Summer Successes for Dream The Change, CIC

Summer 2021 bore the fruits of some fun-filled outings, sports activities, social events and individual achievements for those connected with Dream The Change, CIC.

After enduring months indoors due to the UK lockdowns and the schools being closed, our trustees were determined to make a difference for families from diverse backgrounds, who have children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and a variety of activities took place.

Thanks to grants from The National Lottery Community, Essex Community Foundation and Active Essex and support from our sponsors, FUZE and Write Wai, we were able to organise all of the events and training that we had planned.

It was great to get outdoors when the weather permitted and we organised some free fun for our children in the woods, countryside or at the beach. It was a good way for our kids to let off some steam, enhancing everyone’s feeling of well-being, after months stuck inside during the UK lockdowns. 

We had a couple of get-together's at Highwoods Country Park in Colchester, Frinton beach, Clacton beach, Beth Chatto’s Garden and a walk in Cockaynes Wood, Wivenhoe.

Our Summer outings started when Dream The Change, CIC took families from BAME backgrounds who have children with SEND on a day out to Easton Farm Park in Suffolk. Our children were able to have a ride on a pony or horse, trampoline, use the indoor soft areas, outdoor play areas, feed animals, clean the pond and hug bunnies! Their parents enjoyed socialising with each other too.

Families also connected with Dream The Change, CIC enjoyed a visit to Jimmy's Farm and Wildlife Park. We’d visited the venue previously and it again proved to be a popular day out. Several families from diverse backgrounds brought along their children with (SEND) and their siblings. 

"After several months stuck indoors during the UK lockdowns, going to Jimmy's Farm was a great opportunity for families to socialise and for the children to enjoy the outdoors in a stimulating environment," said Jemal, one of the Co-Founders of Dream The Change CIC.

The children were keen to learn about the 80 species of rare and exotic breeds, like capybara, camels and crocodiles and more traditional animals like guinea pigs.

They also let off steam on the bouncy castle and explored the Butterfly House and the Tropical House.

Afterwards, one of the families who attended said, "We all had a great day out at Jimmy's Farm with families with SEND children. The youngsters got chance to run around together while the parents enjoyed getting to know each other. Thank you Dream The Change CIC."

The sky may have been dark, but everyone felt lighthearted for Dream The Change, CIC's picnic at Clacton, Essex. It was a great opportunity for families from diverse backgrounds to get-together and for our children with SEND and their siblings to interact.

The air was filled with excitement for a visit to the soft play area at Clacton Pier, where the youngsters got chance to use some pent up energy. Everyone enjoyed the refreshments and picnic provided by Dream The Change CIC.

You can hardly visit Clacton without visiting the beach and some brave souls even had a dip in the sea. A good time was had by all.

Exotic animals and birds, like elephants, leopards, parrots and rhinos delighted our children with SEND on our excursion to Colchester Zoo. Not everyone could make our first trip, so due to popular demand we organised a second excursion. 

Some children had never been to a Zoo before and everyone enjoyed socialising and using the facilities and having chance to feed some of the animals.

We often hold similar activities and if you would like to participate, check out our website and Facebook page for our upcoming events. 

Contact us through Dream The Change's website or see: https://www.dreamthechangecic.com

Thanks to our grants from our funders, Dream The Change was able to organise various sports events and activities over the summer.

The first was at the end of June when children who have SEND, from diverse families, enjoyed a sports session organised by Health Professionals and Coaches of Sport for Confidence, at Witham.

About 12 children connected with Dream The Change, CIC also joined us for a session at Jump Street, Colchester. The youngsters with send and their siblings, enjoyed bouncing on the trampolines and playing together, while their parents and carers were able to relax and chat over a coffee or cup of tea.

We were able to run sports session for youngsters with SEND from diverse families at Greenstead Community Hall at the end of the summer.

Youngsters also had a brilliant sports session run by Ability using Sport. 

Dream The Change, CIC. Various games were organised for our children with special needs and disabilities (SEND)and their parents and carers from diverse backgrounds could join in. 

It was obvious from the enjoyment on all of their faces that everyone had a good time during these various sports sessions and used up lots of energy.

Youngsters connected with Dream The Change, CIC had chance to express their perspective on the pandemic by connecting with their emotions through "Art for Life" sessions at the award-winning Firstsite, Colchester.

During our first art and craft session, the children were supervised by an artist. They also had support from volunteers, while parents were around to help if needed.

A second visit to the exhibition proved to be just as popular. Our children enjoyed the sensation of working with clay, while an artist advised them and they made some beautiful masks. Parents had chance to chat, as volunteers were on hand to help.

