Health board and Wrexham school create “unique facility” for children with learning disabilities

An innovative new Reach Out Centre to help children with learning disabilities has launched at a Wrexham school.

Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board and St Christopher’s School, based on Stockwell Grove, are leading the way in Wales and working as partners to run the Reach Out Centre (ROC) which is a brand new, purpose built wellbeing centre where pupils can receive help for any non-educational matter.

Built and funded with £100k from the Welsh Assembly’s Intermediate Care Funds, the ROC is the first centre of its kind in Wales.

The centre is managed by Health Board Learning Disability Nurses Mai Rees and Lyndsay Myers who work with students on self-esteem programmes, sexual education, emotional regulation and safeguarding.

As part of the set-up nurses run vital ‘Friends’ groups from the ROC which is a self-esteem programme that encourages students to socialise and interact with others in a positive way.

Centre manager, Mai Rees said, “Most learning disability nurses are based in community teams but the joint working here is a really unique situation and opportunity to make a difference.

“It’s fantastic that we are now an established part of the school in this lovely new building. The children feel happy when they come here.

“We have got two child-friendly group work rooms and counselling rooms. It’s a real child friendly area. They can come here on their break and dinner, it’s a really relaxing space.

“We host relaxation sessions as well as running the lunchtime Daily Mile scheme where pupils and staff are encouraged to aim for a mile’s worth of steps in a day.”

The centre are also taking in lead in helping to combat period poverty by working with charity Wings Wrexham which enables the school to offer sanitary products for free to female pupils.

The ROC is now used by a wide range of visiting professionals like social workers, dieticians, speech and language therapists and counsellors who work with the children.

There are also two Health Board school nurses based in the ROC who help to look after the day to say needs of pupils. They give staff vital training on how to look after the children’s unique and sometimes complex medical needs at St Christopher’s.

School teachers and support staff are trained by the nurses to support students who can suffer from a range of issues such as breathing difficulties and seizures, they can also help pupils manage their enteral tube feeding which is tube feeding directly into the stomach.

Mai added: “The school worked with us really well to support the construction of the building. We had money from Welsh government but the school governing board have been so supportive of what we were trying to do.

“We have been made so welcome here and it’s a really good example of working together with all agencies and visiting agencies who come to the school to work with the children.

“We’ve had some really positive feedback about the centre and we are really excited about the future of the ROC.”

Headteacher Maxine Pittaway praised the ROC for making “significant positive differences for St Christopher’s health and wellbeing”.

“This facility has proved that collaboration makes doors open for the young people of St Christopher’s,” she continued.

“It provides positive support for a number of our young people.

“The many staff who work within the ROC have a wealth of expertise and this is now utilised fully with teachers, non teachers and the ROC professionals all working together to provide a seamless facility of care.

“This supports both the new Estyn Framework and the new Curriculum for Wales Health and Wellbeing AoLE work.

“I wonder now how we ever managed without this unique facility.”