GRANTHAM Additional Needs Fellowship (GANF) is among 99 projects in the East Midlands receiving a share of £829,384 in grants from the Big Lottery Fund’s Awards for All programme today.
GANF comprises of two Grantham-based schools, Ambergate Sports College and Sandon School, catering for pupils between the ages of 3 and 19 with moderate to severe learning difficulties and complex needs.
Each pupils’ needs are wide ranging; many are on the autistic spectrum, with others having ADHD and varying degrees of developmental delay, and some with Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties.
GANF are striving to improve the lives of pupils through environment and experiences and to this end, they have been fundraising to install a small adapted gym at their Ambergate site.
More able pupils can access their sports field for football, rugby, running, hockey, long jump etc. However, less able pupils struggle to access some of the physical aspects of sport and having a purpose built gym will enable inclusion across the board.
GANF looks after highly vulnerable youngsters, a significant number of which have ASD. Physical exercise will help them to control their anxieties and hopefully increase their ability to focus on the academic curriculum.
Principal in charge of schools at GANF, Ann White “Life skills is paramount and sits very high within our organisation. We want to prepare our pupils as best we can for life after education. For many of them, improving and developing their motor skills will give them a better chance in life and spending time with others at the gym will enable them to boost their social skills.
“We are thrilled to receive this lottery grant of £10,000, this now puts us on a fundraising total of £18,279 meaning we are getting so much closer to our goal of £24,000.
“We are all so excited for works to start on the new purpose built gym”.
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