Newsletter Issue 5
It’s the fifth issue of our newsletter! We hope you find them useful to catch up with everything we are doing.
Don’t forget to subscribe to get regular updates!
SHOP NOW OPEN!
Easy, Guided, Pre-cut Resources!
Finally! We’re offering pre-made boxes of the activity resources for the Learning for Life series ‘Growing Up and Keeping Safe’. Including:
Every resource required to do the activities in the entire Growing up and Keeping Safe series
A range of rooms, doors, and people for public and private activities - to build your own house!
A range of people, ready cut out to use in your house (including a lady for the toilet!)
Male and female body templates with additional clothes - all pre-cut so you can add the clothes on!
And so much more!
Find all the details and pre-order for delivery by December 1st, by visiting the shop!
BLACK FRIDAY DEAL
Snap up a Printed Resource Pack at just £75 with our Black Friday Offer - simply use the code BLACKFRIDAY to redeem your discount.
Discount available from TODAY (25th November) through to 11:59pm on the 29th November.
TWO new Learning for Life series!
Wow - two brand new series in Learning for Life. We are getting through the primary RSE curriculum! Our new series, Families and Understanding Health & Prevention, are some we are very proud of and would love to hear your feedback on.
Take a look at Jess, who so fantastically describes her family tree alongside James and Amanda, is the ‘Your Family’ video.
Don’t worry Teach Me Too users, something new is coming for you in the new year… our new series, ‘Maths Before Numbers’, made alongside the incredible Trina from 21 Together and Karen McGuigan from Maths for Life.
“I have never seen such excellent resources for puberty and it was extremely helpful in supporting a pupil with ASD and global developmental delays
the parents have begged CAMHS for support are so relieved and say they feel so supported and are seeing a massive difference in their child”
Down's Syndrome Association
Two important upcoming webinars from the Down’s Syndrome Association; one for professionals (left) and one for parents (right), on vision and hearing respectively. Both of these webinars are totally free to access.
Vision in people who have Down’s syndrome
For health care professionals, with Dr Margaret Woodhouse
Friday 29th November, 12-1pm
FREE
Hearing in children who have Down’s syndrome
For parents, with Mr Patrick Sheehan, consultant ENT surgeon
Tuesday 3rd December, 2-3pm
FREE
Girl smiling against a yellow background, with the description of the vision webinar.
Young boy smiling, with a description of the hearing webinar.
Sign up early to be a part of our Dragon Boat fundraiser in July 2025! Enter a team, a small group/individual, or sponsor a boat! Learn more here.
Spotlight!
Down Syndrome Cheshire
Down Syndrome Cheshire is small local charity that makes a positive difference to the lives of over 300 children and adults with Down syndrome and their families in Cheshire.
The organisation was founded in 2007 by a group of parents who have children with Down syndrome and who realised how important it was to connect with other people to share experiences. The aim of the group is to unlock the potential of people with Down syndrome and empower them to live the life they chose by challenging perceptions, creating opportunities and educating the wider community. (We love this - our missions are so well aligned!)
The charity provides opportunities for parents, careers, siblings and extended family networks to have fun in a fully inclusive environment where a person with Down syndrome is one of many rather than one of few. This is achieved through family peer support and activities; educational advocacy and training; professional services and therapies, and life skills and employability.
Some very young members of the Down Syndrome Cheshire group playing with bubbles.
A few members of the Down Syndrome Cheshire team and the ‘I Choose’ board, including local MP for Mid Cheshire, Andrew Cooper.
Recently, DS Cheshire have been using the Learning for Life materials with their 18+ members. Employment & enterprise lead, Lucy McLaren, is hosting a series of mini-seminars delivered using the first series of the project, Growing Up and Keeping Safe. Structured as informal and interactive weekly sessions, they cover a wide range of topics centred around the personal development of our young adult members.
Learning for Life provides critical teaching on key social and emotional development areas, and we're delighted to say that our members engaged brilliantly, with everyone demonstrating a better understanding of the subject areas discussed over the course of the sessions.
“Learn and Thrive is amazing 😍 our son used the dancing video instead of attending school Sports Day & it’s now a regular activity as the songs are all his favourites 💕”
Our Trustees
Fond farewell to Karen
We have recently said a fond goodbye to trustee Karen McGuigan, who stepped away from her role in October. She will always be a supporter from the sidelines, and is still in the process of helping us create our upcoming Teach Me Too series ‘Maths Before Numbers’.
We wish her all the success with her business Maths for Life and are so grateful to her for all her support and drive from day one with Learn and Thrive.
[Image: left to right, Nikki, Jo, Karen, and Maja at the Oarsome Maths Mission fundraiser in July]
Donor
We are so pleased to have received invaluable funding from the City Bridge Foundation. Their donation enabled us to fund the ‘Families’ series in Learning for Life, already enjoyed by so many of you, our users.
Thank you to City Bridge for funding this project!