Our mission is to make families with disabled children feel valued and experience the best quality of life possible
  • Friends and Families of Special Children - Mobile Slide One

    Friendly Freddie meets our competition winners Contact Us

  • Friends and Families of Special Children - Mobile Slide Two

    "Fantastic Charity, they offer lots of services and support" - March 2019 Activities

  • Friends and Families of Special Children - Mobile Slide Three

    Proud to support Harry from The Children In Need Rickshaw Challenge #HAPPYASHARRY Contact Us

  • Friends and Families of Special Children - Mobile Slide Four

    In 2018 we supported 252 children. To register with us click on the link Register

What is SEN?

What is SEN?

Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) can affect the way your child learns.

It may affect their:

  • ability to understand things
  • behaviour or ability to socialise (for example they struggle to make friends)
  • reading and writing (for example they may be dyslexic)
  • concentration levels (for example they may have ADHD)
  • physical ability

Talk to the teacher or the SEN Co-ordinator (SENCo) at your school, early years setting or college if you think your child needs:

  • a special learning programme
  • extra help from a teacher or assistant
  • to work in a smaller group
  • observation in class or at break
  • help taking part in class activities
  • extra encouragement in their learning, for example to ask questions or to try something they find difficult
  • help communicating with other children
  • support with physical or personal care difficulties, for example eating, getting around school safely

Plymouth Online Directory

The Plymouth Online Directory (POD) is a directory of services that includes information for children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities, families and professionals.

https://www.plymouthonlinedirectory.com/kb5/plymouth/directory/home.page

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Activities

Please click below to see our full listing of events. Please note you must be registered with us before booking any activities.

More info >
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Newsletters

For all our catchups and fundraising newsletters, please click on the link below.

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Contact us

Click below for our contact details.

More info >

What our friends and families say...

“Thank you, yet again, to Friends & Families of Special Children for providing opportunities for my son that I never thought he would be able to do.  During the summer he was able to have surfing lessons and enjoy other water sport activities organised by the charity.   When we arrive at the sessions they are always very well planned and as parents we have no explaining to do and even better no apologising for our child’s behaviour!  The staff have an amazing understanding and empathy on the needs of various disabilities of the children and this helps to keep everyone relaxed and happy including the parents/carers!”

October 2015

“It was the best day ever being able to go swimming as a family with her little sister who can only use a hydrotherapy pool. We’re so grateful we can have unforgettable days out thanks to the events you put on. We can thank you enough.”

May 2016

“Not only does the charity provide exciting experiences for the children but can also help with much needed support for the parents.  Being a parent of a disabled child can at times be very lonely and isolating.  To meet with other parents on these activity days is a breath of fresh air and helps you to realise that there are many other people like you facing the similar day to day challenges of having a disabled child.  From our personal experiences we can share stories, offer help and advice and even make new friends.”

January 2018

“The emotional support I received from my befriender was fantastic and the opportunity to off load and reveal my concerns and fears was like having a huge weight lifted off my shoulders.”

Gareth Allen (parent)

“What a fantastic friendly welcoming place. We visited for the first time this morning for help to fill in a DLA form for our eldest daughter. We were given great help and advice with something we found very overwhelming and difficult.”

February 2017

“Thank you to all staff for looking after our kids at Magdalen Farm. Oliver has really enjoyed himself and can’t wait till the next time.”

August 2017

Activity Calendar

Please note our activities can be browsed by date using the interactive calendar below. A light green square indicates there are events scheduled on that day. Simply hover over the square and the number of events on that day will appear. Click on view events and a list of the events will be shown above. You can then click-through to go to the specific event page for more details and to book.

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