8th July 2019 – Joie Baby, in partnership with Variety, the Children’s Charity presented Pantysgallog Primary School with a Variety Sunshine Coach, at a ceremony today. The coach is part of a fleet of ten donated by Joie Baby to be delivered to Special Educational Needs schools across the nation.
Pantysgallog Primary School caters for 252 pupils from Nursery to Year 6; the children`s individual needs include ASD tendencies, sensory and physical disabilities. The school has no minibus provision, so the specially adapted Sunshine Coach will help the school overcome its most significant barrier – accessing amenities out in the broader community that would otherwise be unavailable. It will be used every day to support the school taking the children to cultural and sporting events, where they can advance social skills, increase their self-esteem and fully participate in society along with their peers.
Variety’s Sunshine Coaches have helped to improve the lives of thousands of disabled or disadvantaged children across the UK. The coaches enable schools to take children on education and recreational days out allowing children to explore places they would otherwise never have visited. Variety is celebrating its 70th anniversary as a UK charity this year. In this time, it has helped to improve the lives of almost one million disabled and disadvantaged children and their families.
Like Variety, Joie Baby is committed to supporting parents and children. Its high-quality car seats and pushchairs are designed to make parenting as easy as possible, and provide littles ones with comfort and safety whether they’re being transported around the corner or around the world.
David Welsh, Managing Director, Joie Baby said: “We are humbled to be joining Variety on its mission to help communities across the UK who suffer due to sickness, disability or disadvantage. Joie Baby has always been committed to supporting families, and Variety shares this value with us. We’re delighted to provide 10 Special Educational Needs schools across the country with much needed transport that will make a real difference to the lives of students, their families and the teachers who work so hard to provide a great school experience for all students.
“We’re very excited to present Pantysgallog Primary School with its coach today and see first-hand the wonderful people who will benefit – it truly is a joy.”
Dave King, Head of Programmes at Variety, the Children’s Charity, said: “We are extremely grateful to Joie Baby for funding this coach, along with nine others up-and-down the country. This Sunshine coach will be getting a lot of use supporting the schools accessible education programme, focusing especially on taking children to cultural and sporting events which will help them develop their social skills and increase their confidence at participating in society. “
Darren Thomas, Headteacher, Pantysgallog Primary School said: “We are delighted to receive our minibus from Joie Baby and Variety, the Children’s Charity. The bus, which has been charitably donated through a sponsorship agreement with Joie Baby, opens up so many opportunities for all of our pupils.
“At Pantysgallog we pride ourselves on being a totally inclusive school, without our new bus there is a possibility that some of our pupils with complex needs could be excluded from excursions and offsite visits which we regularly plan into our annual calendar as a means of providing pupils with authentic learning experiences outside of the normal classroom setting.
“This amazingly generous gift helps us consolidate our inclusive ethos and ensure that all of our pupils are able to access the curriculum and the enhanced opportunities we offer the pupils at our school. The bus will have an immediate impact on the school which will be sustained for many years to come. Thank you Joie Baby and Variety.”
The 10 coaches donated by Joie Baby will go a long way to meet the charity’s target of donating 80 coaches in 2019. The remaining nine coaches will be presented individually to the deserving schools through 2019. These schools include:
- Birtenshaw School, Bolton
- Evergreen Primary School, Bishop Auckland, Durham
- Grantham Additional Needs Fellowship, Grantham
- St Nicholas School, Kent
- Playing for Success, Bolton
- Rossmere Primary School, Hartlepool
- St Michael’s RC Primary School, Newcastle Upon Tyne
- The Dales School, Blyth, Northumberland
- The Petty Pool Trust, Sandiway, Cheshire
