Disability and difference for primary schools

“The JustDifferent Workshops that were held at our school yesterday were instrumental in helping to raise awareness of disabilities and how they can impact on someone’s life with our pupils. We believe that it is crucial that children develop empathy for others and the activities and presentation helped them to become aware of what can be achieved by someone with a disability rather than judging a person after a first glance.

Pupils for both Year 2 (age 6-7) and Year 5 (age 9-10) said how differently they viewed Toby at the end of the session compared to the start e.g. they realised that they needed to talk directly to him, rather than to his carer. The workshop offered a mix of group activities and experiences that are new to the majority of our children; it gave them plenty to think about.

Oscar & Joshua (Year 2): “We liked it when we saw him play football and basketball because it was fascinating as we did not know people in wheelchairs could do that”.

Sophie (Year 2): “It was cool when he looked at the words and the robot spoke. I want to be like that”.

Jackie (Year 5): “He told us he’d done all his goals e.g. ski, get messy and marry his girlfriend (Helen) - that’s great!”

Sarah (Year 5): “We learned it’s ok to be Different”.”

“The session was invaluable, it is important for children to realise how disability can affect lives but also how much a person with a disability can achieve.

The children were amazed with the number of activities that Toby was able to participate in, and although they were obviously nervous at first they soon relaxed and thoroughly enjoyed the session.

Interestingly we have two children with disabled siblings in one of the classes. One pupil has always been quite vocal about her brother being in a wheelchair. However, the other girl has never mentioned her brother who has a disability. When Toby asked at the start of the session if any of the girls knew somebody with a disability she put her hand up and she has been heard talking about him with her friends ever since. This is a huge milestone and achievement for the young girl.

I thought it was also very good that Toby talked about people living with mental illness, explaining that you could not always tell from looking at somebody that they were living with a disability.

The girls enjoyed getting involved in the sessions, asking questions, group discussions, quizzes and the chance to try an navigate a wheelchair round a small course.”

“Year 2 found their visit from Alison both enlightening and inspirational. The children were fascinated by the ways in which Alison has overcome the challenges she has faced in day to day life and during parent consultations this week, the teachers in the year team were advised that some children had gone home and demonstrated the ways in which Alison writes and picks things up with her feet. The workshop was an inspiring way for children to develop empathy for others but more importantly celebrate being unique.

Year 3 really enjoyed their visit from Alison, who explained how her and others like are are just different. They thought about how life at school would be a extremely different through an engaging and informative presenter, who patiently answered all their questions. The activities undertaken were thought provoking and made the pupils really think about people's ability.”

“Toby’s visit was a valuable experience for our children to learn about living with a disability and how to overcome barriers that disabilities might present. It was inspiring for both the children and staff to hear Toby’s achievements and was an eye-opener for us all.

I thought the Q & A time was great and the children enjoyed interacting with Toby and getting to know more about him as a person.

The ‘JustDifferent’ message is very simple but extremely powerful.”

“Yesterday we were delighted to Welcome Alison Wright into our school to do a short talk to each class on Disability & Difference.

The children were unsure to start with but soon relaxed, listened in awe and were able to ask sensible questions. The feedback following the talks from teachers and children was very positive and the children are still talking about it today. Some children have desperately been trying to paint with their feet!

As a school we feel Alison’s visit had a great impact on all children and hopefully they will go forward now accepting disability as a normal part of the world they live in. We were also impressed by the quality of the questions they asked Alison and her appropriate responses ensuring they had the right answer in a way they could comprehend and relate to.

On behalf of everyone at Springfield I would like to thank Alison and the JustDifferent team. We will definitely be inviting them back next year.”