Posted By: Caroline, 42 days ago
Pupils and teachers of St Mary’s Catholic Primary School are bringing Christmas cheer early to the people of Whitstable on Thursday 11 December by singing carols and raising funds for JustDifferent outside their local Tesco store. After experiencing our workshops on disability, the pupils chose us as their Advent Charity.
Posted By: Caroline, 57 days ago
A visit to Headington Preparatory School in Oxford has gone a long way in opening the pupils minds to disability. Ross Smith, our Hampshire based Workshop Presenter performed three workshops on disability and difference to pupils in Key Stage 2. Headteacher, Andrea Bartlett wrote:
“Thank you so much for arranging our visit with Ross today, he was absolutely fantastic. The girls loved meeting him and I think that they all feel more informed and confident now in their approach to disability. I am sure that we will be asking him to come again in the summer term to see the groups he didn’t see today”.
Posted By: Caroline, 77 days ago
Due to such a huge demand our special offer of £50 for up to three workshops has now ended. We are fully booked until the end of December 2008. Our standard fee of £150 for up to three workshops continues to offer exceptional value. This works out at only £50 per workshop, which equates to £1.70 per pupil (based on 30 pupils per workshop). We are now taking bookings for 2009. If you are a teacher planning a themed week or topic day of activities under PSHE or Citizenship, or you have pupils joining you with SEN, we can help you to bring your subjects alive through our fun and interactive workshops on disability and difference.
Posted By: Caroline, 105 days ago
In August 2008, Toby Hewson attended the ISAAC (International for Augmentative and Alternative Communication) 13th World Congress in Montreal, Canada. ISAAC brings people together with communication disabilities, professionals, researchers, and academics from all over the world to present and discuss the latest advances for people who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Toby gave a talk entitled ‘Come see my house, learn about my life, and meet my great personal support team’. download notes
Posted By: Caroline, 113 days ago
We would like to welcome Debbie Allen who has recently joined us as Workshop Coordinator. Her role is to liaise between the schools and workshop presenters and manage all stages of the workshop booking process. Debbie has in-depth experience of managing sales teams in the field, and is a skilled administrator. She is currently in training and will be ready to manage the bookings from the end of October.
Posted By: Caroline, 161 days ago
Already a Charitable Company by Guarantee, we are proud to annouce we are now officially a Charity in it’s own right. It’s been a long time in the making but Registration Number 1125004 was bestowed upon us last week.
Posted By: Caroline, 169 days ago
Beyond Boundaries Live is an event showcasing a wide range of products, services and interactive activities to people with disabilites.
Come and visit the JUSTDIFFERENT team to chat informally about becoming a Workshop Presenter - talking to children in schools about your life with a disability, a life very similar to theirs in which you do the same things as them, you just do them differently.
Our Head of Human Resources and Training, Julia will be there to answer any questions about employment with us, and Alison one of our new Workshop Presenters will be on hand to give advice on what’s involved in creating and presenting a workshop in schools. Toby Hewson, the founder and inspiration behind the work that we do will be popping in on the Friday. Find us all on stand ESM140. We look forward to seeing you there.
Posted By: Caroline, 181 days ago
Due to the high demand from schools for our workshops on disability, we are now seeking someone to join our team as a Workshop Coordinator.
Working at our modern offices in a beautiful barn conversion on the outskirts of Chichester you will manage the workshop bookings. A friendly and helpful disposition is a must, as an important part of the role is building relationships with teachers and taking care of our workshop presenters. Reporting to our Head of Services and Marketing strong computer and adminstrative skills are vital for this pivitol role.
Posted By: Caroline, 191 days ago
Creating their workshops was a challenge for our new presenters, Alison, Adam and Matthew. The complex but rewarding process was a bit like learning to drive with lots of things to consider and learn at the same time. Heads down they worked extremely hard for two days solid. They talked over ideas together and with each day, they gained confidence as they saw their presentations take shape.
Aside from thinking about what parts of their life story they would share - to finding the images to use, they also had to learn how to use the electronic equipment, which they would use for the delivery of their workshops. With a little bit more work to do, they are not quite ready to trial at Westbourne House School this week as originally planned.
With some final tweaking and practice with timings, they will present to the team at the office on the 1 July before trialing to a real live pupil audience at a school later in the month. Watch this space!
Posted By: Caroline, 197 days ago
We are thrilled to welcome two more workshop presenters ‘in the making’ to the team.
Matthew who was born with cerebral plasy has a wicked sense of humour, plays Boccia for England and has a passion for opera. He lives in Hampshire and will be presenting in primary schools in his local area and surrounding counties Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire.
Adam was born with Spina Bifida. He has a keen interest in keeping fit, in particular body building. He too loves music and is an ardent fan of the legendary Elvis Presley. Adam has a large collection of the entertainer’s memorbilia. He lives in West Sussex (Adam, not Elvis) and like Alison will be presenting in primary schools in his local area and parts of Hampshire, East Sussex and Surrey.
By the end of this week, all three would have completed their training induction and their workshops on disability will almost be ready for release into schools for the autumn term. Local school, Westbourne House, has once again lent it’s support and very kindly offered to be their first audience helping with the final review and assessment process. Pupils from Year 8 will appraise the presenters’ style and presentation content helping them with any developments needed before they launch their workshops into primary schools across the South this coming September.
