The Money Marketing Awards 2010 are introducing a charity collection to the evening this year. A collection will take place after dinner for The Peter Rigby Trust.
We are The Peter Rigby Trust. Each week around 50 children aged from birth to 11 years come to our school for intensive therapy and education. All the children we support have neurological damage resulting in cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy is a non-progressive condition caused by damage to the brain before, during or after birth. It can happen to any child, any family, without warning. Its effects include awkward, slow or jerky movements, stiffness in the muscles and leg joints, muscle spasms, floppiness and unwanted movements. Children who have cerebral palsy also have difficulties with mobility, sitting, balance, feeding and in their perception of space and distance. Many also have significant learning disabilities, limited communication skills and additional disabilities such as epilepsy, hearing and visual impairment. No two children have an identical range of needs so our aim is to ensure that any child’s requirements can be met at our specialist school with the high-quality services we provide.
Through our constant guidance, encouragement and motivation, children learn to do as much as possible for themselves without using aids and equipment. Our support helps each child become more independent, gain self-confidence and give them a better understanding of how to address the problems presented by cerebral palsy. For example, many children take their first steps here, unaided. We provide a number of services here at the Centre including one to one support for babies and toddlers, parent and child groups, a nursery and school up to age 11, as well as pre school and outreach services which encompass holiday schemes and training for parents and professionals. We now aim to add a library and information and advice service on site so we are a ‘one-stop-shop’ for children and families looking for support and advice on dealing with Cerebral Palsy.
At the heart of the work we do here is a teaching approach known as Conductive Education. Each child who attends our Centre has a teaching programme specially designed for them which draws on all aspects of their physical, intellectual, social and emotional potential. This is because regardless of the degree of cerebral palsy, our aim is for children to develop conscious control of their muscles and movement early on, before ‘bad’ patterns become habitual. This means children learn how to overcome difficulties in manipulating and controlling objects like pencils, spoons and toys, to develop speech and language skills and daily living skills like dressing, toileting and sitting independently. This allows a child to develop in confidence and self-esteem. Without our input, children would be highly dependent on others, or might be restricted to supported seating and wheelchairs.
We employ Conductors (specialist teachers) who are trained professionals with four years’ degree level training in child development, physiology, neurology and anatomy – all related to cerebral palsy and other movement disorders. We also employ nursery staff, teaching staff and a Speech and Language Therapist who has extensive experience of working with children with cerebral palsy.