## ## |3)
Continuation
ofthe existing Young Achievers
Programme
for the
remainder
ofthe 2020/21 academic year. From September 2021,the|3)
Continuation
ofthe existing Young Achievers
Programme
for the
remainder
ofthe 2020/21 academic year. From September 2021,the|3)
Continuation
ofthe existing Young Achievers
Programme
for the
remainder
ofthe 2020/21 academic year. From September 2021,the| |---|---|---| |Young Achievers
programme
is to be relaunched
to provide a weekly||| |social development
programme
during
term time for primary-aged||| |and secondary-aged
children
with Down Syndrome.||| |4)
The continuation
ofthe Empowerment
Group, a programme|of|| |activities carefully designed
to give parents/carers
of children|with|| |Down Syndrome
the opportunity
to take a break from daily life,||| |strengthen
their social networks
and to focus on their wellbeing.||| |Little Achievers||| |Little Achievers
is a weekly teaching class during
term time for children,||| |aged five years and under,
with Down Syndrome.
Itfocuses on early skills in||| |the areas ofliteracy, numeracy,
fine motor skills, physical development|and|| |communication.
The teacher is a highly professional
individual
who has||| |extensive
experience
in teaching
and working
with children
and young||| |people with Down Syndrome. Progress is monitored
by the class teacher||| |and reported at the end ofeach term.||| |The teaching class is accompanied
by a wraparound
'Stay and Piay' session||| |which includes a number offocused developmental
and fun play activities,||| |as well as sing and sign sessions using Makaton. Visiting professionals|also|| |join the Stay and Play at regular intervals
to offer advice to parents,||| |Two part time employees
deliver the group —a manager
and a support||| |worker - supported
by a volunteer.||| |In response to COVID-19, the entire Little Achievers
Programme
was||| |successfully
moved to online delivery from April 2020 until July 2021.||| |Teaching dasses took place via screens and therapists
arranged
1:1||| |appointments
via telephone
or online meeting
options.
Little Achievers||| |returned
toface toface delivery from September 2021.||| |Feedback from parents continues
to be extremely
positive
with praise||| |focusing on the highly organised
nature ofthe class, the approachability|of|| |the staff and volunteers,
and the access to professionals
that would||| |otherwise
prove difficult for families to achieve. The opportunity
to meet||| |regularly
with other parents ofyoung children
with Down Syndrome
is also a||| |great benefit, based on parents' feedback.||| |Training sessions||| |2021 saw the continuation
of our high-quality
training events. A wide||| |variety oftopics were offered to parents
and professionals,
including||| |sensory processing
training, a speech and language
workshop,
Positive||| |Behaviour Support (PBS)sessions, supporting
children
with Down||| |Syndrome
in education
and introduction
to Down Syndrome.||| |Throughout
2021,our training events were hosted online
in response||to| |COVID-19 and there were 83places booked at training events.||| |Feedback was incredibly
positive across the board, with requests
for||| |repeat sessions
from those who were not able to attend
and additional||| |topics to be scheduled
from those who did.||| |Young Achievers||| |Young Achievers
is a programme
ofactivities which are carefully designed||| |to
ive children
the abili
to interact, develo
social skills and have fun|with|| ## ## |Section D|Section D|Section D|Section D|Achievements
and performance|| |---|---|---|---|---|---| |Summary
ofthe main
achievements
of the charity
during
the year||||The Trustees of DS Achieve are delighted
to report a number
of key
achievements
during 2021.|| |||||We have continued
to empower
parents and professionals|| |||||through
our social media, newsletters
and WhalsApp
groups|| |||||providing
information
and signposting
and providing
a platform|for| |||||peer support.
We have seen our following
continue to grow and
been delighted
to welcome new families.|| |||||We have run eight training courses,
with 83 places booked, for|| |||||professionals
and parent carers on a range oftopics including|| |||||positive behaviour
support,
sensory processing
and supporting|| |||||children
in education.|| |||||We ran an online Mindfulness
course for parents
in the Spring|| |||||helping
them with the challenges
ofrepeated
lockdown|| |||||restrictions.|| |||||We ran a brilliant
online 6week cooking skills course for school|| |||||aged children
and their families
in the Spring.
In the summer
we|| |||||arranged
two gymnastic
sessions and a creative arts class for the|| |||||school aged children
under our Young Achievers
programme.
We continued
to offer our Little Achievers
programme
using online|| |||||delivery
through
to the end of the 20/21 academic year. The|| |||||children
were able to make fantastic progress as a result ofour|| |||||specialist teacher, attend Sing &Sign sessions online, and|| |||||parents were supported
by the therapists
and DSAchieve team.|| |||||September
brought a big change
with a return
to face to face|| |||||delivery
in new venues,
wonderful
new employees
joining (Young|| |||||Achievers
Leader, Young Achievers
Assistant
and Little Achievers|| |||||Support Worker) and the launch ofour Young Achievers Social|| |||||Development
programme
which has secured grant funding
from|| |||||Children
in Need for the next three academic years.|| |||||Our Little Achievers
programme
is now in its 4th academic year|| |||||and we have secured grant funding
from the National
Lottery for|| |||||the next three academic years which
really transforms
our ability|| |||||to provide a stable and valuable
service for the very youngest|| |||||children
and their parent carers. We are sorry to be losing our|| |||||LiNe Achievers
Manager
but are very grateful
for her contribution|| |||||to Little Achievers
over the past 2 years.|| |||||The appointment
ofone new Trustee.|| |||||The creation and recruitment
ofan Administrative
Assistant
role to|| |||||support our Head ofOperations.|| |||||The Trustees ofDSAchieve are extremely
pleased
with the|| |||||achievements
ofour fourth year and the feedback from service users|| |||||about the
ositive im act ofservices the chari
has delivered.|| |Section E||||Financial
review|| |Briefstatement
charity's
policy|||ofthe
on reserves|DS Achieve aims to hold sufficient unrestricted
reserves to ensure that
any training courses committed
to, alongside
any administrative
costs of
the charity can be met for the following
six months at any point
in time.|| |||||It is expected that both the Little Achievers
and Young Achievers|| |||||programme
will be largely funded
by grant income and the delivery ofthe|| |||||ro rammes
will be de endent on successful
rant a
lications, The|| |TAR|||||| ## ## ## ## ## ##