Shropshire Parent Carer Council (PACC) started Buddies over five years ago, and it has developed over time. They now run a core Buddies group for the 14 – 25 (ish) age group and Junior Buddies for the 8-14 year old group. A timetable of activities is regularly shared and families can book onto activities via the Buddies Facebook group. The older Buddies particularly enjoy the groups monthly Sunday morning bowling session at Hollywood Bowl in Shrewsbury. They regularly have between 20 and 30 young people join them and the young people have become self-sufficient in managing the games and providing support to each other. Young people joining for the first time are buddied up with young people they may already know or who are in the same age group. All this happens while parent carers catch up with each other and have a hot drink. Parent carers say this is a great way to find out information about what other support is available and what the future might look like for their young person with SEND. In addition to the bowling, Buddies have held a number of one-off events to celebrate birthdays, arranged walks at Attingham Park, visits to the Theatre, yoga sessions and discos. Junior Buddies have hosted easter celebrations, soft play sessions and sensory story telling. The groups are run by Annie, Sarah Denise and Ruth, who are all parent carers who work and volunteer for PACC. Parent carers remain responsible for providing young people with any support needed, but we encourage peer support between the young people and in some cases parent carers have made individual arrangements to support each others children, so that they don’t always have to attend activities. Activities are self-funded and are organised with a view to accessing concessions and being cost effective. If you would like to join Buddies request to join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/385779525302027 or contact us on enquiries@paccshropshire.org.uk https://www.facebook.com/groups/385779525302027 https://www.facebook.com/ShropsPACC Shropshire Parent Carer Council website http://www.paccshropshire.org.uk/ Referral Required? No We're sorry but <%= htmlWebpackPlugin.options.title %> doesn't work properly without JavaScript enabled. Please enable it to continue.
