Downright Special Fridays

Downright Special is:

• a place to make new friends for mum, dad and youngsters
• a place to share information and tips for an easier life
• a place to celebrate each of our children's achievements
• a place where we can enjoy fun and games together
• a place where we can share the most up to date resources
• a place where, together with our children we can begin to grab life with both hands, developing the skills our children will need to become fully integrated members of society

 

Morning Session

Downright Special meets every Friday morning in term time and is a friendly and welcoming group for children and parents alike. Our morning session is for babies and pre-school children. Other pre-school siblings are also welcome to attend and sessions are free to all.

We have a wide range of toys for children to enjoy as well as a fabulous soft-play room, and parents are welcome to borrow resources from our lending library.

The children also have fun whilst participating in ‘lesson-time’. The children are split into small groups according to their developmental stage and take part in structured activities, with a focus on improving speech and language skills. At the end of the session we all get together for “Magic Bag” – singing and signing time.

Just as importantly there’s lots of time for parents to chat over coffee, catch up and share experiences and to celebrate our children’s achievements.

 

Session Outline:

9.30 - 10.00am Arrival - A chance to have fun and play in our soft play. Parents can have a coffee and chat.

10.00am Hello song - We all get together and say hello.

10.10am 'Lesson time' Session 1 - Children are put into small groups to work on their speech language and communication skills, in structured activities tailored to children with Down syndrome. Our baby group focuses on sensory activities and introducing parents to Makaton sign language.

10.25am 'Lesson time' Session 2

10.40am Snack Time

10.55am 'Lesson time' Session 3

11.30am Home time

Venue: Bodmin Road Church, Padstow Close, Bransholme Hull HU7 4HE

Parking: There is some limited parking directly outside the church. You can also park in the car park of the Drake Pub on Penrose Close.

For more info call 01482 420160 or email office@downrightspecial.co.uk

 

Afternoon Session

School-age children attend our Downright Special Education sessions on Friday afternoons.  These children attend from mainstream school with their teaching assistants for a focused one and a half hour lesson covering literacy, numeracy, speech and language and the development of motor skills, with each activity tailored to fit in with curriculum topics.

All our sessions are built around the understanding of how a child with Down syndrome learns. By having the teaching assistants at the session we are able to pass on this understanding allowing them to utilise the most effective approaches within school too.