The current Covid 19 crisis is really challenging for young people. You might be feeling worried, frustrated, or just plain bored – but however you feel, we hope you’ll find something to help you in this guide. This guide is written for young people with disabilities or special educational needs by the *Compass Card Team at Amaze.
*The Compass Card is a free leisure discount card run by the Sussex-based charity Amaze for disabled 0 to 25s living or going to school in Brighton & Hove or West Sussex. To find out more about the card and how to apply, click here. To find our more about Amaze, click here.
If you have ideas about things we could add to the guide, email compass@amazesussex.org.uk If you’re in Brighton & Hove or East Sussex and you’re part of Amazing Futures, you could also get in touch with:
If you’re in West Sussex, you could also get in touch with Youth Voice:
It can sometimes feel like the rules are changing all time, which can be really confusing. We recommend you check the restrictions for your local area before going anywhere. You can see the latest government advice here.
If you want to see where your local parks are, click this link for information about spaces in Brighton & Hove, this link for East Sussex and this link for information about spaces in West Sussex.
There may be some things you can do to feel calmer. At Amazing Futures, Amaze’s project for 14 to 25s with additional needs in Brighton & Hove and East Sussex, we encourage young people to think about the ‘5 Ways to Wellbeing’.
You can text SHOUT to 85258 at any time of the day or night to get free mental health support and coping strategies.
Mindfulness or meditation, or yoga can help you to stay calm. There are lots of free yoga classes online. Here’s one you could try if you feel anxious.
Smiling Mind is a completely free app that gives you meditations tailored to what you need. You can download it for free in the App Store or Google Play.
‘Stop, Breathe & Think’ is described as an emotional wellness app for under 25s. You can download it to your iPhone or Android smartphone. It’s free for the basic meditations and you get about 30 of these. After that, you need to pay for a subscription. You can find it in the App Store or Google Play.
The charity Young Minds has provided some tips about looking after your mental health here.
There are lots of ways to have fun if you’re online. Here are some things you might enjoy.
See Earth from space. You can get a view of the Earth via the NASA International Space Station livestream. The space station passes into darkness for roughly half of its 90 minute orbits, so there’s no video available during these times.
Travel the world with Google Maps. You can climb El Capitan in Yosemete National Park, trek to Everest Base Camp, explore Brazil’s Amazon Basin and more using Google Maps.
Live music online. Local charity Stay Up Late usually provides Gig Buddies for people with learning disabilities or Autism so they can go out to events. Public events are cancelled for the moment, but the Stay Up Late team has come up with a great way of keeping in touch online with the Gig Buddies Coronavirus Fest Facebook page.
All the fun of the circus. If you love the circus, we’ve got some good news for you! World famous circus company, Cirque du Soleil is sharing a 60 minute video with the best moments from their popular live shows. You can also paint your face like a Cirque du Soleil artist with make-up tutorials and there’s a weekly work-out programme too.
Go to Disney! Disneyland parks may be closed, but you can try lots of the best rides online at the ‘Virtual Disney World’ YouTube channel. You can watch them online or using a VR headset.
Check out Georgia Aquarium. Want to see what the penguins are up to in Georgia Aquarium in the US? Hint – they’re completely oblivious to Coronavirus! You can see them via the aquarium’s webcam here. And if penguin’s aren’t your thing, there are plenty of other webcams including jellyfish, beluga whales and more.
Something for puzzle geeks. The Enigma Emporium is an American company that sells puzzles and games, but you can now download its entire first game, ‘Wish You Were Here’, in pdf format for free. You’ll need a PC or laptop computer to do this, not a mobile phone. We were completely baffled by it, but serious puzzlers or people who love escape rooms will love it. If you get stuck, there are hints on the Enigma website.
Libraries are full of surprises. You can find out how the library services are operating here for Brighton & Hove and here for West Sussex. There’s lots of free online stuff, Did you know you can get free e-books, e-comics and audiobooks if you’re a library member? If you’re not already a member, it’s easy to join online.
Amazine – it’s amazing! If you’re a part of Amazing Futures in Brighton & Hove or East Sussex, you can keep up to date with Amazine, an online zine. There’s a new Amazine every few weeks and you can contribute by emailing Amazemagazine1@gmail.com.
There are also lots of free online exercise classes you can do to stay fit and healthy. These are just a few we’ve found.
Free online exercise with Active Sussex and REBOOT. This is a great way of accessing local sports and activities at home including yoga, street dance with Compass Card Partner Marina Studios and boxing. Find out more here.
Free exercise support for over 18s in Brighton & Hove. Part of a pilot project, Brighton & Hove City Council’s Healthy Lifestyles team is offering over 18s free one to one help to get you motivated and ready for physical activity. The support on offer can include: access to up to 10 free online activity sessions per week; one to one phone chat; help to access the Healthwalks Lockdown Challenge; sharing of useful health information and resources; and information about other Healthy Lifestyles services. Register here.
Join Joe Wicks. Joe, already well known for his YouTube workouts, cookbooks and C4 TV show, has heaps of online classes you can join in with on his YouTube channel ‘The Body Coach TV’ here.
Exercise with the NHS. You’ll find lots of exercise videos on the NHS website including aerobic exercise, strength and resistance, pilates and yoga and more. There’s even belly dancing for beginners!
Fitness for wheelchair users. Wheelchair users might like to try Wheely Good Fitness for a good wheelchair work-out with disability fitness instructor Kris Saunders-Stowe. You can find Kris on Facebook here. Kris also runs Sofa Superheroes, exercises for the whole family. These 2 or 2.5 minute videos are perfectly timed for you to look at during the adverts if you’re watching TV. You can find the Superhero Series here.
Let’s dance! Compass Card Partner Marina Studios is a firm favourite with many young people and we’re pleased to say they’ve taken their classes online. So if you’ve never been to a class before and you would like to give it a go from home, now’s your chance! You’re asked to donate if you can to support the dance teachers.
Online fitness from Everyone Active. Compass Card Partner Everyone Active is providing free online videos so you can get hot and sweaty in your living room. Find out more here.
Get cooking. If you’re interested in learning to cook from scratch, there’s a new Facebook group run by Brighton & Hove Food Partnership where you can share tips, look at video tutorials for popular recipes and find out about cookery skills, healthy eating, budget cookery and more. You’ll find it here.
BBC Live Lessons. The BBC is providing video lessons for children and young people up to the age of 16. The 30 to 40 minute lessons feature collaborations with Doctor Who, Blue Planet Live, Radio 2’s 500 Words, the Royal Shakespeare Company and others and are linked to the National Curriculum. Find out more here. There’s also lots of stuff on BBC Teach for primary and secondary pupils. The world’s your oyster!
Learn to code for free with Amazon Future Engineer. Take part in a three-hour virtual learning experience where you will learn the basics of computer science while uncovering the miraculous ways goods are delivered at Amazon. Along the way, you will hear two Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship winners share a bit about their own personal journeys into computer science. Click here to find out more.
Learn to code for free. You can build your own games using drag and drop coding. You just need to register on the site to get the two free lesson plans. Click here to find out more.
Creative development with CFT. If you’re crazy about the arts, Compass Card Partner Chichester Festival Theatre (CFT) has put its Arts Award resources online, so if you want a meaty challenge, you can complete an award from home. It’s free, but if you want CFT to moderate your work at the end, there’s a fee. Find out more here.
For more information about learning, see our Leisure, Learning and Lockdown guide for families here.
Amaze
Registered Charity No 1078094
