Holiday Club 2024

Holiday Club provides an annual three-week summer club especially designed for young people from the ages of eight to 17 who have varying degrees of special needs. They are each supported in the activities and trips by student volunteers, who pair up with the young people one-to-one. Holiday Club works on three levels. Firstly, of course, we are there for the young people, giving them their own club with the opportunity to participate in activities that they cannot usually access and have at least as many different experiences as their peers. Secondly, for the parents/carers, to give them a much-needed break knowing that their children are safe and having fun during the long summer holidays. Thirdly, for the students, who often return to volunteer year after year as they have gained so much from their participation in our Holiday Club. 

Holiday Club 2024 was a lot of fun and enjoyed by everyone! From our feedback, most parents stated their child(ren) made significant progress in developing new positive relationships and in becoming positively empowered by new activities/experiences. 100% of parents agreed that their child(ren)’s emotional wellbeing was positively impacted by attending Holiday Club, that their own emotional wellbeing was positively impacted, and that we met the needs of their child(ren).

The children and young people were offered a wide range of activities, and every day was different.  Swimming, tobogganing, archery, rock climbing, sailing canoeing and skiing, were all on the programme, as well as circus skills, craft, sports and music workshops. We even visited a pig sanctuary! And we ended the three weeks with our annual bring-and-share family picnic, complete with steel pan band, animal petting farm and a very entertaining magic show.

The highlights include watching the young people try out new experiences and achieve things they didn’t think they could do, and seeing the volunteers flourish in their role as befriender – they threw themselves into the challenge.

One of the children overcame a fear of heights on the climbing wall which was a major achievement. Another young person took part in activities and was able to communicate his needs, something he had previously struggled hugely with. One of our new children was worried about not knowing anyone, but she got stuck in to making new friends. There were small achievements every day, in confidence, in taking part and in sociability.

The children benefit from the chance to experience a wide variety of activities which they would otherwise not have the opportunity to try, to socialise, to build up a rapport with their one-to-one student, and to have their very own club which is not open to their siblings. The benefit to parents is huge.  Firstly, they know that their child is safe and happy. Secondly, they have a rare opportunity for time for themselves and a rest. And thirdly they have the opportunity to do things with their other children.

We have so many people and organisations that we would like to thank, but the main one is to the student volunteers, who gave up their summer holiday time to make our Holiday Club work – without them, Holiday Club simply cannot run. Leighton Buzzard should be very proud to have so many sixth formers students who would volunteer to do such a worthwhile job in enhancing the lives of local children with disabilities. And we wouldn’t be able to reach all these wonderful young people without the ongoing support of the staff at Cedars and Vandyke Upper Schools. They work closely with us to get the message out and put so much effort into helping us get the cohort we need to make Holiday Club a success year on year. We also owe a big thank you to The National Lottery's Awards for All and Central Bedfordshire Council for their contribution to funding Holiday Club this year.

Leighton Buzzard Mencap Holiday Club began 35 years ago and although its ethos remains the same, it has changed a lot over the years. Literally hundreds of children and volunteers must have passed through during that time, and this is a wonderful opportunity to be able to sing the praises of the enthusiastic team of voluntary leaders, without whom there would not be a Holiday Club. They are all committed to providing the best possible experience for these young people and their families. Many of the members of our leadership team started off listening to us in a sixth form assembly, and now, however many years later, they take annual leave and arrange their own childcare to travel back to Leighton Buzzard from all over the country for these three special weeks in the summer.

Check out our slideshow of some of the fun we got up to!