Hi Everyone!
We hope this newsletter finds you all well and looking forward to the summer? We are hoping for some sunshine and warmer days, but perhaps not quite as hot as last summer?!
As you know, Cheri resigned earlier in the year for new adventures, and we are lucky to welcome Jody to the team. She will be working on Wednesdays and will cover staff holidays and outings. Danya is soon to finish her Level 3 Health and Social Care which is a great achievement for her. We also welcome Lisa who will teach barn dancing to the clients on Friday mornings instead of Shabam, and Kylie who will teach dance classes during the holidays while Open Stage is closed for the summer.
Some other exciting news is the trips that we have coming up…
- On July 10th, we are going on our first Alpaca Trek at Hideaway Farm. We are all hoping for this to be very successful and hope to offer it again on a different day.
- We also visited the British Transport Museum and many of you have bought annual passes; this will enable us to visit frequently at no extra cost to help with our Wednesday transport project. We plan to visit Crich Tram Museum later in the year to help with this project too.
We are trying to organise trips and outings on different days to enable more people to have the opportunity to access them. While we endeavor to have an alternative activity if you do not wish to go on a trip, it may not be possible due to staffing and other implications. Likewise, if you have any holidays booked, please can you let us have plenty of notice for staffing cover? As an example, we are currently working on August rotas for staff!
- In September (15th-18th), we will be taking a group of clientd away to the Isle of Wight for a mini break. If you need anything while we are away, you are welcome to contact us, but we may not be able to respond straight away.
- In October, we are having our ‘Once in a Lifetime’ sleepover at the Sealife Centre in Birmingham. This will be truly special and we doubt we will be able to organise this again. If you have not reserved a place, but are keen to go, please let one of us know. Parents, carers, siblings, aunts and uncles are welcome too!
As the recent ‘Lost in Music’ theatre trip was so much fun, we have booked to see Cinderella at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry. It is on 2nd December at 1pm and we anticipate going to Bella Italia afterwards for dinner. We are doing this activity in conjunction with Sunflower Care in Flore.
The ticket cost is £31 plus PA hourly rate.
We have a limited number of tickets, sp please do let us know ASAP if you would like to reserve a place.
A gentle reminder that our cost increases will take effect from Tuesday 1st August 2023.
- PA hourly rate will rise to £18.00 (£21.60 including VAT)
- Daily rate will rise to £80.00 (£96.00 including VAT)
Please believe we have been left with no choice over these increases, especially the addition of VAT. If we do not comply, we are all at risk of being closed.
Although it may appear that our dairy costs are expensive, please bear in mind that we absorb many additional costs that we do not pass on to the individual (as many other day service providers do). These include:
- Swimming at a 4* leisure complex
- Tai Chi and Yoga instructors
- Sound Bath emersion Therapist
- Open Stage Dance School
- Most recently barn dance and disco dance teachers
We also do not charge for refreshments or cooking/baking activities.
Finally, as the weather starts to warm up, please can we ask everyone to bring in a sunhat and sun cream, a drinks bottle that can be refilled throughout the day, and some spending money?
As always, thank you for your continued support.
Michelle, Karen and the team xxx
