The Hideout: The Hideout will allow our students with disabilities an environment in which they can learn to interact with the world around them.
Support us on our journey to building The Hideout
We are proud to be part of Bodmin College which educates students between the ages of 11-18. We (being Greenfield) are the LARGEST Area Resource Base (ARB) in Cornwall; we educate up to 35 wonderful students with moderate to severe learning difficulties some of which are life limiting. Our students study a curriculum that is geared towards their, sometimes very special needs. Our curriculum is linked to each student’s personal targets and aspirations. In Greenfield all of our staff have devloped an excellent rapport and a deep understanding of our students; we encourage our students to enjoy their education, to develop respect for others and, through assuming responsibility, to develop as reliable and mature individuals ready to take an active role in adult life.
Bodmin’s Key Objectives
The ethos of Bodmin College
“Our high standards and expectations of our students are supported by a traditional set of values in which we expect everyone to be polite, be honest and try to work to the very best of their ability”
Although we are fundraising within Greenfield to support our project we do understand that our Unit is small and we alone will not reach the required amount. This is difficult for us, as a team, to accept as we believe that each and every student has the right to a safe environment where they can learn about themselves and the world around them. With an on-site multisensory room we can guarantee that our young people will have access to a safe, nurturing environment where their emotional health and well-being can thrive. It is for this reason that we are looking for generous individuals, charities and businesses to support us on our journey in building The Hideout for our students.
“Limitations of movement, vision and hearing, cognitive ability, constrained space, behavioural difficulties, perception issues, pain and other problems create obstacles to their enjoyment of life”
(Hidden Angel Foundation, 2011)
Your support will enable us to build The Hideout and provide an opportunity to bridge these barriers.
Although we are determined to hit our target using Crowdfunder, we are aware that we are asking for a large sum of money. Therefore, we have also contacted agencies who fund grants. If we are successful in these bids then all money raised will still support The Hideout on our journey in the following ways;
Your support will allow us to design (with specialist support) an environment which focuses on the senses such as touch, vision, sound, smell and taste as well as the more abstract sense of wellbeing and togetherness. The list, and benefits, are substantial and significant in improving the lives of our young people. The Hideout will provide an environment that creates an atmosphere of relaxation, offering a moment of calm in a world which moves far too quickly for some of our students.
Furthermore, as some of our students have life limiting disablities they spend some of their time in the local children’s hospice (Little Harbour). Little Harbour is a fantastic establishment that offers the essential support our students require. This support includes a very well managed Sensory Room – The Hideout will not only offer our students consistency, but also enable greater access and assist in helping all of our students access the resources and benefits of multi-sensory engagement.
Your financial support will enable us to plan for, and provide, a specialist room complete with an array of specialist equipment designed to provide the personalised multi-sensory provision our students truly deserve.
By supporting this intiative you will be making a real and tangible improvement in the lives of our very special students.
After watching the TV, Mr Phil Sloggett was inspired by the heroics of the London Marathon competitors so he took to Facebook. He expressed an interest in running a marathon one day…something on a lot of people’s bucket list.
Another teacher told him to strap on his trainers and just go for it, but start with a smaller run to strengthen the legs.
It was suggested after a long Facebook chat between teachers that several of them could do the Plymouth 10km, but it was important for them all to motivate each other and therefore stay as a group. After a discussion was had about raising publicity for ‘The Hideout room’ in the Greenfield Centre, a small idea was born. If they were going to be together as a group, and terrible, why not make people smile. Teachers can have a sense of humour!
Farmer Phil and his fantastic flock was born.
30 teachers will run the Plymouth 10km on October 8th 2017, all in costume, dressed as sheep, sheep dogs, a tractor and Mr Phil Sloggett as the main Farmer.
Their intention isn’t to win, it’s to inspire a generation of children into believing they can do anything they set their minds too. You don’t have to be the best, in order to have fun and do something amazing.
The buzz in the staffroom is palpable, with six months of training ahead of them.
We were lucky enough to spend an afternoon meeting ex-student and Bodmin Town Councillor Pete Skea. Pete came into Greenfield to meet our wonderful students and discuss their ideas regarding The Hideout. However, not only did Pete add to the student’s excitement he connected with our students on a personal level giving an inspiring speech that captivated our students.
“…just because you have a disability doesn’t mean you won’t be able to achieve your dreams. Look at me. Yes, it may take you a little longer but you can achieve anything you want to”
After Pete spent time with our dedicated team and delightful students he offered his ongoing support and dedication to The Hideout, we consider ourselves fortunate and extremely grateful to have such an inspiring man to whom our students can look up to supporting us on our exciting journey.
“Once I start something, I never leave it half way through. I always finish what I start.”
The Love So Far Project is a world-wide community group developed on Facebook. It aims to connect individuals from all walks of life to come together to help one another complete their projects. We contacted the group and shared The Hideouts story. The responses we received were breath-taking! We were contacted by over 200 individuals from Egypt, Hawaii, Lithuania and so many more countries. Every individual who contacted us sent our students a personalised good luck message, some individuals shared their life stories. Our students loved receiving the notes and couldn’t comprehend the support we were being shown. One student said;
“I can’t believe that many people like me! From all over the world”.
The staff and students would like to thank everyone from The Love So Far project for the consistent support and encouragement.