During the February half-term our Pathway Programme team hosted four-days of fun, jam-packed with Valentine’s themed activities and learning.

Our Pathway Programme works with children and young people Aged 5 to 17 with additional needs or disabilities. The needs-led person-centred curriculum pivots around the development of socio-emotional skills that enables participants transitional access to our Universal Programme over time.

What better excuse to bake heart-shaped biscuits than Valentine’s Day?

We invest a lot of time working with the children and young people around their sensory issues. Sensory stimulation is something that can trigger children’s negative emotions, so providing positive opportunities such as baking and cooking give the children an opportunity to explore different textures, smells and eventually tastes! The promise of a tasty end-result is always a great incentive, too – and what better excuse to bake heart-shaped biscuits than Valentine’s Day?!

Youth Workers spent time enabling young people to explore who their loved-ones are, and why they might be thankful. Young people were given an opportunity to write a message of love in their hand-made Valentine’s Cards to those closest to them, helping to solidify the importance of their relationships before having a go at being Cupid and firing the Bow & Arrow!

In almost all cases, we have young people that can really benefit from opportunities to develop their motor skills, so a carefully selected series of games and activities are all designed to offer an achievable but challenging level of skill for our children, from Skee Ball and Parachute Games to Face Painting and Crafting.

If you would like to find out more information about our Pathway Programme you can visit the dedicated page on our website.