A History of Guideposts Trust – Chapter 4
2022 is the 50th anniversary of Guideposts. To mark this special anniversary, we’d like to share the story of our charity: where we started from, the journey we have travelled so far, and a vision for the future of Guideposts Trust.
Although the way we deliver our work has changed over the years, the ethos and values remain the same: helping people build on their strengths, maintain their independence, achieve their aspirations, develop supportive connections and avert isolation and loneliness.
Catch up with previous chapters:
- Chapter 1: How it All Began
- Chapter 2: Making the Vision a Reality
- Chapter 3: Supporting People with Dementia
4. Always Striving to Meet Needs
4a. Caring for carers
Providing help and support for the carers of the people we support, relatives and/or friends, has always been central to Guideposts’ work.
Caring for a loved one can be very rewarding but also very challenging, and Guideposts has been working for many years to ensure carers can access the support they need to cope through those challenges and help prevent them reaching crisis point.
From 2006 to 2017, Guideposts delivered a Carers Support Service in Warwickshire offering information, advice and guidance for all carers, together with emotional support. The service facilitated the creation and running of hundreds of carers groups, fundraised for a carer hardship fund to support carers’ access equipment and support, and helped carers to get a break by ensuring that they had received a carers’ assessment and that their need for respite was recognised.
Between 2013 and 2018, we were commissioned to deliver the the Carers Emergency Scheme in Gloucestershire, providing peace of mind to carers that that someone would be there for them and the person they cared for in case they were caught in an emergency and became unavailable.
Today we organise a range of community support groups and clubs for carers to either take part in activities with the person they care for or on their own, in Gloucestershire, Hertfordshire, Oxfordshire, and online. We also organise groups for the cared for, giving carers a chance to take a short break from their responsibilities, rest, attend their own health appointments, meet with friends or catch up with family.
One of the most valuable opportunities for carers is to meet with people who are going through the same experience. This can mean so much, particularly during testing times, helping with getting through each day and making a very difficult and stressful time that little bit easier.
4b. Children with disabilities and special educational needs and their families
Guideposts has developed and run a variety of support services for children and young people with special educational needs (SEN) over the years.
From 2005 to 2014 Guideposts provided Fun Clubs (after school and holiday groups) for SEN children and young people in Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire, Gloucestershire and West Berkshire. These Clubs offered a wide range of leisure activities for children to enjoy positive social interaction, keep active and have fun. Activities allowed for children and young people to try new experiences in a safe and supported environment, develop their learning and skills while improving their confidence and self-esteem.
From 2014, we shifted our focus to specialise in the provision of Forest School activities for SEN children who live in the most deprived areas of North and West Oxfordshire. We saw that while playing outdoors and exploring nature is hugely beneficial to children’s development, unfortunately it is something that children with additional needs and disabilities never or rarely experience.
As well as the greater barriers to outdoor participation, parents and/or carers of SEN children and young people are apprehensive of not knowing what to do and anxious for their children’s safety. Guideposts’ Forest School Project was established to overcome these barriers to the many benefits that outdoor and interacting with nature can provide: fresh air, relaxation, physical activity, creative and sensory experiences, new learning and skills, making friends, independent and free play, and positive challenges.
