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Happy World Down Syndrome Day!

Each year on 21st March we mark World Down Syndrome Day. We celebrate Down Syndrome (DS) to raise awareness about what it means to have DS and the huge potential that people with DS have.

On this day, we create a single global voice advocating for the rights, inclusion and wellbeing of people with DS.

Why the 21st March? The 21st day of the third month was chosen to represent the three copies of the 21st chromosome which causes Down Syndrome. This unique chromosomal pattern is often represented by brightly coloured or mismatched socks, as their shape resembles chromosomes.

World Down Syndrome Day is a perfect time to get talking about DS, dispel myths, raise awareness (and funds!) and most importantly, celebrate.

A great way to do this is by taking part in the 'Lots Of Socks' campaign. The campaign was launched to get people talking, and is a celebration of everything that makes all of us different, and yet the same.

Wear some mismatched or colourful socks that are going to get noticed and then when someone notices, it’s the perfect opportunity to say, “I’m wearing them to raise awareness about Down Syndrome”. And that’s your chance to share everything you want them to understand about DS.

The theme for WDSD 2025 is to call on all Governments to ‘Improve Our Support Systems’. For more information about WDSD 2025, here are some useful links:

Improve Our Support Systems - Down Syndrome International

Improve Our Support Systems - theme explainer

Down Syndrome explained

WDSD 2025 – Down Syndrome UK

World Down Syndrome Day | United Nations

We are incredibly grateful for all of the support that you give us. Your generosity enables us to continue delivering our high quality services that make a meaningful difference in the lives of our families.

What better occasion than World Down Syndrome Day to show your support of DS Achieve through a donation? If we’ve made a positive impact in your life or in the life or someone you love, please consider making a contribution to us.

Vacancy - Chair of Trustees

DS Achieve is a registered Charitable Incorporated Organisation formed by parents of children with Down Syndrome. Our vision is that every child with Down Syndrome in our community has the opportunity to thrive and reach their potential. We support and champion children and young people with Down Syndrome by providing advice and support to their parents and carers, ensuring professionals are knowledgeable and skilled, and creating a positive, inclusive community. Our team is professional, dynamic and inclusive.

The Role:

We are seeking an experienced individual to lead our Board of Trustees as Chair. This is a voluntary position, with a commitment of approximately 10 to 15 hours per month, including attendance at half-termly board meetings and occasional events. Board meetings are held in the St Albans area (or online).

Key Responsibilities:

  • Provide leadership to the Board, ensuring it operates within its charitable objectives and complies with all legal and regulatory requirements.

  • Work closely with the Head of Operations to support delivering DS Achieve's strategic objectives.

  • Act as an ambassador for DS Achieve, promoting its work and enhancing its public profile.

About You:

The ideal candidate will have:

  • Experience of chairing a board, partnership, or high-level committee, with the ability to run meetings effectively and in a collegiate fashion. 

  • A passion for supporting children and young people with Down Syndrome.

  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to foster relationships with a range of stakeholders.

  • An understanding of charity governance and the responsibilities of trustees.

What We Offer:

While the role is unremunerated, reasonable travel expenses will be reimbursed and training will be provided. The role will help you enhance and develop your leadership skills in a small but professionally run organisation. This is an opportunity to make a significant impact on the lives of children and young people with Down Syndrome in our community, working with a friendly and dedicated team of trustees and staff.

How to Apply:

Please submit your CV and a covering letter outlining your interest and suitability for the role to info@dsachieve.org by 21 March 2025. For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Gillian Warwick-Thompson on 07826 086511.

DS Achieve is committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive community. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and experiences.

Join us in empowering families and fulfilling potential.


What an Afternoon! Highlights from our DS Achieve Family Party

We’re still on a high from all the fun we had with so many of you at our Family Party on Sunday!

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us - it was wonderful to see so many families come together and celebrate as part of our amazing DS Achieve community.

