Groups with Special Needs

We do our very best to accommodate whoever approaches us and work with each customer on an individual basis to meet everybody?s own specific needs and requirements.  We want everybody to get that feeling of complete freedom when out on the water! This approach leads to a very wide access for people of all abilities and ages.
 
Both our sites at Hove Lagoon and Brighton Marina are wheelchair accessible with private changing facilities, shower and toilet for wheelchair users. However at the moment we do not have lifting equipment to help individuals into boats.

We do lots of work with community groups that have learning and physical difficulties and also host groups with visually and hearing impaired members. 

For example, we work with

• Cornerstone School twice a week, a school for children with special needs ranging from social to physical and psychological.
• ACE kids and help them develop new skills on the water as well as socially.
• We have taught a group of disabled children from Patcham House.
• We regularly teach invaluable skills to autistic children as well.
• We provide watersports opportunities for kids with a range of disabilities through schemes in partnership with Brighton and Hove City Council.
• We have worked with partners including Brighton City council, a range of grant providers and community groups to come together to provide Watersports opportunities for kids and adults with special needs, including Grace Eyre.

Lead instructor Rachel Cockle ?It?s a fantastic project to be part of. The guys at Grace Eyre and St Johns College are great and it?s been a pleasure working with them to get them on the water. Sailing is a fun and enjoyable sport that should be enjoyed by everyone, Hove Lagoon is a perfect place to learn as it?s such a safe and secure learning environment.?
 
"I wanted to say a massive thank you on behalf of Grace Eyre for the sailing lessons which were a huge hit with the people who accessed them. Please also thank the instructors, our staff and service users said they were absolutely brilliant and incredibly helpful and knowledgable.
 
All the people who completed the course were incredibly proud of their achievements and clearly had a fantastic time, it's been the talk of the centre for weeks and they're asking for more watersports!
 
Thanks again for the opportunity, St Johns also got a lot out of the sessions. It's had a big impact on those involved in terms of confidence and they had a lot of fun."
 
I just wanted to thank you so much to you and your staff for providing St. John's learners with such a valuable and memorable experience.

Your staff, Rachel, Junior and Georgie, were brilliant with the group! As I said to Katie at Grace Eyre, both learners and staff returned saying it was the best day they'd had at St. John's! They are all up for doing it again some time."

We provide help from getting the kids changed through to helping with the equipment and the actual training.

We are also proud to be involved in the Brighton & Hove Physical Activity Project Proposal, which will be delivering a subsidised sailing course over 6 weekends in late August and September, with training being given to 5 people for each of the 14 hour sessions taking place at Brighton Marina. The projects targets people aged 16 and over with visual and hearing impairments. The Head Instructor at the Brighton Marina site has got many years of experience in working with people with a range of disabilities, and he will be leading each one of these courses. The keelboats used on these courses are very stable so that the sailors will feel safe and secure, but they will still experience the thrill of sailing and will be given increased responsibility for sailing the boast themselves over the period of the course.

There is currently no targeted sailing provision in Brighton & Hove for people with visual and hearing impairments which is why we are extremely pleased to be involved with this project.

For more information on special rates for your group or private tuition please call 01273 42 48 42 ext 2 or email us.