Record breaking summer! We had a record breaking summer at Swings & Smiles. We welcomed more families than ever before, supporting over 166 families and 240 children with special needs to enjoy play throughout July and August. Running a special timetable of sessions during the holidays, we were able to offer family play, respite days and trips out for siblings. Children and their families were able to enjoy use of our specialist indoor and outside facilities. Volunteers kept the garden looking neat and tidy while the team at Swings & Smiles focused on delivering engaging activities such as cooking, arts and crafts and sensory play.There were over 1,200 visits to Swings & Smiles in July and August compared with 880 for the same period last year and we were pleased to welcome lots of new faces from the local area and beyond. One family said, “Swings & Smiles gives me a reason to get out of the house to go somewhere familiar with my child, she relaxes and so do I. It is amazing. It’s somewhere we can go and just be us with no staring or feeling uncomfortable.”Laura Lewis, Charity Director, commented: “We’ve had the most fantastic summer at Swings & Smiles, the numbers of families now accessing our services are the highest we have ever seen. The long summer break can be a challenging time for many families and we’ve been delighted to be able to offer a such a wide range of support to children with special needs, siblings and their parents and carers. We now look forward to a busy Autumn term continuing to deliver groups that build upon friendships in a fun and inclusive environment.”