The Jersey Farm Community Centre was the perfect venue for an afternoon packed with activities for all ages. Here’s a look at what we got up to:

  • soft play for little ones to enjoy

  • a dedicated quiet room for those needing a break from the excitement of the main room

  • crafts galore - scratch art, colouring and animal mask decorating

  • an activity zone featuring giant Connect 4, Ball in the Bucket, Frisbee Challenge, Monkey Mayhem, Ring Toss, and Table Football

  • a ‘selfie’ spot with fun props and an Instagram frame

  • a raffle with a fantastic hamper prize, generously donated by Scott and Emma Vaughan, and won by Nikki and family

  • guessing competitions:

    • number of sweets in the jar, won by Lisa

    • teddy bear’s name (Lucy), won by Jo

  • the refreshments station with squash and snacks, plus hot drinks from the Blue Tangerine Horsebox Café, which provides young people with SEND employability skills and experience

A special shout-out to the incredibly talented professional photographer, Stephanie Belton, who generously donated her time and skills to capture the fun, laughter and family moments of the day. Be sure to check our her amazing photos!

A massive THANK YOU to the fantastic volunteer team without whom this event wouldn’t have been possible: Alhaam, Ariella, Charlie, Charlotte N, Cole, Helena, Kambiz, Jake, Lisa, and Max - thank you for all your hard work and enthusiasm!

If you attended, we'd love to hear your thoughts! Share your family’s highlights or any suggestions for making our next event even better by emailing us at: info@dsachieve.org

Generous donation from Mike and Steph Whateley

We would like to say a HUGE THANK YOU to Steph and Mike Whateley for their fantastic fundraising. They have been busy making and selling their delicious marmalade and have raised an incredible £125 for DS Achieve.

Every penny of this donation will go towards our work with families and professionals to enable children and young people with Down Syndrome to fulfil their potential.

We are extremely grateful, thank you!

Join us and make a difference…

DS Achieve is on the lookout for new Trustees to join our team in 2025, and you could be the perfect candidate!

By becoming a Trustee, you can:

  • make a difference to children and young people with Down Syndrome and their families

  • influence what we do at DS Achieve and how we do it

  • be part of a passionate and committed team

We are particularly keen to receive applications from parents and/or siblings of a child or young person with Down Syndrome.

If you are passionate about making a difference and would like to volunteer some of your time and skills to a great charity, then this could be the role for you.

A full role description and more information can be found below. We are committed to equality and diversity and welcome applicants from all backgrounds.

To apply, please send a relevant CV to info@dsachieve.org. For further information or to discuss any aspects of the role, please contact our Chair of Trustees, Gillian Warwick-Thompson, either by email as above or by phone 07826 086511.

Thank you for all your support in 2024!

A HUGE thank you to our wonderful supporters - the families we work with, our grant funders, our social media followers, and MASSIVE thanks to our employee team, our trustees, our Advisory Teachers and our volunteers. We appreciate all of the support you have shown us in 2024.

Our 2024 Impact Report has now been published, please take a look at achievements over the past year here: https://dsachieve.org/2024-impact-report

Spring 2025 classes are now open for booking!

Our bookings for next term’s Little Achievers are now open, and we’ve had so much fun this past Autumn term!

This term, we’ve been working on developing fine and gross motor skills through a variety of engaging activities. The children enjoyed sorting objects into bowls using large tweezers, colouring and mark making with crayons and paints, and using playdough to cut out shapes. We also practised pouring dry cereal into cups and bowls, linked to Sandra’s teaching of the verbs “filling” and “pouring”. 

As the season changed, we embraced all things autumn! The children explored leaf printing and used magnifying glasses to examine leaves, conkers, and sticks up close.

In the last few weeks, we have turned our attention to Christmas arts and crafts with the making of our Christmas cards and Christmas pictures. 

As well as all of these activities, our weekly Sing and Sign sessions have been a highlight, with everyone (both adults and children!) learning and practicing new Makaton signs each week. These sessions have been a wonderful way to enhance communication skills while having fun. Meanwhile, our visiting therapists have provided invaluable advice and support to parents throughout the term.

It’s been a fantastic and productive term at Little Achievers, filled with learning and creativity. We can’t wait to see what the Spring term brings!

Booking link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1086818526469?

Bookings for the Spring term at Young Achievers are also now open.

This term, the Young Achievers have been exploring the theme of ‘being kind,’ and we’ve had an amazing time embracing kindness in so many fun ways!

A highlight was welcoming Sarah from Critical First Aid, who delivered a first aid course for our older group. The session taught everyone valuable skills, including what to do in an emergency, how to help someone who is hurt, and even how to perform CPR!

Themed weeks have also been a big hit this term. During Space Week, the children and young people shared facts about planets and enjoyed a themed movement session whilst exploring outer space. Halloween brought its own excitement, with everyone dressing up in costumes and making spooky potions.

