Seashell Trust Volunteering OverviewSeashell Trust is a charity based in Cheadle Hulme that provides education and 52-week residential care for children and young people aged 2 to 25 with profound learning disabilities and sensory impairments.

Our children and young people have some of the most complex needs and disabilities in society including deafness, blindness and autism, combined with physical disabilities and profound learning difficulties. All of them have some degree of brain damage, and critically, all have little or no ability to communicate. Every young person here receives 1:1 support and some require 2:1 support.

We welcome the opportunity to work in partnership with local corporates, not only in raising funds, but also by working together to raise awareness around our cause in the local community. We want everyone in the area to realise the work being done right here on their doorsteps and be proud of it.

Our Provision An Outstanding (Ofsted 2013) special school, Royal School Manchester, for 50 pupils from 2 to 19

years. An Outstanding (Ofsted 2013) specialist college, Royal College Manchester, for 50 students from 19 to

25 years. Outstanding (Ofsted 2013) residential provision for up to 55 students, ranging from a few nights up to

52-weeks. Short Break (respite) provision for young people not on the school or college roll. Children’s Able and Disabled Sports Programme – award-winning project providing inclusive sporting

opportunities for over 500 children and young people from across the North West.

Our Children and Young PeopleOur students come from all over Cheshire and the North West, although 83% of our students are from Cheshire and the Greater Manchester boroughs.We also hold six CADS holiday camps a year plus have a range of evening and weekend sports clubs, which are not only accessed by our own students who live here on campus, but by the wider community. Around 500 youngsters, aged between 5 and 16 years old, access CADs each year.

Registered charity no. 1092655 Patron: Her Majesty The Queen

Volunteering Opportunities

We couldn’t do the work we do at Seashell without the help of volunteers. We have lots of options for corporate volunteering days as well as opportunities for individuals to come and help us with a particular skill or to mentor a student. A list is below of the main opportunities but if you have something in particular in mind, do let us know.

1. SportCADSSupport at our inclusive CADS (Children’s Able and Disabled Sport) events where children of mixed abilities - able or disabled - take part in sports activities together in the School holidays. Typical volunteer tasks include:

Helping the sports coaches set up tasks and activities Supporting young people to engage and take part Helping with logistics such as lunches

February CADS:Tues 20th and Wed 21st February 2018

Easter CADS 1: Tues 3rd and Wed 4th April 2018

Easter CADS 2: Tues 10th and Wed 11th April 2018

May CADS: Tues 29th and Wed 30th May 2018

Summer CADS: Tues 31st July and Wed 1st Aug, Tues 14th and Wed 15th Aug, Tues 28th and Wed 29th Aug 2018

Inter College Sports Day, Thursday 24 th May Our Inter-College Sports Day is one of the highlights of the College year here at Seashell. We organise the event and invite other specialist colleges to come to compete. We have both track and field events and the day is very

competitive! Tasks include:Registration – volunteers to sign in the colleges in and take them to the correct groupTeam leaders - take groups to each of the activities Activity coordinators – set up the activity and record and measure the score Results table – organise the certificates, collect the results Presentation – volunteers to present young people with their awards

Bike maintenance: our students love cycling as it gives them a sense of freedom they often otherwise wouldn’t get. We need regular help with keeping our bike fleet clean. This would involve washing down bikes and pumping up tyres.

Registered charity no. 1092655 Patron: Her Majesty The Queen

2. Our Gardens and Grounds

General gardening and grounds maintenance: we have 30 acres of grounds to manage, all of which is home to many of our students so keeping them looking good and safe is very important. We can set up volunteering days, any day of the working week and at any time of the year to suit you. These will include:

Staining sheds, benches and fences Weeding, trimming back and tidying our gardens. This is especially important to avoid our students eating

weeds Planting up seasonal vegetables and bulbs Helping our residential houses maintain their gardens

If you might consider raising some money before you come on a volunteering day, for new multi-sensory plants for both our raised beds and garden beds, we would be so grateful.

Registered charity no. 1092655 Patron: Her Majesty The Queen

3. Our Students

Theme Days: our School goes from 2 – 19 years old and as part of the curriculum we run regular theme days, usually focusing on sensory activities. They could be themed around countries of the world where students get a chance to try out food, art and music from different places or the seasons, cultural events or various festivals. We look for volunteers to help us set up and run the activities as well as encouraging our children to take part. They all take place from 9am – 12 noon:

Any holidays – music day in our music room

8th February: Healthy Living22nd March: Songkran (Festival of Water)17th May: Summer12th July: Football World Cup/Russia

Registered charity no. 1092655 Patron: Her Majesty The Queen

4. Art

Our art teacher is always looking for help in the art room, particularly in helping to create resources. This could be anything from:

Willow weaving Painting murals Helping get all the pottery baked and through the kiln Making displays Preparing sensory resources such as shaker bottles and ribbon sticks

Registered charity no. 1092655 Patron: Her Majesty The Queen