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We are running 2 creative clubs for autistic girls in years 6-11 that will take place once a week, from 7.30-9pm, in November, December and January. There will be 10 sessions. They are called the Being Me Clubs.
Please read the information below, and if you would like to register your interest, you can do so by filling in the form at the bottom of the page. The deadline for registering interest is 26th October 2022.
Please read the information below, and if you would like to register your interest, you can do so by filling in the form at the bottom of the page. The deadline for registering interest is 26th October 2022.
***DUE TO POPULAR DEMAND, we have extended the age range for your Yate group to include those in Year 6***
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The venues are: |
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Monday evening: Park Centre
Address: High St, Kingswood, Bristol BS15 4AR Age range: School years 7-11 (ages 11-16) Dates: 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th November 2022 5th and 12th December 2022 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th January 2023 Time: 7.30-9pm |
Thursday evening: Ridgewood Community Centre
Address: 244 Station Rd, Yate, Bristol BS37 4AF Age range: School years 6-9 (ages 10-14) Dates: 10th, 17th, 24th November 2022 1st, 8th, 15th December 2022 12th, 19th, 26th January 2023 2nd February 2023. Time: 7.30-9pm |
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Who are the clubs for? |
The Being Me clubs are for autistic girls and non-binary people in mainstream education, who maybe feel that they don’t fit in, or who 'mask' their true selves.
The participants may not be very confident and so are perhaps quiet in school... or maybe they act more confident than they feel. Maybe the teachers think they’re getting on fine, because they’re not disruptive, or don't appear to have other educational needs, or maybe they get in trouble at school for things that seem unfair. However, when these young people come home the mask comes off and the stress of each day comes out.
Participants may:
YOU DO NOT NEED A FORMAL DIAGNOSIS TO ATTEND THESE CLUBS.
… but it’s really important that anyone attending these groups knows that they are/might be autistic, so that everyone can feel comfortable talking about the subject, if they want to.
,There will be a maximum of 15 participants in the Kingswood group and 12 in the Yate group (because the room in Kingswood is bigger). There will always be a minimum of 2 adult facilitators present each week. We also expect there will be 2 adult volunteers in each group.
The participants may not be very confident and so are perhaps quiet in school... or maybe they act more confident than they feel. Maybe the teachers think they’re getting on fine, because they’re not disruptive, or don't appear to have other educational needs, or maybe they get in trouble at school for things that seem unfair. However, when these young people come home the mask comes off and the stress of each day comes out.
Participants may:
- have a formal autism diagnosis
- be on an autism diagnostic pathway
- not be seeking diagnosis, but self-identify as being autistic
- display traits and tendencies related to autism
YOU DO NOT NEED A FORMAL DIAGNOSIS TO ATTEND THESE CLUBS.
… but it’s really important that anyone attending these groups knows that they are/might be autistic, so that everyone can feel comfortable talking about the subject, if they want to.
,There will be a maximum of 15 participants in the Kingswood group and 12 in the Yate group (because the room in Kingswood is bigger). There will always be a minimum of 2 adult facilitators present each week. We also expect there will be 2 adult volunteers in each group.
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What sort of creative activities will be on offer? |
Our facilitators have a range of backgrounds and artistic skills, including art, music, yoga, writing and more. They will offer a creative activity in the first session, and from that they will work with everyone at the club to find out what they are most interested in and what they enjoy doing the most, and tailor the sessions around what they discover. We are not working towards any one goal, performance or exhibition. Whatever ends up happening will be the right thing.
If you don’t want to take part in the activity that week, that’s totally fine. Each of the spaces will also have a chill out area that can be used as and when you want to. You can also sit and watch the activity if you prefer.
If you don’t want to take part in the activity that week, that’s totally fine. Each of the spaces will also have a chill out area that can be used as and when you want to. You can also sit and watch the activity if you prefer.
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Who are the facilitators? |
At the Park Centre in Kingswood the facilitators are Sumita Majumdar and Lucy Kingsley. At the Ridgewood Centre in Yate the facilitators are Nix Barnaville and Serafina Kiszko. You can find out more about all 4 facilitators here. There will also be two volunteers in each group.
