A shout out to schools: new award for young people launches

The charity, Diverse Abilities, extends the reach of the 'Our Personal Transition' (OPT) award to celebrate personal achievement to a wider audience.

Who are Diverse Abilities?

Diverse Abilities is a disability charity based in Dorset. The charity was set up in 1955 by Phyllis Edwards, when her young daughter was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy and discovered there was no support locally. The only option she was given was to send her daughter away. Fast forward

to now, and the charity supports over 1,000 children and adults across Dorset. The charity runs a specialist school - Langside School, The Beehive (an activity and therapy hub for adults), as well as respite services and school holiday activities. The charity also provides a Supported Living Service so adults can live in their own bungalow and take part in all the activities they enjoy with 24hour care provided.

What is the OPT Award?

Langside is a specialist school for children aged between two and nineteen with profound and multiple learning disabilities and complex medical needs. It was within the upper school at Langside, the OPT Award was born, out of a need to provide a structured award for young people who wanted to experience a wide range of activities from age sixteen through to their transition to adulthood.

Lynda Larke, creator of the OPT Award and Assistant Head Teacher at Langside School, commented: “Students such as ours at Langside, are rarely recognised for their achievements and abilities, yet face extraordinary challenges in their daily lives, both physical and mental. Students with very complex medical needs often don’t have the same access to accredited schemes as those in mainstream schooling.”

Lynda continued: “The children I have taught for the last 20 years inspired me to create an accredited scheme that caters specifically for children with complex needs, I felt determined to create an award that provided opportunities to enrich children’s lives, whilst enabling positive risk taking and personal challenges.”

The students, aged sixteen and over, at Langside School have been trialling The OPT Award over the last year. Now students at the Northern Counties School in Newcastle and

Percy Hedley School in Killingworth are continuing trials. We are keen to get other schools involved from across the country.

The OPT Award gives students the opportunity to complete three strands across three school terms, each earning an OPT Award badge:

• The Helping Award

• The Personal, Social, and Emotional Wellbeing Award

• The 48 Hour Challenge

The Helping Award

The Helping Award encourages students’ involvement in activities to benefit their local community, such as caring for animals, fundraising, and volunteering for different charities. As well as carrying out errands such as washing cars or helping to cook a meal.

The Personal, Social and Emotional (PSE) Wellbeing Award

The PSE Wellbeing Award involves activities that come under the categories of Group Co-Operation, Skill Development, and Engagement in Physical Education. Suggestions of activities include hydrotherapy, kitchen skills, and meditation, or sport such as ice skating. However, like the rest of the award, the choice of activities can be adapted to suit a particular school or student.

The 48 Hour Challenge

The challenge element of the award is to take on two days of activities that the students would not normally experience, plus an overnight stay away from home. Suggested activities include a high ropes challenge, a water sports experience or abseiling. Alternatively, the activity could be going for a sensory visit to a place the students do not visit regularly, such as a woodland or beach. The overnight stay gives the group an opportunity to experience a night away from their main carers. It could be away at a hotel or residential centre, or it could be a camp out at the school where you have all the necessary equipment to hand.

Visit www.optaward.org.uk for more information about the OPT Award, and how your school or organisation can get involved.