A new accessible minibus for Strathmore School - TVF's grant helped to make this possible
Published: 07 December 2023
We were delighted to visit Strathmore School to see and hear just how big a difference its new accessible minibus is making and proud to have awarded a grant of £21,000 to make it happen. The majority of the grant that TVF awarded was from the proceeds of the main auction at TVF's Annual Ball in December 2022.
‘The new minibus that has been safely delivered and is now standing proudly at school will make a huge difference to our learners and we are thankful to each one of you at The Victoria Foundation for the support you have given in raising the funds to purchase it. … As the learners grow older, they use the minibus to access local gyms, cafés, and places of interest and once they get to the last few years of their time at Strathmore they travel further afield and attend colleges and work experience placements. We could not fulfil our promise to enrich our learner’s lives with our crucial community programme, which forms an integral part of their education, without adapted minibuses. Our children have physical disabilities which makes it difficult for them to access public transport and some of our learners are isolated within their family homes and do not access the wider community because of their sensory and social needs. Your contribution will allow each one of our children to access the world outside of the school buildings. You have broken down the barriers to their right to access our wonderful world and you have opened up opportunities that they wouldn’t have normally had. Thank you from all of us at Strathmore and we hope to see you all soon. …’ With all our thanks and best wishes, Sarah Hurtado, Headteacher
TVF’s Special Wheels Appeal 2023
TVF’s Special Wheels Appeal is aiming to raise £18,370 to help fund an urgently needed minibus for The Brook Special Primary School, Tottenham, which will provide vital transport for youngsters with complex needs during term time and the holidays too. All of the children at The Brook have an Educational Health Care Plan. Their needs mean it is extremely difficult for many of the children to access public transport, their mobility issues mean that the majority of pupils are picked up on a transport route facilitated by the local authority.
The school's commitment to its families is such that it also provides a daily transport route for families who do not qualify or who are unable to access school transport routes; the school is responsible for a breakfast and afterschool provision both for its children and the local community (many ex pupils who have moved on to secondary schools) and it also provides respite during school holidays. This helps many of its families to be able to stay together, prevents safeguarding issues and provides continuous provision for many of the children. The school also uses its minibuses weekly to delivery food from the Felix project to its families, as well as collecting and distributing a generous donation of bread from Warburtons on a weekly basis to help vulnerable families and the wider local community. The school urgently needs to replace at least one of its minibuses to ensure it can continue to provide vital transport for the children.
Please donate now to help TVF raise £18,370 so that The Brook Special PrimarySchool can get the new minibus it so urgently needs.
