Summary
The project delivered fun, friendship and new opportunities for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD) across Tayside. It provided training opportunities for activity and leisure staff and supported community inclusion. The project identified existing barriers to inclusion.
What Fun, Friendhip and Camp PAMIS (Tayside) did
Accessible cycling and swimming was delivered in Angus over the summer holidays 2018 at the request of family carers and it was hoped that a permanent cycling and swimming club could be established by the local authority. The activity days themselves were successful overall but the project identified a number of barriers that prevented the establishment of a cycling and swimming club. These ranged from lack of flexibility in bike hire to staff availability. In relation to the swimming, the identified pool had to be booked in advance and the sessions had to be supervised by a staff member and there was no flexibility with timing. More work would have to be done with the local authority to negotiate how a swimming group and cycling club could be established in Angus. In Dundee Art and Exercise classes were offered over the summer holidays, along with additional sports activities, a dance workshop and pony Axes being offered at Camp PAMIS and Broughty Ferry Beach. Early 2019 training in Sporting Opportunities Motor Development Activities (SOMA) was delivered to leisure and activity staff in Perth and Kinross to enable the inclusion of children with PMLD in activities locally and in the after school club activities held at Fairview school. Pony Axes on Kinnoul Hill was delivered in March 2019. Dance workshops were delivered in Dundee over the autumn of 2018 and were open to everyone across Tayside as were all the activities in the programme. The dance activity culminated in a Christmas PAMIS Come Dancing event, where everyone competed for the PAMIS glitter ball trophy. Some carers used the opportunities to socialise with other carers while others preferred to spend time as a family enjoying the activities together.
Overall the project was fantastic. In terms of enhancing inclusion, promoting well-being and creating new opportunities and experiences for people with PMLD this project demonstrated that dance and being outdoors were particularly popular. The enthusiasm that the project has generated for these activities to expand and become self sustaining has brought communities together and enhanced the well-being of everyone involved.
What PAMIS has learned
PAMIS has been enabled to deal with challenging situations which has resulted in having to deal with unexpected changes and opportunities as they arose in the planned project programme . Have gained improved planning and budgeting skills and have increased partnership working . The project has been a catalyst for finding other sources of funding. PAMIS have developed new short breaks activities and opportunities. and in the process have developed new partnerships.
How PAMIS has benefitted from the funding
PAMIS benefitted from Better Breaks funding through expanding to new locations, securing other funding, building skills and knowledge , developing new partnerships and strengthening organisational reputation.
Project Outcomes
Outcome
Young people with pmld and their siblings will have fun in a safe and nurturing environment and their parents meet regularly. Families will feel less socially isolated and friendships will be formed. Venues across Tayside will have increased awareness of the needs of people with PMLD
4 sound vibes
Results
The outcome of the project exceeded the projected outcome in a way that could not have been foreseen at the start of the project. The activities offered across Tayside all offered a fun and nurturing environment that catered for all abilities. Friendships have been formed with families across Tayside . It was fabulous to see people from Perth and Kinross making friends with families from Dundee and Angus. The project catered for everyone's needs and because of the activities chosen their has been an increased awareness in communities of people with PMLD
Case study
For this case study I will report on a group of people. The majority of children with PMLD in Perth and Kinross had not experienced pony Axes before. As a direct result of the popularity of this activity and the benefits it provides in terms of accessing the countryside, there are now a group of parents who are coming together to look at how they can have access to this service for their children and young people on a more regular basis. Parents in P&K who came to Kinnoull Hill with their children are now planning , along with the Fairview parent council, several care organisations and a local Councilor to look at the possibility of this becoming a long term regular activity . Potential permanent funding of Pony Axes by education in Angus is also being considered.
Other workshops undertaken were Sound vibes and sound work was achieved over four sessions and Koshi Bells purchased to help achieve this. Most children had limited experience of this activity and it was also something that most families went home saying they would incorporate into the lives of their children.
Outcome
Social isolation will be reduced and friendships formed.
4/6 adapted cycling sessions will be offered throughout the project and contact made with the woman's international centre's cycling project.
Results
contact was made with the centre but the cycle project was not running at the time of contact therefore it was decided that the cycling project would be delivered in Angus as their was a demand for it to be delivered in Angus. Families had great days out together at the cycling.
