Santa is coming to No8!

Plus lots of other prizes! Thank you for your support.

We will once again be holding our magical Christmas Grotto at No8 so if you have

children in the family please do come along to support and enjoy this great event.

Aswell as a magical grotto there will be a craft area, sensory play, cakes and more.

Many of our staff volunteer their time for this event and they would love to see you

there.

Saturday 13th December

10.30—2.30 (drop in anytime)

Where: No 8 Stanley Park Road

Cost: £5 first child/£2.50 sibling

includes goody bag

We have some great prizes this

year in our Christmas Raffle. A

book has been enclosed for you

should you wish to take part. Just

send in the stubs with payment to

No8 before15th Dec, when the

raffle will be drawn.

More tickets available from the

main office or a co-ordinator.

£1 per ticket/£5 book

Christmas Raffle

1st Prize

Xmas Hamper worth £170 Kindly donated by the Perrett

family

2nd & 3rd Prize

Family Portrait Session

worth £160

Kindly donated by Barrett &

Coe

Our drama group Action Replay meet weekly to develop their drama skills in a fun

and supportive environment. They perform twice a year at the Secombe Theatre

and have also performed at the Guilfest! Drama helps everyone in the group to

increase their confidence and communication skills whilst having fun!

Action Replay Drama Group

Group Insight

“I love practicing for shows” “It’s great because I get to see all my friends”

“Mt drama skills are growing and growing”

“They really can act!” “What a show...amazing!”

Next Production— 30th Nov

Why not see the group for yourself at their

next production. The Unite Festival has been

organised by the group to include other local

performers and will include their own version

of Camelot (but not as we know it!). With

both a matinee and evening performance it’s

a chance to bring family and friends along to

support the group and enjoy the theatre.

Performances at 3pm and 7.30pm

Tickets—£6

Available from the Secombe Theatre online

or via 020 8770-6990

Book now—tickets selling fast!

Sutton Mencap is working with Sutton Parents Forum to offer a new Independent Support service to families to help with the move to Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plans. From September 2014 EHC Plans begun to replace Statements of Educational Need. Sutton Parents Forum and Sutton Mencap have a team of independent supporters who can help parents and young people develop their EHC plan. For more information contact Jane Knowles at Sutton Parents Forum on 0203 701 2175 or suttonparentsforum@outlook.com or Dave Hobday.

New support service for developing Education Health and

Care Plans

A huge thanks to members and supporters for attending our Annual General Meeting on 23

rd October. The meeting was held in the presence of the

Worshipful Mayor of Sutton and included a presentation by Steven Forbes, Executive Head of Service for Adults & Safeguarding at the London Borough of Sutton on the changes to social care as a result of the new Care Act. If you would like a copy of the presentation, contact emma@suttonmencap.org.uk. We would like to thank The Mayor, Steven Forbes and Sherwood Park School for their support in what was a very successful evening.

Sutton Mencap has developed a new strategic plan to set the direction for the organisation for 2015-18. In putting the plan together, we’ve taken on board feedback from service users, parents and carers about the need to maintain and where possible increase existing services. A further key priority is to explore how we can make much more use of exciting opportunities provided by new technology.. The one page plan is included with this newsletter. We would welcome your comments, so if you have any views please contact Dave Hobday david@suttonmencap.org.uk or on 8647 8600.

AGM & New Strategic Plan

Sutton Mencap’s new contract for children’s services

We are delighted to report that from October 2014 Sutton Mencap has a new contract with the London Borough of Sutton which means we can continue to deliver our services for children and young people. The new contract also means for the first time that we have the flexibility to offer places for purchase using direct payments. To find out more contact Laura Emmerson (laura@suttonmencap.org.uk) or Olivia Griffin (olivia@suttonmencap.org.uk) on 020 8647 8600.

Our supporters…

making a difference!

We have been amazed by the support we have received through sponsorship

events over the last few months and would like to say a BIG thank-you to

everyone who either took part in an event or sponsored someone. Around 7k has

been raised since August through the Nuts Challenge, Peter & Melissa’s Swim,

Isobel Hayes Colour Run and Charlie’s Walk. This money will and already is

starting to make a huge difference. Here are some of the things that are already

happening with the money….

A purpose built storage unit has been made for the

children’s lounge, thanks to Russell for making and

Graham for painting. We have also had some new

carpet laid to replace the old worn out one. The room

has also been decorated thanks to Zurich (see below)

Becky, Lois and Isobel (staff) have started transforming

the therapy room….more pics to follow but it’s looking

great and they have been doing this in their own

time...what an amazing team we have!

Zurich Challenge Day

Thanks so much to the team from

Zurich in Croydon who came in to

decorate our children’s lounge.

