Schools collect award from charity

Thursday 19th July 2012

Two schools have been honoured by a charity for their work with pupils who have special needs.

Tuke School, in Lewisham, and Willow Dene, in Greenwich, have collected the accolades from The Move Partnership, a UK-based charity which aims to provide severely disabled children with the opportunity of independent movement.

Willow Dene School, in Plumstead, has been awarded Centre Of Excellence status, which makes it just one of 17 such centres across Europe.

Tuke School, in Peckham Rye, has been awarded Quality Mark status. The Move Quality Mark measures the quality or provision by an organisation currently using the Move Programme.

The programme is activity based and combines the knowledge of family, education and therapy to help children to become active participants in their own lives, by teaching them the skills of sitting, standing, walking and transferring to the best of their ability.

Each child works towards personalised goals, whether it be to lift their head independently for 30 seconds, or to walk a short distance, with only their hand held for support.

Nigel Carter, chief executive of The Move Partnership, said: "The children, teachers, therapists and parents at Willow Dene School and Tuke School have all worked extremely hard with the Move Programme so it's great to celebrate their efforts and accomplishments.

"The Move Programme aims to get children moving around in different ways, thereby reducing health problems, including a potential decrease in the need for surgery, and improving quality of life.

"Improvements are also seen in communication and social skills as the children gain the ability to interact with the world around them."

It costs The Move Partnership £252 per year to allow a child to access its programme. To help children like those at Willow Dene and Tuke visit http://www.themovepartnership.org.uk.

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