15 Feb 2025
A small St Albans charity is bidding for a game-changing grant from the Pride of Britain fund.
DS Achieve was formed in January 2018 by a group of five parents with the vision for every child with Down Syndrome in our community to have the opportunity to thrive and reach their individual potential.
They have recently made it to the final shortlist for the Pride of Britain Fund and voting has now opened to decide who will be awarded a grant.
Operations manager Fiona Forster said: “As you may be aware, small charities like ours are under more pressure than ever with increasing demand for our services and funding opportunities becoming more and more competitive. A grant from the Pride of Britain Fund would make a massive difference to our charity.”
DS Achieve supports and champions children and young people with Down Syndrome by providing programmes to work with them directly to support their development and learning, providing advice and support to their parents and carers, ensuring professionals are knowledgeable and skilled, and by creating a positive, inclusive community.
Their age-specific programmes include:
- Little Achievers – an early years intervention programme for children aged 0-5;
- Young Achievers – a social development programme for school age children and young people up to 17 years;
- Training for families and professionals;
- Resources into Schools – a bespoke onsite guidance and training service to support schools in meeting the needs of children with Down Syndrome;
- Volunteering opportunities for young people with Down Syndrome to develop their social and work-based skills.
A large proportion of those working and volunteering with the charity have lived experience of Down Syndrome, which gives real insight into the services that are needed and valued by the community.
Fiona added: “Since our launch, DS Achieve has grown significantly, expanding our services and reaching more families. If we are fortunate enough to receive this grant every penny would go towards delivering essential services to families. This year we are particularly focused on fundraising for our Young Achievers programme and our Resources into Schools service.”
The Young Achievers programme offers children and young people with Down Syndrome a fun, structured environment to develop social skills, teamwork and other practical life skills through a carefully designed curriculum.
The sessions help to build confidence, provide opportunities for friendship and maximise the potential for learning and development.
A parent of one of the children said: “My daughter has attended Young Achievers since it started and it’s the highlight of her week. She’s formed genuine friendships there with others with DS and really enjoys the huge range of educational and fun activities the group provides.
“This might seem like something that all children do, but for our children with DS, there are very, very few places they can go to be with others who look like them and share the same life experiences/challenges.
“This is so essential for their personal development , social skills and emotional wellbeing it can’t be overstated. In addition, the group tackles important learnings like personal safety and boundaries which I’ve experienced my daughter then using in practice to keep herself safe and manage the behaviours of others.
“Unfortunately we’ve experienced discrimination (being asked to leave gymnastics and dance classes) and been prevented from joining other non-inclusive groups. This is devastating as my daughter is highly social and loves making friends.
“Other children take this kind of access for granted, ours can’t. So I can’t fully put into words what a truly fantastic and life enhancing service everyone at DS Achieve provides, and how valuable this is to our children. It’s uniquely valuable, and very much appreciated by us and our community.”
The Resources into Schools service works directly with teaching teams to ensure that children with Down Syndrome receive the best possible support for their learning in the classroom.
This free service includes an assessment of the individual child’s needs and current strategies in place; a specialist resource (purchased by DS Achieve) or bespoke training for the teaching team; and a follow up visit to review progress, set targets and provide further guidance on how to move forward once the child reaches each stage.
Feedback from schools is that the service is invaluable and provides them with access to a specialist Down Syndrome advisor which they wouldn’t otherwise receive.
The link to vote for DS Achieve is: https://data.reachplc.com/250124925273049 and they come under the South East region. Voting closes at 11:45pm on Sunday March 2.
