How your organisation can support I CAN

I CAN welcomes new partnerships with trusts and foundations to support new developments in I CAN's Special Schools, Early Talk network, Talking Point website and Training and Information programme.

Support from charitable trusts and foundations is vital to I CAN.

DAWN HOUSE SCHOOL COMMUNICATION SKILLS CENTRE

In June 2007 the Freemason’s Grand Charity made a generous donation of £50,000 for the start-up running costs of I CAN’s new Communication Skills Centre at Dawn House School our specialist school in Nottinghamshire. The gift represents the largest single donation towards the running costs of the Centre.

The Communication Skills Centre was officially opened on 14th September 2007 and we were delighted that Provincial Grand Master Robin Wilson (right) was able to attend as guest of honour.

Everyone at I CAN is extremely grateful for this level of support from the Grand Charity.

The Centre

Parents looking for help for their child can face real difficulties getting straightforward advice and support. Children with severe and complex communication problems need multi-professional assessments, but the provision of this usually is poorly coordinated.

I CAN’s assessment at the Communication Skills Centre helps families understand their child’s communication problems and informs parents and professionals how best to support children’s needs. It has transformed the experiences of children and families seeking help. Not only does I CAN’s system help avoid lengthy and distressing delays (children often wait months to see one professional after another), but a single report that is jointly created is easier to interpret and offers a more complete perspective on each child or young person’s strengths and needs.

From the Centre I CAN also provides outreach and consulting to mainstream schools to help them support children with Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN).

At the moment the assessment team is able to support 27 children per calendar year and this is set to increase.

Comments from parents whose children were assessed at the Centre

“Excellent facilities. My daughter really enjoyed it and everybody made her feel welcome. A positive experience where she said ‘I no longer need to pretend’ and for the first time she felt good at what she had done at school and proud. Thank you to I CAN for being understanding, listening and acknowledging my daughter’s needs and providing the monies to make the assessment possible."

“This is a 5-star service. The team was better than excellent. For the first time since we began this journey we felt our daughter was in safe hands. Each had absolute confidence in their specialism. I can’t put into words how this made us feel. This was clarified when we received their written report. Heartbreaking as it was for us to read, we are grateful for their perceptive insights into our daughter and the manner in which she deals with her difficulties. And we are so, so impressed with their detailed knowledge. Please pass on our thanks and gratitude.”

Long term vision

Apart from ongoing assessments we are planning to increase our consultancy and outreach services from the Centre, helping mainstream schools to support children with speech, language and communication needs in an inclusive environment.

Contact us

If you are a trustee, or have links with a Charitable or Corporate Trust, we would like to talk to you.

Please contact Peter Boonman (Head of Trust, Statutory and Legacy Fundraising), on 020 7843 2534 or pboonman@ican.org.uk, or Georgina Pope (Trusts, Statutory and Legacy Fundraising) on 020 7843 2534 or gpope@ican.org.uk to find out how your trust could contribute to our work or visit an I CAN project.