They did a great job of

transforming the lounge which was

looking a wee bit tired!

They also decorated the children’s

walkway ready for Halloween and

have raised money themselves to

cover the costs.

Mavis awarded Trustee of the Year

We are thrilled to announce that Mavis Peart has been awarded Sutton Trustee of the Year 2014. The award was made at Sutton’s Annual Trustee Event on 11

th

November in recognition of Mavis’ tireless work for people with a Learning Disability over her 20 years as Chairman of Sutton Mencap.

Our Chairman Mavis Peart invites you all to her annual coffee morning—which last all

day!

Date: Friday 5th Dec—10.30 am—4pm

Adds: 5 Stanley Square, Carshalton, SM5 4LX

Delicious sweets, cakes, chutneys and lunches for sale.

£1 entry includes free tea/coffee.

In aid of the Edward

Peart Memorial Fund

Mavis would like to thank everyone who attended her Gardeners Question Time event in October. 60 people got to hear from the expert panel made up of Jim Buttress from the Great Allotment Challenge and Mark Wasilewski from the Royal Parks. The event raised £500 for Sutton Mencap.

We would like to thank all our volunteers including our trustee

team for the time that they give to help support our projects and

raise funds. We really do appreciate your support.

Other news—our revamped website and facebook page

are a great place to find out about other national and

local news stories. Here are a few snippets—visit our

website (www.suttonmencap.org.uk) for more details.

Toys R Us— Autism Friendly Shopping Event

On November 30th every Toys R Us store in the UK will be holding an Autism Friendly and additional needs exclusive shopping event!! With reduced fluorescent lighting, no loud music or tannoy announcements and all staff provided with some parent led autism awareness training this should be a wonderful chance to enjoy some Christmas shopping with our children! The store will be open 9.am till 11am with tills opening at 11am due to Sunday trading restrictions. Staff will make sure there is quick efficient access to tills for payment or offer to hold trolleys till an appropriate time if you wish to pop out and return to pay.

AutismCon—15 January 2015

This National Autistic Society event is a day-long convention organised by and for people with autism – it’s a celebration of special interests and an affirmation of the skills and talents of people with autism. Check out their website for more info. www.autism.org.uk

Christmas Sensory Pantomine Anyone?

Head to Head Theatre (near Guildford) are performing Dick Whittington on Saturday 20th December. The pantomime will last about 60 minutes and, as with all their productions, will be very interactive with voice output communication aids, sensory items, songs and brightly coloured sets & costumes. Tickets—£5/£3 concessions—if this is something you would be interested in please contact them via their website.

http://www.head2headtheatre.co.uk/

Thanks to Carshalton Social

Club for hosting another great

Halloween Party and for raising

over £150 through their collection

tins and raffles.

Upcoming Events

Unite Festival—Secombe Theatre

Sunday 30th November—3.00 pm and 7.30 pm

Tickets—£6 from Secombe Theatre Box Office—020 8770-6990

Christmas Hours

The main office will close on Christmas Eve

and reopen on Friday 2nd January.

Children’s & Youth Service

Last Saturday session—6th Dec

Grotto—13th Dec

After School

Last children’s session Tue 16th Dec—first session

back on Mon 5th Jan.

Last youth session Thur 18th Dec—first session back on Wed 7th Jan.

Adult Services

No sessions week beginning 22nd/29th Dec

Back week beg Mon 5th Jan

Have a great Christmas!

Santa’s Grotto—Saturday 13th December— 8 Stanley Park Rd

Drop In between 10.30—2.30

£5 first child/£2.50 sibling—includes goody bag.

SUTTON MENCAP 8 Stanley Park Road

Wallington

Surrey SM6 0EU

Tel: 020 8647 8600

Fax: 020 8647 8311 info@suttonmencap.org.uk

www.suttonmencap.org.uk

Director - David Hobday

Transition and Community Services Manager

- Olivia Griffin

Children’s Services and Inclusion Manager

Laura Emmerson

Childrens and Youth co-ordinator—

Asma Jacob

Fundraiser - Tracey Hickey

Connect2 Project Manager - Jade Ogden Office Manager - Emma O'Connell

Finance Officer - Lynn Mason

Clerical & General Assistant - Rosemary Frost

Chairman: Mavis Peart 5 Stanley Square Carshalton SM5 4LX 020 8647 3382 Treasurer: Paul Solomon 30 South Drive Cheam SM2 7PN 020 8642 0496 paul.solomon@blueyonder.co.uk

Adult Services Christmas Disco—Thursday 11th December

Carshalton Social Club—7-10pm—£5

Join us to party the night away at our Christmas Disco