This summer Options in Life, in partnership with Fife College, ran a Summer Activities Programme for students with additional support needs. Running twice a week for four weeks, the programme aimed to provide respite for both students and parents during the summer break while allowing the students to develop new skills and socialise with their peers.
The activities included trips to the zoo (with animal handling and feeding!), go-karting, dolphin spotting in the Tay estuary and visits to Our Dynamic Earth and Scone Palace. The group made the most of each trip (helped by the glorious weather we enjoyed) with everyone trying new things and surprising themselves with how well they did and how much fun they had. When asked about their favourite trip the resounding response was ‘All of them!’
It was a pleasure to watch each student grow in confidence throughout the programme, with everyone overcoming individual fears and challenges and trying new things. For some it was having the courage to handle a snake, for others developing the self-belief to drive their own go-kart but in each case the students experienced an important sense of achievement.
Furthermore, the students became more confident with each other: while all students of Fife College, not all of them had met before. The programme allowed them to socialise and build friendships with their peers, which led to them encouraging and supporting one another and becoming more aware of each other’s needs.
– Rebecca Blyth, Activity Leader
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