Our Children and Young People's Services teams run a wide range of activities and groups for young people aged 8-25 with a range of disabilities and those on the autism spectrum. We spoke to Jade Fearick, Group Lead for our West Sussex team, about the action-packed holiday programme they ran over the summer and the other groups they offer throughout the year, and how these activities and sessions help to boost the confidence, self-esteem and social skills of the young people who take part. 

"We run activity programmes throughout the school holidays, and it was wonderful to be able to visit places in person once again this summer. Our summer holiday programme was open to all the young people we support and parents and carers could choose from a number of fun activities, including visiting a pick your own farm, an out of bounds activity centre, the Aldingbourne County Centre, Chessington, the Air Arena Trampoline Park, Jumpin Fun Inflatable Park, Lazer Quest and the Art-Ful Pottery Café.  

In addition to our holiday programmes and activities, we run a variety of support groups at weekends and after school across venues in West Sussex. Our Family Fun days at Lodge Hill are also really popular and we offer these throughout the year, and we often go on community outings, such as crazy-golf and beach visits.

Our groups focus on empowering social and communication skills, building confidence, independence and self-esteem, making new friends and having fun, all in a relaxed and informal setting. We offer a safe and welcoming environment for the young people we support, which in turn gives parents and carers peace of mind. 

"There was a very good range of activities on the Aspens’ summer programme. My daughter went to Aldingbourne Country Centre and really enjoyed her trip. It's so nice that she has the chance to attend these activities. As her parent, I know that she will be safe and looked after by excellent staff. Thank you Aspens!” – Parent

Our group sessions include a wide range of activities to encourage the group members to engage as much as possible. Some of our favourites include arts and crafts, lego, team games and sports, music and dancing. The team plans each session thoroughly beforehand and we get feedback from the young people at the end of sessions, which really helps with planning for the future.  We always encourage the young people we support to make suggestions. We send out surveys regularly to find out more about their interests and how they like to spend their free time and plan our activities and outings accordingly.  

“Going to Adingbourne was one of my favourite days out during the Summer Holidays.” – Young person we support

The young people we support are at the heart of everything we do, and we strive to empower their independence by doing activities they love and enjoy."

Jade Fearick, Children & Young People Group Lead, West Sussex

The West Sussex Children & Young People's Services team currently have spaces in the following groups:

• Worthing (8yrs+)
• Young Adults (18-25yrs) Virtual & Community-based
• East Worthing Pre-Teens (11-13yrs)
• North Teenz (14-17yrs) Community-based
• South Teenz (14-17yrs) Community-based
• North Saturday Club (8yrs+) Crawley

For further details please email either [email protected] or [email protected] 

More information on our West Sussex Children & Young People's Services page here.