Saturday Club (Under 11 years and 11 years plus) - for children and young people with disabilities

Aim of the Service:

Saturday Club aims to provide children with disabilities who require a higher level of support, the opportunity to attend a club that might not otherwise be available to them in the mainstream. The focus is on building friendships and undertaking a range of fun activities and experiences, whilst promoting independence, community safety skills and learning.

There are two Saturday Clubs, both of which operate from Addington Special School in Woodley. Children attend the club one Saturday a month and are carefully matched with a group of children where opportunities to form positive relationships and share similar interests exist.

The club undertakes some activities on site, but also accesses activities and places of interest within the community, enabling the children to have a wide range of experiences. Ideas are generated from the children and young people who attend wherever possible.

Saturday Club runs four Saturdays a month, with the exception of August when the school is used by Thumbs Up Club to deliver their summer play scheme. Sessions run from 10am – 4.30pm.

Saturday Club ask for a voluntary £5 contribution, which is used to fund activities. Parents are requested to provide their child with a packed lunch.

Criteria: Who is this service best placed to support?

• Children with a disability aged under 18 who live in the Wokingham Borough.
• Children who as a result of their disability are not able to easily access mainstream alternatives (without voluntary support or without reasonable adjustments being made by the programme provider). The need for Saturday Club must be identified via a Short Break and Early Help Assessment (from the Short Break and Early Help Team) or a Child and Family Assessment (from a Social Worker).
• Children aged 5- 11 years old can attend the Under 11’s Saturday Club. The club cannot however accept children until the August following their 5^th birthday, as they are not registered as an Early Years Provider.
• Children aged over 11 -18 years old can attend the Over 11’s Saturday Club, provided it continues to meet their needs and those of their family.

Referral Process

• To attend Saturday Club, children will have been assessed by a Short Break and Early Help Co-ordinator or a Social Worker in the CWD Team as requiring this service.
• Requests for service are considered at the disability-specific Children with Additional Needs Multi-Agency Panel (CANMAP) which is held monthly.

If agreed in principle at CANMAP, a home visit will be undertaken and/or a visit to Club arranged to establish whether or not the service is appropriate in meeting the child’s needs. It may be necessary to add the child to the waiting list if a suitable space is currently not available.