Throughout the term, we’ve focused on practising kindness through activities like sharing and listening exercises, offering words of encouragement to build each other’s confidence, and celebrating our successes through show-and-tell sessions and talent shows. These moments have helped the children and young people discover new ways to make friends and express kindness within the group.

We’ve also continued to develop essential turn-taking and social skills with a variety of engaging games, including duck duck goose, scavenger hunts, and ball games.

We’re so proud of the Young Achievers and all they’ve accomplished this term!

Booking link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1086848536229?

We are recruiting for a Young Achievers Assistant Leader!

You will report to the Young Achievers Group Leader and be responsible for supporting the running of the programme, which will include assisting with planning and delivering the weekly activity sessions, managing the volunteer schedule, supporting communications with parents, liaising with external activity providers where needed, and helping to supervise the team.

Pay: £14.30 per hour

Benefits:

  • Employee Assistance Programme

  • Statutory holiday entitlement

Hours: 5 hours per week for 31 weeks per year (term time only):

  • 4 hours to be worked 2pm - 6pm on Saturday afternoons at the YAs venue

  • 1 hour to be worked during each week from home, ahead of the Saturday group sessions.  The timing of this is flexible and should be agreed with the YAs Group Leader.

YAs location: Applecroft School, Applecroft Road, Welwyn Garden City, AL8 6JZ

Contract: Fixed Term for 10 months (Oct 24 – Jul 25), with a view to renewing for the next academic year

Start date: October 2024

If you are interested in applying for the position and want to find out more, please read the role profile here and get in touch with your CV and the reasons why you’re interested in the role on info@dsachieve.org.

The application deadline is Wednesday 18th September. Please expect to receive a response to your application once the deadline has passed.

Welcome to the 2024-25 Academic Year!

We hope everyone enjoyed a fantastic summer! As the school year begins, we wish all the best to those starting new schools or returning to school this week. Wishing everyone lots of luck!

A new term at school means a new term for DS Achieve activities and services, take a look below to see what we have coming up:

And remember, it’s not too late to take part in our 'Choose Your Challenge' family fundraiser!

Your support to help us raise essential funds will allow us to continue delivering our services, which enable children and young people with Down Syndrome to achieve their potential. Find Out More

If you would like any more information on any of the services DS Achieve offers, please get in touch! We would love to hear from you: info@dsachieve.org / 07824 467471.

Autumn 2024 classes are now open for booking!

Our bookings for next term’s Little Achievers are now open, and, once again, we’ve so much to share with you from this past Summer term.

This term at Little Achievers we have been focused on the topic of "Dear Zoo" during stay and play to reflect what the children have been exploring in their teaching classes. Over the weeks we have hidden various animals from the story in different sensory inputs such as shredded paper, big foam bubbles, in an icy world and inside different boxes. The children have also enjoyed playing with tactile resources including kinetic sand and rice.

We've had visits from our Occupational Therapist, Physiotherapist, and Speech and Language professionals, who have offered valuable advice and support. Most importantly, we've created weekly opportunities for families to come together and celebrate their wins or talk away their worries.

Booking link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/little-achievers-autumn-24-tickets-934342151527

Bookings for the Autumn term at Young Achievers are also now open, there are two booking links: one for the younger age group and one for the older age group so please check carefully when making your booking.

At Young Achievers this term, the children and young people have been getting to know Emma, our new Group Leader, whilst also practicing their social skills, communication and increasing their self awareness.

The children and young people have had the opportunity to explore a wide variety of activities, including planting sunflower seeds, celebrating the International Day of Yoga with some very impressive flexibility, and holding a DS Achieve Olympics themed sports day and so much more!

We have also spent lots of time exploring ourselves, sharing our wants and likes, recognising what we are good at, and celebrating our achievements through talent shows, show and tell and choosing games. We have also continued to develop our turn taking and social skills with a wide variety of fun games like duck duck goose, tower stacking and ball games.

Booking link for the Younger Age Group: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/young-achievers-social-skills-group-yr-r-to-yr-6-autumn-24-tickets-934350346037

Booking link for the Older Age Group: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/young-achievers-social-skills-group-yr-7-to-yr-1213-autumn-24-tickets-934354207587

Before you go...

Please consider making a small donation to support DS Achieve.