.
SFHT now supports more than one hundred people across all our services.
SFHT was established in 1980 by a group of families whose young adult children had learning disabilities. Over time three houses were purchased in the Southbourne area of Bournemouth as more people sought services with the charity and day services were set up to offer meaningful daytime activities.
We now operate 8 supported living services, one residential home at Bisterne and have 3 day service locations.
People First Dorset was set up in 2004, as a user led charity, supporting people with learning disabilities to develop their self-advocacy skills.
We achieve the above by providing friendship, fun, support groups, forums, easy read and quality checking services. People with learning disabilities should be assured of their independence, their ability to choose, and their inclusion in community life. This requires confidence, communication skills and the ability to challenge.
We currently run the following projects:
2 Herringston Barn, Herringston, Dorchester, Dorset DT2 9PU United Kingdom
The services we provide range from round-the-clock care to helping someone join in with local leisure activities, providing advice and information on things like employment and education, helping someone to live independently for the first time, and even things like reporting a crime to the police.
In a nutshell, we try to help in any area of a person’s life where they need support.
Learning Disability Helpline
Our free helpline service offers advice and support for people with a learning disability, and their families and carers: 0808 808 1111
We run a huge variety of workshops, classes, events and projects for both young and old, in schools and in communities, with particular emphasis on reaching people who are vulnerable or disadvantaged and would not normally be able to access arts and culture. In addition, we care for 2.5 million objects that relate to Hampshire’s rich and internationally important cultural heritage.
Hampshire Cultural Trust Chilcomb House Chilcomb Lane Winchester SO23 8RB
The charity’s objects are to promote any charitable purpose for the benefit of persons who have a learning disability in the county of Dorset.
The principal activities of the charity are:
● Promoting self advocacy for Forum members so that they can individually and collectively express their needs and aspirations.
● Enabling the Forum members to influence initiatives and policies which affect their lives.
● Providing information to members and the wider community about the Forum and the lives of people with learning disabilities.
Rossmore Leisure Centre, Herbert Avenue, Poole, Dorset,BH12 4HR
What is the Family Carer Support Service?
Hft’s Family Carer Support Service (FCSS) is a free information and support service for family carers with an autistic relative or a relative with a learning disability. To avail of our service, their relative must be aged 16 years or older and living in England.
We can help in the following ways:
-Ongoing one-to-one support via telephone and email
-Email and letter writing
-Resources designed to simplify complicated topics
-Bespoke workshops about subjects affecting family carers and their relative
-Information and guidance with common topics
5/6 Brook Office Park , Folly Brook Road, Emersons Green, Bristol BS16 7FL
Play Activities for children with disabilities and their parent/carers, including siblings, during school holidays and weekends. Age birth to 18 years old.
We are a social, leisure and learning club for adults 18+ with learning and related disabilities based at Embassy Centre, Winton.
We offer a relaxed place to meet and make friends, arts and crafts, sports and fitness, games and socialising, music, pool table, computer skills, workshops, community days out – theres always lots going on!
Sessions are:
Thursday 10.30 – 1
Friday 10.30 – 1
Alternate Saturdays 6-8pm
We have lottery funding so sessions are free to members until end March 2022. Numbers are limited so please get in touch with Anna to book a place.
Community and Buildings-based activities for all adults with an additional need.
Operating Monday – Friday, 9.30 – 3.30pm we support adults with additional needs to get pursue their outcomes whilst their carers get much needed respite.
From art to abseiling, swimming to sewing, drama to discos.
