Dev Team

There will be even more opportunities for people of all abilities to saddle up in Stratford, thanks to funding from Sport England.

Heart of England, which supports local people with learning disabilities, has been granted more than £4,000 to add to its growing fleet of accessible bikes – which are available for free inclusive cycling sessions, open to all each week on Stratford’s Recreation Ground.

The grant – totalling £4022 – has come from Sport England’s Together Fund, set up to tackle some of the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly around minority groups gaining access to sport, leisure and social community activities. 

It will enable Heart of England Mencap to purchase two new trikes, safety equipment and adaptive cycle training for nine of the charity’s employees – meaning it’s weekly Cyc-Ability sessions can gear up for even more riders in the New Year.

Kate Buttrick, Health & Wellbeing Programme Manager for Heart of England Mencap, said:

“When we heard about the funding we applied straight away. We’d like to say a big thank you to Sport England on behalf of everyone who gets so much out of our Cyc-Ability sessions already – and a big thank you to Royal Mencap Society who were instrumental in facilitating this grant for us too.

“The money will have a huge impact, meaning Heart of England Mencap is able to reach more people with a learning disability or autism, who still face many barriers engaging with social and physical activities in their community. We believe that any person, of any ability, should have the opportunity to enjoy having fun in their community and that’s what Cyc-Ability is all about.”

Heart of England Mencap’s fleet of bikes includes side-by-side cycles and a wheelchair adapted trike, with a team of specially trained staff on hand to help everyone saddle up safely.

Cyc-Ability is open to all, with free sessions on the Recreation Ground from 10.30-12 every Thursday. Evening and weekend sessions can be arranged too. For more information call Kate on 07791 394276 or email kbuttrick@heartofenglandmencap.org.uk

More freedom to get outdoors and be part of the community – two of the driving forces behind a big move to a new base for Pathway in Warwick.

Pathway is our day activity service providing meaningful leisure and learning opportunities to adults with learning and physical disabilities.

After a brilliant 8 years at WarwickSpace, Pathway is now running from the HQ of the 2nd Warwick Sea Scouts in St Nicholas Park.

The hope is that the new base will allow Heart of England Mencap to expand its day services in Warwick, opening more days each week and offering more activities – especially out in the community as Lorna Hayes, our Head of Community Day Services, explains:

“The space at the sea scout headquarters is absolutely fantastic for us – not only giving us more room to enhance our indoor activities like cooking or upcycling projects, but crucially it’s about the outside space too – like having the freedom to go out for an Autumn walk. We also want to start up accessible cycling sessions in the park, as we have done in Stratford.”

“Being part of the community and being positive faces within the community for adults with disabilities is hugely important to us and to the people we support,” added Activities Coordinator Shivorne Poole.

“One of our customers took two buses on their own for the first time to get to our new venue because they wanted to be part of it so much. We are looking forward to a wonderful, fulfilling future.”

The new partnership is key for the 2nd Warwick Sea Scouts too, keen to use their new £1.1 million headquarters to benefit the community as much as possible.

Group Chair Viv Bosworth said: “We are delighted that Heart of England Mencap is able to use our building to provide its hugely important service.  It was wonderful to meet with the dedicated team and to understand how they will be able to use the space to enhance what they can deliver for their customers.  A big part of our project to build our new Scout HQ was based around being able to offer local organisations a new community space, and it is wonderful to see this partnership getting off to such a great start.”

Pathway currently runs every Monday and Friday, providing a place where people with learning disabilities can come together to access new opportunities and take part in a wide range of meaningful activities – from the cooking and upcycling already mentioned, to crafts, filmmaking or life skills. It’s about encouraging teamwork, independence and friendships and building confidence and self-esteem.

For more information on Pathway and getting involved call 01789 298709 or click here

Over the past 12 months, we have built a great relationship with the team at The Apple Farm in Snitterfield, enabling really valuable opportunities for the people we support to volunteer and gain confidence and skills through our work experience programme.

“Being able to support an activity that is community-led and that embraces people with all abilities is a wonderful achievement for us all,” says Kate Buttrick, our Health & Wellbeing Programme Manager.

“It helps us to take positive steps forward to help build a society that is more inclusive, caring and accepting of others with a disability. It’s been a delight to watch our customers from different services take part in this programme and to see them develop skills that will help build confidence and demonstrate to others in our community what can be achieved when barriers and assumptions are removed.”

Marie, a Team Leader from our Fordsfield service said customers looked forward to going to the farm on a Monday:

“Being out in the fresh air in a calm environment surrounded by trees and animals has a positive impact on wellbeing. It is extremely challenging to find work experience placements for customers with complex needs, and it’s great having the opportunity to do work experience in an inclusive space. For some it will enhance the skills they already have and for others it’s the opportunity to learn new skills.”

Jon, a Support Worker at Fordsfield, added: “Today was the largest group – seven staff and seven customers. It’s so good to go out in a big group like that, as it’s something we rarely do. The fact that we are going somewhere that is so beautiful and away from crowds makes it a really pleasurable experience for everyone. It’s also very satisfying to see customers getting involved in the work – they all have a go!”

For more information on getting involved, please email kbuttrick@heartofenglandmencap.org.uk