We can’t believe how quickly 2024 has gone by! We’ve enjoyed having visitors at our usual meeting venue, we’ve attended the Family Funday and worked through our 2024 priorities with some highlights of that work being the Childhood to Adulthood Charter.
December means it’s time to celebrate the year we have had as a forum! This years Unstoppables ‘end of year party’ had a craft table, games, pizza and the Nintendo Switch! Crafts included making Christmas cards, Christmas colouring and decorating wooden decorations.
The games we played were Dobble and Uno – Rosie introduced Sian to Dobble and how to play it! We were very excited at lunch time by Dominoes pizza with thanks to Ruth and the parent carer forum. Then some of us played on the switch in teams which was slightly competitive but a lot of fun – we did a little dancing on Just Dance and then enjoyed a few games of Mario Party.
We are already looking forward to 2025 to continue our work on sharing our voice and our lived experiences to make a difference to SEND services in Somerset. A massive thank you to all the young people who have been involved with Unstoppables this year, whether that’s members or through other engagement sessions throughout the year 😊
Have a Merry Christmas to those who celebrate, see you in 2025!
A few members playing Mario Party on the switch
Our member Ella wanted to share her experience as an Independent Visitor for Route 1.
After find an advert on the role, I decided to sign up to become an Independent Visitor. I checked to see that my disability wasn’t going to impact on the role with the team but was assured this wouldn’t cause any issues. They were happy that I showed an interest in the role and didn’t see my condition would affect my chances. After this I filled in a form, I was able to complete some training.
The training was very informative and explains to all potential volunteers what to expect with the role, and how this can be manage. They also provided different ways for support to be provided if need. After completing the training, we had a meeting to discuss who you would like to be matched with.
The team decided I would work better with someone from SEND, or with SEND experiences, since they believed I would be better suited with this group. They were also impressed that I was a member of the Unstoppables, helping to change Somerset’s services for people with SEND as well. I am currently matched with a young person at the moment and am enjoying my time with them. I hope I would be able to give them positive experiences for the future.”
The next Unstoppables meeting is Saturday 1st February 2025.
If you or someone you know would like to be a member of the Unstoppables then follow the link to our form Expression of Interest to join The Unstoppables (office.com) 😊
Similarly, If you or a young person you know wants more information about how they can join the Unstoppables, or be part of our work they/you can contact us via email (SENDParticipationTeam@somerset.gov.uk) or via phone/What’s App (07976 809 773).
