Trips out for children with special needs

[supportman]

Hello, I have just taken the responsibility at work to help with activity planning and need some help with ideas on trips out for the kids.

I have been looking into suitable places and come up with a few ideas already, but the more the better. I am especially looking to find activites that are good on the sensory front for some of our more profoundly disabled children and also places that have good concession rates.

Any ideas will be much appreciated.

A local group to us has been organising activities for special needs kids recently and some of the things they have done include - soft play (hiring sole use of local soft play), bowling, swimming (hiring sole use of pool), bus trip to see the Christmas lights (obviously not appropriate for this time of year but maybe an open air sightseeing type bus might be a nice trip), music, cinema, disco, horseriding, trip to the zoo, dance classes, acting groups. However I don't think all these activities were suitable for profoundly disabled children and all required the parent to accompany the child - which is fair enough, but I'm not sure whether that is the case with you. Don't know if that helps at all.

Oh also I believe there are two or three special needs playgrounds in different parts of the country - Berkshire and near Stoke maybe - just if you happened to be near to them then that might be good - however you would probably know already if you were .

dd goes out with her respite place. the kind of places they go to are. the local animal shelter(raystead) local NT place (sheffield park)
I take it you will be looking in kent? Fio will know. as she gave me some suggestions about it. but howletts is a must. dd(severe cp) adores it there.

I knew you would know
we took dd to howletts last year at pushing dd was fine. but i wasn't pregnant

Groombridge pLace has an 'enchanted forest'. I've not been there but have heard it is good.

Blue bell railway??? although I have to say when the whistles blow it can be very scary and make people jump so perhaps that wouldn't be so good.

I liked Howeletts but it was very expensive and I know that the animals are kept beatifully but there was an awful lot of staring through wire at some bushes and not a lot else - they might get a bit bored. I think that Drusilla's does deals for disabled visitors and we enjoyed it there. You can see through the glass to see the penguins swimming and they have some smaller pet like animals.

Ohhh if it is not too far from you then Godstone Farm is Fabbity fab with farm animals and the most enourmous play area with loads and loads of sandpits. If you went during the school term then it would just be the mum and toddler crowd.

Thanks for the replies people, yes you are right Welovetelegraphpoles about free entry to wildwood, that is one of our regular haunting grounds

Have been to the play center Fio with more able bodied children and saw the platform but haven't taken any of our wheel chair kids yet. Have to check out the play area at Folkestone, is it enclosed or open air?

Has anyone been to Macfarlanes butterfly centre near Dover? Any good? Found it in my searching and it sounds really interesting and I would imagine quite a good sensory type thing.