SEND case study

Hitchin

My community interest company recently won a grant from Herts Community Foundation. I have used this money to help a range of community groups, but one in particular was to help Learning Disabled residents in Hitchin.

I ran a workshop for this group in July. We had a good turnout: three members of staff and five residents.

The workshop ran for four hours. This was a long time and demanded some commitment. I was worried that not everyone would stay. They did and the hours flew by!

Although the residents knew each other really well, it was worth having an ice breaker to kick things off and set the tone. This was a fun, laid-back chat about food using a variety of plastic foods - most of the attention went to the naughty foods - the treats! This got people talking about what foods they liked and whether they were good or bad foods. A very interesting topic.

We had lunch, which I brought pre-prepared: cooked pasta and lots of cut up veggies. We had fun putting together a salad, which for some people involved adventurous new food.

We used a workbook I had designed to talk about healthy eating and what foods were full of sugar. To illustrate these foods, I had brought picture cards. We weighed out the sugar using a set of scales. Some residents were shocked to see the amount of sugar they might consume each day. One resident was inspired to go to her flat to fetch some of her favourite foods. She was keen to know if they were good or bad. She was shocked to learn that her favourite foods contained a lot more sugar than the 30g recommended daily intake.

A few weeks later, I was invited to the group’s annual barbecue. It was great to see them again. Not only did I receive a lovely welcome, but I also learned about some of the changes people had made to their diets. This, at the end of the day, is what it is all about.