Our facilitators and volunteers are a mixture of autistic and non-autistic, and some have autistic family members. All the people we work with go through a thorough induction process, which includes safeguarding and project specific training. All of our facilitators are DBS checked.
Our facilitators and volunteers are a mixture of autistic and non-autistic, and some have autistic family members. All the people we work with go through a thorough induction process, which includes safeguarding and project specific training. All of our facilitators are DBS checked.
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What are the spaces like? |
We have made some videos that show the spaces the club will take place in. You can see them by clicking here.
Both venues have accessible entrances with either flat access or ramps.
The clubs will happen in one large room. The facilitators will create different areas in the room so that you can try out the creative activities on offer, but also sit and chill out if that’s what you’d prefer to do. There is no pressure to join in, but everyone is always welcome.
Due to our staff ratios and safeguarding policy, we need to keep everyone together in one space for the duration of the session. Parents and carers are welcome to wait outside the building, or to drop your young person off and come back for them again at the end of the session.
Both venues have accessible entrances with either flat access or ramps.
The clubs will happen in one large room. The facilitators will create different areas in the room so that you can try out the creative activities on offer, but also sit and chill out if that’s what you’d prefer to do. There is no pressure to join in, but everyone is always welcome.
Due to our staff ratios and safeguarding policy, we need to keep everyone together in one space for the duration of the session. Parents and carers are welcome to wait outside the building, or to drop your young person off and come back for them again at the end of the session.
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Do I have to pay? |
No, the groups are totally free. If your parent or carer would like to make a donation to Can’t Sit Still to help us do more of this work in the future, they can do so here.
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Will I have to attend every week? |
Once we have allocated you a place in the clubs, it will be held just for you, every week. We would love to see you as much as possible - there will be a total of 10 sessions, which we hope people will want to regularly attend - all the dates are listed above. However, we also understand that some weeks, that might not feel achievable. If you can’t attend a session, please let us know. One of the facilitators will follow up with you afterwards to let you know what happened, and perhaps offer you an ‘at home’ version of the activity that was on offer.
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What should I wear/bring with me? |
You can wear anything you want.
Please bring whatever makes you feel most comfortable. You could bring ear defenders or noise cancelling headphones, if you like to use them. If you enjoy fidget toys or have an object you find very comforting, you can also bring these. You should also bring a bottle of water.
Please bring whatever makes you feel most comfortable. You could bring ear defenders or noise cancelling headphones, if you like to use them. If you enjoy fidget toys or have an object you find very comforting, you can also bring these. You should also bring a bottle of water.
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Why are you running these clubs? |
We think it’s really important that everyone should have a space where they can be themselves, and we know that for too long that’s been really difficult for autistic girls. We want to change that.
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What happens next? |
If you’re interested in joining the groups, you need to register your interest using the form you will find at the bottom of this page by 26th October. However, we recommend registering interest sooner rather than later as we are expecting a high level of interest. Once you’ve done this, someone from Can’t Sit Still will arrange to have a chat with your parent or guardian, to make sure that the club is the right place for you and has everything you need.
We only have 27 spaces available, and these will be allocated on a first come, first served basis following the phone calls. We are a small team and as you can imagine, this process will be very time consuming! We know there may well be many more people out there who would benefit from this opportunity than we can accommodate right now, and this is something we’ll look at in the future.
If you are offered a place at the Being Me clubs and would like to accept, we will send you and your family a participant agreement to sign and send back.
We only have 27 spaces available, and these will be allocated on a first come, first served basis following the phone calls. We are a small team and as you can imagine, this process will be very time consuming! We know there may well be many more people out there who would benefit from this opportunity than we can accommodate right now, and this is something we’ll look at in the future.
If you are offered a place at the Being Me clubs and would like to accept, we will send you and your family a participant agreement to sign and send back.
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Then what? |
Following that, one of the facilitators from your club will get in touch to arrange a quick one-to-one chat, either via a messaging service, on zoom or on the phone - it’ll be up to you. This is so that you can start to get to know them before the first group and they can talk you through any worries you may have, or discuss what will happen in the first session. You don’t have to do this if you’d prefer not to.
Then it’ll be time for the clubs to start!
Then it’ll be time for the clubs to start!
