FAMILY
Jack
“Along with the school, which ”
Nineteen-year-old Jack Mitchell has quadriplegic CP which affects both his arms and legs; he is also non-verbal and uses an eye gaze speech device to communicate. But, during lockdown, he raised almost £3,000 for Paces after creating and selling wooden candle holders, clocks and cactus pots from his man shed at home.
All monies raised by Tobias, Lennie and Jack will go towards their appeal to move into a new and improved facility in 2022. The current building needs modernising and is too small for demand; Paces sadly has to turn many families away every year due to capacity. Moving the school would mean that Paces can support up to three times as many families. The facilities will include a multi-purpose hall, sensory room and a music and games room. There are currently around 40 children who attend the school, based in High Green, Sheffield. Pupils come from all over Yorkshire and Derbyshire, with some commuting over two hours each day. But these are children who may have been told they’d never sit, stand or walk, so mileage is such a small sacrifice for parents and carers to make for the invaluable opportunities their children receive at Paces. Some kids attend Paces full-time, while others combine it with mainstream schooling. There is also an outreach programme for non-school age children with development delays, so children have access to specialist support much earlier in childhood. The
welcomes children from early years through to secondary, the Paces charity also supports adults
children are supported by a team of dedicated staff across both the school and charity.
The children are like one big family and are all proud of each other’s progress and achievements. They love nothing more than joining in with the weekly Selfie Saturday photo share on social media and their Facebook page is filled with photos of smiling, happy faces. Along with the school, which welcomes children from early years through to secondary, the Paces charity also supports adults with brain injuries. Within five years of opening, Paces established their Conductive Living day service to help their school leavers transition into adulthood using the same CE principles as the school. In 2009, they then launched a sessional service for people with acquired brain injuries - those resulting from conditions like stroke, Parkinson’s and MS - to enable service users to relearn skills they may have lost as a result of their injury. And this March, Paces was proud to have opened a brand-new adult facility at Smithy Wood Business Park in Chapeltown. It was officially opened by life-long Paces family members, Kirstin Hague and Sarah Perrin, whose parents were founders of Paces back in 1997.
The larger centre will now allow for three-times as many adults to be supported, as well as capacity to develop an interim young adults’ service for people aged between 18-25. For both adult groups, there is
New Adult Facility at Smithy Woods
a strong focus on independence, particularly in home and work life. This may include things like how to do laundry, order groceries or catch a bus. There is also time for enriching activities such as arts and crafts. The new centre will teach independence and help to promote life-skills such as cooking, baking, ordering the weekly shopping, preparing delicious recipes. Paces really is an extraordinary place where children and adults facing life-changing diagnoses can build relationships and achieve their potential. And while the amazing efforts by Captain Tobias, Lennie and Jack have set the bar for pupil’s dedication to their school, the charity couldn’t operate without continued support from their patrons, charity champions and donations from the public.
The charity team is always looking for people who are up for a challenge to join their regular #TeamPaces events from skydives to a mountain climb. But there are also plenty of ways you can show your support from the comfort of your sofa.
For more information about Paces and the brilliant work they do to support children and families living with cerebral palsy, see their website
www.pacessheffield.org.uk aroundtownmagazine.co.uk 47
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