New accessible minibus for young people at Grantham Additional Needs Fellowship (GANF)

Young people living with a disability at GANF, have been handed a transport lifeline following the
delivery of a new 16-seat accessible Lord’s Taverners minibus this week (29 Jan), with Lincolnshire
County Cricket CEO Martyn Dobson handing over the keys to the new vehicle.
GANF, part of CIT Academies, is a specialist school for pupils aged 3-19 with moderate to severe
learning difficulties and complex needs. Its pupils’ needs are wide ranging; many are on the autistic
spectrum, with others living with ADHD and varying degrees of developmental delay, and some with
profound and multiple learning difficulties. The school caters for over 248 pupils and is based across
two campuses, Sandon and Ambergate.
The new 16-seat wheelchair accessible minibus will enable the school to transport children to
therapeutic activities and events, and other activities such as residential trips that offer essential life
skills development opportunities.
The increased opportunity to access the local community and facilities on offer will provide pupils
with the chance to experience things that they wouldn’t be able to otherwise and help improve their
confidence and self-esteem.

Kyna Adkins, Interim Headteacher, said: “On behalf of all the pupils at Grantham Additional Needs
Fellowship, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Lord’s Taverners for the significant
investment of a brand-new minibus. The pupils are exceptionally excited to have the new minibus
which will provide them with further opportunities to develop their confidence and experience in
accessing the local community.
We are keen to get all our pupils out and about as much as possible to apply their learning into the
real world. Due to the additional needs of the pupils, they can often find it overwhelming to go on
local transport and therefore this new minibus will allow all pupils to have a wide range of
experiences as they prepare for adulthood.”
GANF applied for the new specially adapted minibus in 2020 but the pandemic and more recently,
supply issues in the motor industry due to a lack of key components, Brexit, Covid-19 and most
recently the war in Ukraine, led to the delay. Given there is no indication of when this may be
resolved, costs increasing, new diesel vehicles being banned from 2030 and the greater demand for
eco-friendly solutions such as electric vehicles, the Lord’s Taverners has taken the decision to honour
any outstanding approved minibus applications while putting the rest of the programme on hold.
The delivery of the charity’s new strategy puts the primary focus on delivering impactful national
cricket programmes that deliver life changing work in communities across the country daily. The
charity will continue to work with those schools who have outstanding approved applications and
look at ways in which support can be offered in finding alternative long-term transport solutions.
The Lord’s Taverners positively impacts the lives of young people facing the challenges of inequality.
The charity works across the UK and beyond to provide inclusive and impactful cricket programmes,
empowering young people with disabilities and from disadvantaged communities to overcome the
challenges of inequality, raise their aspirations and reach their potential.