A local mental health charity has been helping to make environmental improvements to the landscape around Northumberland’s biggest port. 

Service users from Blyth Star Enterprises’ Stakeford Nurseries have been planting trees and shrubs at the Port of Blyth’s South Harbour as part of a new landscaping maintenance contract. 
The commercial contract forms part of the work carried out by the mental health charity under the remit of its ‘Next Steps’ project, which aims to provide its service users who have participated in the horticultural training programme taught at Stakeford Nurseries with volunteering experience in community-based environments. 

Telling the time is a basic life skill that all children need to learn.  Being able to manage your own time is an important part of independent living.  But for many children, learning to tell the time is a challenge.  It can be especially difficult for those with learning difficulties.

Time is taught in Primary School as part of the Maths curriculum, but many children move on to teenage years and beyond, still confused about time.  Why is it difficult?  Several issues spring to mind…

Digital vs Analogue – in our increasingly digital age, children are used to seeing digital clocks.  They can easily read the time from a digital clock by simply reading the numbers.   But it’s hard to develop an understanding of time in this way.

Industry invited to nominate stations across Britain that would benefit from improvements to accessibility. Department marks one-year since the publication of the Inclusive Transport Strategy, the move follows wider developments to make the transport network more inclusive, such as the extension of the Blue Badge scheme. Disabled rail passengers across the UK are set to benefit from a raft of accessibility improvements with the opening of a £20m government fund (Monday, 8 July 2019).

A new report is being launched in Parliament setting out the case for a deal for the learning disability sector, focusing on realising the potential of technology to boost investment and transform the way care is delivered.

National learning disabilities charity, Hft, supported by Tunstall Healthcare, produced the paper outlining the key arguments for an economic partnership with the government as part of the UK Industrial Strategy – a long term plan for the future aimed at backing businesses to drive productivity through investment in skills, industries and infrastructure.

New charity Dementia Carers Count has launched a new range of one-day courses for family carers in addition to their three-day residential course programme. The new courses offer a bite-sized approach, covering specialised subjects which can help carers to build the skills and confidence to see them through the challenges that caring can bring. 

Dementia Carers Count has a unique vision: that all family carers of people with dementia will feel confident, supported and heard. These new one-day courses are part of a new series called “Caring About…”and will focus on the emotional as well as the practical needs of carers encouraging them to look after themselves as well as helping them understand the needs of the person with dementia. 

Ardmaddy Estate sits in a quiet corner of Argyll, on the west coast of Scotland.  Just half an hour from the fishing and ferry port of Oban it allows for easy access to shops, ferries, and exploration of the wider area – but at the end of the day you can return to your own little haven of peace and quiet.

Many people don’t go far away when they are staying here, choosing instead to enjoy the peace, the views, the birds and wildlife.  We have many species that thrive on the land and waters at and around Ardmaddy – golden eagles, sea eagles, ospreys, buzzards, herons, otters, seals, pine martens, red squirrels, roe deer, stoats, and much more thrive in the environment that is as unspoiled as possible.

A leading not-for-profit business and disability organisation is calling on  the London Mayor disabled people to have better access to public transport, following the announcement that there will be a car-free day across London on 22 September to raise awareness of the air pollution crisis.

Angela Matthews, Head of Policy and Research, at Business Disability Forum, said:

Flint town centre is in bloom thanks to a talented group of adults with learning disabilities, who have been working hard to create a new array of hanging baskets.

Tri Ffordd is a group of adults supported by national learning disability charity, Hft, as part of its supported employment initiative. The team are behind the 53 hanging baskets recently put on display in Flint town centre and a further 6 in use at Flintshire County Council.

A new form of hallucination has been identified as a psychological disease and an emerging public health concern as part of an international research project led by the University of Derby.

Conventional hallucinations typically involve seeing or sensing things which do not really exist. 

Now, researchers have come up with the theory of ‘inverted hallucinations’, which means not seeing or sensing things which do exist.  

If a person suffers from inverted hallucinations, it implies that their real-time awareness of psychological and sensory experiences is significantly impaired, and therefore they experience a distorted perception of reality and miss out on their life.

A construction worker in South East Northumberland has braved the shave to raise funds and awareness for a local mental health charity.

To celebrate its 50th anniversary year in 2019, Riding for the Disabled Association is marking the milestone through its 50 Faces campaign, telling the stories of some of the amazing people who make RDA the extraordinary organisation it is today. Para Dressage rider, Sophie Christiansen, adds her story to the 50 Faces explaining how without RDA she wouldn’t be where she is today and her ambitions for continued success and her desire to help other riders achieve their dreams.

Here we meet…

Pentewan Sands Holiday Park has just got more accessible thanks to a brand new wheelchair-friendly holiday home available to hire.

The five-star family friendly holiday park based in Cornwall’s beautiful Mevagissey Bay, with stunning views across the park’s privately owned beach, now offers a completely accessible holiday home featuring all the latest home comforts for guests looking for a break by the sea.

The new holiday home has been thoughtfully designed to ensure it is easy for wheelchair users to stay in, and offers accessible space and comfort with a sense of style.

The full line-up for the All in the Mind Festival 2019 has been officially revealed. More than 30 exciting theatre, dance, visual art and musical acts from around the UK will descend on Basingstoke for one day only, to shine a light on mental health. 

Three stages will cover Eastrop Parkon Saturday 14 September - the Dance Space, the Spoken Word & Music Stage, and the Theatre Tent. Other acts and activities will also take place around the park. 

Clearwell Mobility has implemented eco-friendly changes across its 12 stores and hopes to donate more than £1,000 to the Gardening for Disabled Trust.

The South East’s leading supplier of mobility and home healthcare products has started charging 5p for plastic bags and will be donating all proceeds to a charity that aims to help people get back into gardening in spite of disability.

Last year the company used 22,000 plastic bags and hopes that, by charging for its bags, it will encourage shoppers to bring their own reusable bags and, in turn, reduce plastic pollution.

Robert Walters Group UK has named the Dame Vera Lynn Children’s Charity as its official UK charity for 2019.

The charity supports under 5s with cerebral palsy and other motor learning impairments – focusing on helping children to realise their full potential.

The bulk of fundraising for the charity will take place on the Group’s annual Charity Day, taking place on Friday 11 October 2019.

All 400 of Robert Walters Group UK employees - across London, the South East, Midlands and the North West - will be taking a break from work for the day and will be tasked with raising as much money as possible for the charity.