‘Art for Life’ is the fifth exhibition by Firstsite as part of the Arts Council Collection National Partners Programme, which will continue into 2022. See: https://firstsite.uk/event/art-for-life/

Dream The Change, CIC was founded to not only help improve the children’s lives, but the lives of their parents and carers too. This is why we regularly host Parent Tea Sessions, both online and in person, to help families have chance to air the experiences they face, to help each other and build resilience.

Our get-togethers enable us to inform families about the services available for SEND families locally, as some may have language barriers which we can help them overcome. Our events also provide an opportunity for individual parents to talk about the individual situations. Often other families have been through the same experience and are able to share ways of coping.

This summer we held Parent Tea Time sessions both online and at various venues, including Highwoods Country Park. One of these sessions turned into a birthday celebration for one young man who got to blow out 6 candles to mark his 6th birthday. The youngsters attended with their parents and enjoyed the woods and play area, while the parents enjoyed a chat.

Families connected with Dream The Change, CIC gathered together for a fun day out at Frinton Beach, Essex, for one of our sessions. Our children forgot their special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and were entertained building sandcastles and diving into the waves, while their parents chatted amidst the fun and laughter.

Jemal, Co-Founder of Dream The Change said, "Everyone seemed to have a lovely time."

On another occasion, our Parent Tea session was held with a walk at Cockaynes Wood, Wivenhoe, and the children energetically explored their environment and enjoyed some snacks and refreshments.

It was great to get out as a group to enjoy Cudmore Grove Country Park on one beautiful afternoon. The nature reserve overlooking the Colne and Blackwater Estuaries covers 102 acres of lovely landscape and coast.

Families connected with Dream The Change, CIC, enjoyed socialising in the sun, while their kids played in the sand and some went swimming. 

At the beginning of October, parents showed their love by holding a babyshower for one of our mums, who is expecting the arrival of a little one. It was a great opportunity for parents from diverse backgrounds to socialise and support Kiran.

At the end of June, Dream The Change, CIC decided to start awarding certificates for achievements and awarded our first ever certificate to a young girl, Sarah, for attending 100% of our Diddidance exercise sessions.

Jemal, one of our Co-Founders said, "Sarah attended all the sessions of Diddidance and did not miss a session, so we wanted to acknowledge her efforts and she received the Certificate from us and presents. Well done, Sarah!"

Souzan Yousif, one of our Dream The Change, CIC parents, gained a certificate to be a Parent Group Leader after undergoing The Incredible Years: Parents, teachers and children training series which was organised by the amazing Ministry of Parenting. This training will enable Souzan to support other parents and our work at Dream The Change in the future. 

One of our boys showed progress when he wrote a poem which was published in a book called "Peculiar pets."  This was a great achievement and we look forward to reading more of his poems in the future.

Dream The Change also has an achievement to write about of our own. Our CIC's Co-Founder and Director Jemal Allabayeva won a place on the LLoyds Bank and Bank of Scotland Social Entrepreneurs Trade Up Programme at the School for Social Entrepreneurs. 

The non-traditional learning on the programme will equip Jemal with new skills to grow our CIC further and expand the support we provide to families/carers from diverse backgrounds, who have children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Dream The Change, CIC is here to make a difference to the lives of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and their families from diverse backgrounds. 

We've also been helping students from the University of Essex gain careers in social work by providing them with placements so they could gain the experience they need to become qualified social workers. Dream The Change, CIC, ran this along with African Families in the UK - afiuk CIC (see: https://www.afiuk.org ).

Some of the students joined in with our Parents Tea Session, when each student had chance to meet and interview some of our parents from diverse backgrounds, who have children with SEND.

We are always on the look out for volunteers or funds to support our mission and were delighted to recruit Sevim Soybir as a volunteer during the summer. We appreciated her helping Dream The Change, CIC as she assisted looking after our website, editing the events page, creating images and uploading blogs.

It’s always good to hear feedback and have reviews from people who have used our services or have been supported.

One of the parents, from a diverse background who has a child with SEND, said: “I am so happy and pleased to be a part of this group, you have no idea how helpful and wonderful it is to have this support. Such a great organization and you have been amazing to know too."

If you haven't heard of Dream The Change before, our dream is to make a positive impact in the lives of families from diverse families who have SEND children or who care for SEND children.

We know that there are already a range of services for SEND children, but sometimes families may have an ethnic, language or cultural barrier, which means they get left behind.

Dream The Change aims to reach BAME and refugee families and support them to help their children achieve all they are capable of. We hope that with our support and those of the statutory services that we guide them to, every parents’ dreams for their children will come true.

If you think we could support you and your family or a friend, get in touch today via our website: https://www.dreamthechangecic.com