Teen thanks Children in Need for holiday club
BBCA teenage girl from Bramhall has thanked BBC Children in Need for helping to fund a school holiday club for students with learning difficulties.
The CADS (Children's Activities and Disabled Sports) programme is run by Stockport-based charity the Seashell Trust.
Grace Wilson, 14, with cerebral palsy, attends the sessions. She said: "I do bikes, drumming and swimming. Without it, I'd just chill around the house.
"I really love the staff because they're so bubbly and fun, like me".
Grace's cerebral palsy means she struggles with her walking and suffers muscle pain in her legs.
She uses a wheelchair and has cochlear implants.
The 14-year-old attends goes to Castle Hill High School in Offerton during term-time and has attended the CADS club at the Seashell Trust for six years.
Her mother, Clodagh Wilson, said: "Everything is adapted to the young people who attend. She's safe, she's having fun and she's well looked-after.
"You don't need to worry. It's fabulous to see her going off happy and excited".
The sessions include one-to-one support for participants, and staff provide help for children who need regular medication.
The programme is part-funded by local councils but is also supported by BBC Children in Need, with a three-year grant worth £120,000.
Almost 100 young people are eligible to attend CADS and the sessions are fully booked.
Samantha Keane, who runs the CADS programme at the Seashell Trust, said: "Some of our young people have epilepsy, asthma or nut allergies so all of the staff have to be trained to safely look after those children and that costs a lot of money.
"It's genuinely the best job in the world and the difference that the BBC Children in Need money has made is just phenomenal."
The Seashell Trust is largely funded from the council social care packages of its students, who are some of the most severely disabled young people in the country.
The charity includes the Royal School Manchester, for children under 16, and the Royal College Manchester for young people aged 16 to 25.
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