Programme Lead

ABOUT SKYLARKS

At Skylarks, our vision is to help create a world where children with additional needs can thrive. 

We aspire to achieve this vision by enabling every child and young person with additional needs to live their best life while supporting everyone whose lives they touch. 

Skylarks provide a supportive and active community. We care for the whole family, providing opportunities to join in, develop and feel empowered. We want to remove the isolation that can be created for families and their children who have a disability or additional needs. We are based in Richmond upon Thames but have an open-door policy. Anyone, from anywhere, is welcome!

The charity was originally founded as Me too & Co by a group of parent volunteers in 2006 to fill a gap in the local community where there was a lack of support. In April 2019, we rebranded and officially changed our name to Skylarks Charity (or Skylarks for short). Most recently we have been awarded the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service in recognition of the wonderful team of dedicated volunteers we have supporting our cause.

OUR IMPACT

Over 2000 families and 3000 children have now registered to use our services and the list is growing! Over the past 10 years, the organisation has continued to grow. We have expanded from first providing inclusive play sessions to now offering a wide range of therapies and services that are often otherwise inaccessible to families. These include services such as hydrotherapy, counselling, inclusive activities like drama and karate, and free advice for Special Educational Needs (SEN).

Our independence as a charity means we can develop our programme in line with the needs of our families; something that has always been and remains important to us. We do not apply for or receive any statutory funding from the government or local authorities.

OUR AIMS

• We aim to support children with any disability and additional needs. Helping to reduce the impact that this can have on their access to activities and their wider life experiences.  We aim to remove the exclusion that families can feel. This can develop from being unable to access mainstream services due to a lack of understanding, facilities or knowledge. We aim to offer support to the whole family. Supporting siblings, parents and carers, making sure they are provided with therapy, advice, information and services to empower them as advocates and to improve their quality of life.

ROLE PURPOSE

To plan, develop, manage, lead and deliver a full programme for Skylarks families.  This will include activities and workshops for children and young people with disabilities and/or additional needs up to the age of 25 and information workshops, support groups and activities for parent-carers to increase their well-being.

To be responsible for and lead on the programming for children with additional needs and disabilities and their siblings and parent-carers

To work with the Operations Manager, and operations team to deliver high-quality programming in line with the charity’s aims and objectives

To work with the Operations Manager to ensure grants and funding are spent according to their remit.

To work with the Operations Manager to ensure value for money is achieved and satisfaction delivered