What have we been up to in Scotland?
1st September 2015 and finally the day arrived that CLAPA had not only 1 staff member in Scotland but 2. Myself working full time as the Senior Regional Coordinator and Melanie Skinner working 3 days a week as our Scotland Support Officer. To say it has been a busy 7 months is an understatement but we really hope that our events have been an opportunity for you to come along and meet other families. We kicked off in September with a Family Day in the glorious sunshine at Crieff Hydro, followed by some Parent Contact Training where we trained 5 mums and dads from Scotland to become Parent Contacts. We also launched a new CLAPA Branch in Glasgow. Shortly after that we had our Branch Christmas parties which were just as fabulous as usual and great fun was had by all.
Following feedback which we gathered through the Scotland survey in November 2014 it was clear that there was a demand for activities for older children. Following some funding from Scottish Government we have had 4 older children’s activities in Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Ayrshire, including climbing, bowling, crazy golf, ski-ing, tubing and an aerial course. We have re-launched our Happy Faces Groups, starting in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Fife.
The Patient Voice is an important new area we wish to develop and the Adult Group has been functional for a year, meeting to discuss the treatment pathway for adults. In addition we are really excited to have a Scotland Children and Young Persons Council which had its first meeting on 23rd April and a Scotland residential weekend in May. Also keep an eye out for our family days running in June, July and September – there may be one near you!
All in all we hope to have something for everyone and we would like to reach out to more areas in Scotland. If you would like to join an activity, have an event near you or just help us out then please do get in touch on [email protected]
Gillian