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TRANSFORMING LIVES


ORGANISATION Impulse Leisure


PROJECT Short Breaks


children and their families, gives kids a chance to try new activities – from trampolining to aqua therapy, table tennis to football, bouncy castles to multi-sports sessions – while parents have some well-deserved time off. Ten-year-old Joseph Greaves is just


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one child who’s benefited from the scheme. He has classic autism, sensory processing disorder, hyper-mobility and chronic bowel disorder, and has been attending sessions including football, gymnastics, tennis, cricket, basketball and dance for a few years. The multi-sports sessions have helped


make Joseph aware that others may not play the same as him, and he’s learning to accept rules and understand why they are there. His social skills have also improved, along with his listening and turn-taking skills, running ability and hand-eye co-ordination. He’s more confident, more body aware and more aware of other people. He’s now learning to tap dance, which is having a positive effect on his hyper-mobility disorder. In the past, Joseph could become


extremely angry over something that had happened, but this has become less so as his verbal skills have grown and he’s become more confident that the staff, who tailor sessions around his interests, are there to help him. West Sussex has around 4,000


disabled children, young people and their families who are eligible for the scheme. Many live in areas where little provision exists and/or they are excluded due to lack of appropriate transport or costs. Short Breaks funding – part of the government’s Aiming High for Disabled Children programme, designed to transform services for children and young people with disabilities and their families – has enabled Impulse Leisure to increase levels of participation by offering low-cost sessions and activities.


October 2013 © Cybertrek 2013


mpulse Leisure’s Short Breaks initiative has been running across its three West Sussex sites for three years. The scheme, for disabled


Disabled children can try new activities which develop their social skills


Impulse Leisure received the first


batch of funding in 2011, which financed two Fun Days at its Lancing Manor and Southwick sites, and a Fun Day and After School Clubs at Chanctonbury Sport & Leisure, giving the trust valuable insight into what children and young people with disabilities wanted. From this came further funding which


enabled Impulse Leisure to host, at each centre, 40 weeks of after-school activities, 10 weeks of holiday activities, and one weekend open day each year for three years. “You can see the excitement on the


children’s faces when they come through the door, when they stand at reception to sign in and you can see them jittering


on the spot waiting to get into the hall to have fun,” says Elizabeth Clements, a receptionist at Impulse Leisure. The 2012-13 programme supported 70


local families. When asked about their experience of Short Breaks, 65 per cent of the children felt they had improved skills in some areas, 80 per cent said that it had been fun and enjoyable, and 75 per cent said they had become more confident about taking part in activities over the course of the year. “We aim to be a beacon centre for


families to have fun, taking part in well- structured activities tailored to their needs, and research shows the children love the staff and the activities,” says Mike Baden, CEO of Impulse Leisure.


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