This again exceeded expectations as families described how they didn't always want to be away from their children but that what they wanted was to have an activity or event where they could enjoy spending time together as a family and they reported in many cases that this was what was important to them and in fact that they enjoyed the company of other family carers at the activities and they valued the time to have a coffee and chat to other families during the time their children were enjoying the activities.
Case study
One family said that between the swimming, cycling and pony axes at brought ferry his son had experienced the best summer he had experienced for a long time. This family were struggling to find activities and opportunities for their son but his son's well being was enhanced by these activities.
Outcome
Families will feel less isolated and will be introduced to activities they might want to undertake at home. The club will support venues such as Dundee Science Centre to consider introducing activities tailored to people with PMLD and lead to families having more opportunities in their communities
Results
The outcome has again exceeded expectations. PAMIS delivered multi-sensory storytelling sessions to people with PMLD and these sessions were very popular and the stories can be delivered by families and those caring for people with PMLD. In terms of the science centre, no activity was actually delivered in the Dundee Science Centre because they were busy working on a funding application for refurbishment of the centre but after being involved in designing a resource for developing our multi-sensory story telling (MSST) sessions the science centre have
asked for training and support with the development of MSST for the centre once it is refurbished. Again this is will lead to a sustainable outcome.
Case study
A meeting has been arranged to discuss the development of the story space at the Dundee Science Centre. One family carer who is also a college lecturer attended the story sessions delivered by PAMIS at Camp PAMIS and asked if she could have a workshop for a college class she is teaching. The students she teaches all have learning disabilities but wanted to develop a MSST to gift to the library in Dunfermline. Following a sensory session delivered by PAMIS The group have now designed, developed and delivered the story and later this summer it will be gifted to the Carnegie Library ensuring that there will be a MSST for people who visit. Another sustainable outcome that will be ongoing. MSST is something that everyone can develop. The science centre would like to be a part of a similar project .
Outcome
Families will feel more supported and more included in their communities
PAMIS will have increased opportunities for families to engage in a wide range of activities that will contribute to increased emotional and physical well-being of people with PMLD and their families.
Results
Families reported feeling thankful for the opportunities the project offered them to try new activities. Seeing their children given these opportunities exceeded their expectations because their was so little they could easily access. to watch their children on the beach or accessing the hills was so rare that they were emotional but happy. Carers felt revived and happy when they saw the potential of their children and young people when offered varied opportunities.
more than the suggested target was reached with the story walks and art and poetry sessions as they were delivered at Camp Pamis. The poetry and art has continued and is a part of Pamis core work now with their voice and visuals project, which sees carers submit poems and artwork regularly to the online forum. developed for this purpose. Dance was also an added activity that was requested by families and was hugely successful.
Case study
Children and young people led the dance activity and following their workshops they inspired others in the community to attend the dance competition organised through the project. This has been the huge success of this project programme and communites joined the young people and paid a contribution to enter the dance competition. The effort by everyone was astounding and this event is now an annual event on the pamis calendar and the winner of the dance trophy has gone onto dance at the PAMIS Burns supper and was invited to dance at a Hafla event in Dundee earlier this year.
Outcome
This project has seen an increase in more opportunities and activities for disabled children and young people to try our new activities but there is still some work to be undertaken to better include them in mainstream activities and leisure services.
Results
The project achieved a lot in terms in identifying existing barriers to full inclusion in some mainstream activities and highlighted great opportunities too. The training offered to activity co-ordinators and sports leaders in SOMA has gone some way to ensuring that the outcome is achieved. The training enabled Fairview School to include the children with PMLD in meaningful activity at the after school club. ensuring that they have the same access as everyone else. Dance too can now be explored further for this group and the project enabled me to apply for more funding to provide dance massage to families and staff working with people with PMLD to enhance the activity. The dance can also be undertaken alongside the sound work so it can be undertaken in the home school or day service.
Case study
A group of children from Fairview School participated in supporting Pamis to train activity and leisure staff in SOMA so that they could provide this activity on a regular basis and at their after school club. Before this training no one knew how to provide meaningful activity for this group and the children felt proud to be trainers alongside Pamis staff.