Youngsters at a Leeds special school will be able to make the most of the spring and summer this year, thanks to a grant from the Yorkshire Young Achievers Foundation.John Jamieson School in Oakwood caters for more than 230 pupils aged from three to 19, all of who have special needs, including physical disabilities, sensory impairments, autism and degenerative medical conditions.
The grant will go towards providing outdoor trikes, bikes and ride-ons for primary school children.
Assistant Principal Vicky Fisher said: “We passionately believe that play is important for our children to enable them to build social relationships, speech and language and communications skills, motor development and for their social, emotional and mental well-being. We have limited but precious outdoor space and are currently working hard to develop play provision in school.”
The primary pupils spend time on the bikes and trikes throughout playtimes and lunchtimes. Many choose to use them for their “reward” time, and they are also used when children are struggling to focus in lessons and need a break.
The grant from the Yorkshire Young Achievers Foundation will provide 16 bikes or trikes, along with role play road safety accessories to help with work on road safety.
In addition, a series of play panels will be added to Jenny’s Playground, a new play area at the school which opened last year.
The grant was presented by Foundation Vice-Chairman Richard Stroud, who said: “This is a fantastic project. When I was shown round the school I was incredibly impressed by the dedication and commitment of all the staff in very challenging situations and I am delighted we can help them to make a difference for their pupils.”
Yorkshire Young Achievers Foundation grants are made to young people aged under 35 across the whole of Yorkshire and anyone who would like to apply can find details here
The main fundraiser for the grants is the annual Yorkshire Young Achievers Awards. The 27th Awards take place on Thursday 7 November 2019.