ABOUT OPEN SESAME

Opening the door

Parents and carers who have a child with special needs / special educational needs (SN/SEN) may often require information about services, equipment and support, but may have difficulty in locating it. On an island, and in rural communities this is especially true. The Open Sesame project operates as an information and support point for these families.

Aims and Objectives

• To provide access to information for families who have a child with SN/SEN.
• To encourage the involvement of children with SN/ EN in leisure activities in organised or informal settings.
• To reduce the social isolation of children with SN/SEN, and that of their families.

Open Sesame is here to help. Our service is confidential, with appointments and home visits are available on request.

A brief history…
The Open Sesame project was originally established in 2000, funded through the Scottish Executive Innovation Grants Programme. The project provided community based advice and information, and provided support to parents and carers of children with SN/SEN.

In May 2002 Open Sesame was awarded a further two-years funding through the Scottish Executive Innovation Grants Programme. A pilot project was set up in this period, the focus being inclusion of children who have a SN/SEN. One of the main aims of the pilot was to launch a befriending scheme, whereby mentors and buddies would work with young people who have SN/SEN in order to give them the support and encouragement they need.

By the end of this period, after running for 4 years, the project was offering a varied service. This included a buddy service for the children, telephone support for parents / carers, home visits, a parent support group, a Saturday club for the children which the parents went on to lead, family weekends, and parent training / workshops.

With financial help from Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, the Open Sesame project continued after funding from the Scottish Executive Innovation Grants Programme had come to an end. This allowed the project to maintain the original capacity of providing support and information to parents and carers of children with SN/SEN.

At the moment…
The project is currently in a period of transition, and we are currently looking into ways of developing the project further in the near future, hopefully this will see even more people getting involved with the Open Sesame project.

Watch this space…

Further Information:
Please contact:

Ann Maciver
Voluntary Action Lewis
30 Francis Street
Stornoway
Isle of Lewis
HS1 2ND

Tel: (01851) 702632
Fax: (01851) 703035
Email: ann.maciver@valewis.org.uk