Focus4SEN Treats Families to a Memorable Day by the Sea.

A local Brighouse support group Focus4SEN, a branch of the non-profit organisation Focus4Hope, gave families a day to remember as they headed to the sunny coastal town of Llandudno.

Focus4SEN is a free-to-attend support group for parents or carers with children who have additional needs such as autism and ADHD or other special educational needs and disabilities.

On Wednesday 9th August, families and volunteers from the group filled up three mini-buses and drove to North Wales for a fun-filled day at the beach.

When the trio of buses arrived at Llandudno, the Mayor and Mayoress of Llandudno, Cllr Greg J T Robbins and Debbie Robbins were there to greet the families and wish them all a fantastic day at the seaside.

The children were bought buckets and spades to make sandcastles with and they were particularly interested in looking in the rock pools, hunting for sea creatures to add to their buckets before safely returning them.

It was a day many of the children and parents don’t get to experience often, particularly due to the stress of an unfamiliar environment, which can make day trips challenging, especially alone, but with the help of the wonderful volunteers and other families, everyone banded together to help each other out.

Lyndsey, a mum who regularly attends the Focus4SEN group, said:

“It was a trip to take away every bad day we’ve had this year. I felt supported, we’re like an extended family.”

Her son, Frankie, aged 5, enjoyed the trip so much, he wanted to get the bus back the next day.

The parents loved seeing their children playing with other like-minded children, getting along and free from judgement.

The day was a huge success, the long trip home was filled with many happy smiles, snoozes and a trip to McDonald’s  – playing in the sea all day works up quite the appetite!

The trip to Llandudno was generously funded through The National Lottery Community Fund and VAC – Voluntary and Community, a local charity supporting and strengthening the positive impact of the Voluntary and Community Sector.

Focus4SEN runs fortnightly on Wednesdays, 10 am-11:30 am in Brighouse. To book your place please email nic@focus4hope.org or call 07889 676155.

Follow Focus4SEN on Facebook

Share

Subscribe

VAC + Membership

What's included?

You will receive a VAC Member welcome pack with useful information on getting the most out of your membership and a few extra treats!

Every member of VAC will be invited to our Annual General Meeting (AGM) and has voting rights for resolutions and proposals either in person or by proxy.

When you sign up to be a VAC Member, you will be assigned a Go-To Contact from the VAC team.

They will be your main point of contact for your membership, helping to answer questions and signposting you to the right place within VAC and/or our partnerships.

We want the VAC membership offer to be responsive to the needs of our members.  Member check ins keep us up to date on your organisation’s news and developments but also on any challenges or support gaps that may be affecting the VCSE sector.

The information we receive during our member check ins will highlight trends and challenges that we can then explore support and solutions for via our membership offer and partnerships with local providers and authorities.

To support VAC members to feel connected and informed, we have created a unique Member Area on the VAC Website.

The online dashboard will keep you and your colleagues up to date on the latest member opportunities, training and news.

The Member Area also has a forum function, allowing VAC Member organisations to interact and support each other.

A quarterly newsletter to keep our members up to date on not only VAC Membership updates and opportunities but also specifically created content on topics of interest to the local voluntary, community and social enterprise sector. 

The Bimonthly Member Network is for VAC Members to connect with other VAC Members!

A perfect opportunity to support one another, find out about other local services and explore new collaborative opportunities and partnerships with fellow VAC members.

40% Discount on VAC Room Hire – We offer a range of flexible rooms for hire located in Halifax, West Yorkshire. Our rooms include a fully equipped, large training room with SMART board and flipchart facilities seating up to 25 theatre style, two smaller meeting rooms seating up to 12 and a small office with computer facilities suitable for one-to-one meetings or rent-a-desk.

25% Discount on Virtual Office – Perfect for start ups or smaller organisations, our Virtual Office service offers a postal address, pigeonhole and reception facilities.

25% Discount on ID Badge Printing – Competitively priced to accommodate for smaller orders, our in-house ID Badge service supports both design and printing.

Based on feedback and insight we gain from our members, our training and events offer will complement local infrastructure support training programmes.

All sessions are cost effective and VCSE sector driven.  As a VAC + Member, you will receive a considerable discount on all VAC Training and Events.

VAC Membership

What's included?

You will receive a VAC Member welcome pack with useful information on getting the most out of your membership and a few extra treats!

Every member of VAC will be invited to our Annual General Meeting (AGM) and has voting rights for resolutions and proposals either in person or by proxy.

When you sign up to be a VAC Member, you will be assigned a Go-To Contact from the VAC team.

They will be your main point of contact for your membership, helping to answer questions and signposting you to the right place within VAC and/or our partnerships.

We want the VAC membership offer to be responsive to the needs of our members.  Member check ins keep us up to date on your organisation’s news and developments but also on any challenges or support gaps that may be affecting the VCSE sector. 

The information we receive during our member check ins will highlight trends and challenges that we can then explore support and solutions for via our membership offer and partnerships with local providers and authorities.

To support VAC members to feel connected and informed, we have created a unique Member Area on the VAC Website.

The online dashboard will keep you and your colleagues up to date on the latest member opportunities, training and news.

The Member Area also has a forum function, allowing VAC Member organisations to interact and support each other.

A quarterly newsletter to keep our members up to date on not only VAC Membership updates and opportunities but also specifically created content on topics of interest to the local voluntary, community and social enterprise sector. 

The Bimonthly Member Network is for VAC Members to connect with other VAC Members!

A perfect opportunity to support one another, find out about other local services and explore new collaborative opportunities and partnerships with fellow VAC members.

20% Discount on VAC Room Hire – We offer a range of flexible rooms for hire located in Halifax, West Yorkshire. Our rooms include a fully equipped, large training room with SMART board and flipchart facilities seating up to 25 theatre style, two smaller meeting rooms seating up to 12 and a small office with computer facilities suitable for one-to-one meetings or rent-a-desk.

Competitive rate on ID Badge Printing – Competitively priced to accommodate for smaller orders, our in-house ID Badge service supports both design and printing.

Based on feedback and insight we gain from our members, our training and events offer will complement local infrastructure support training programmes.

All sessions are cost effective and VCSE sector driven.