Compass Card holders, and their families, enjoyed a much-needed evening of late summer fun at Out of Bounds in Rustington on 23 August, all completely free, thanks to funding from the West Sussex County Council Short Breaks Service.
Organised by the Compass Card team, children and young people registered on the West Sussex Disability Register, were invited to come along to the free Out of Bounds session with their siblings and parent carers. They could try bowling, adventure and foot golf or test out their bravery for heights on the adventure nets. There was soft play for the younger ones, but undeniably the star of the show was Bounder the dog, the super cute Out of Bounds mascot, who spent the evening high-fiving and having photos taken with the families.’
Compass membership co-ordinator Marie, says:
“The event came at the perfect time for many families who had spent months shielding their vulnerable children and young people. Covid-19 has had a much greater impact on children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) and their families, so having an exclusive event where they could meet and have fun with others in a similar situation was beneficial in so many ways. And, as the event was free of charge to all families on the West Sussex Disability Register, it meant they could come along without worrying about finances. In fact, 80 per cent of the families who gave us feedback said the fact there was no cost was the thing that had the most positive impact, as the whole family could participate in all the activities together.
One parent carer told us:
“My son has a physical disability as well as autism, so we had not taken him to crazy golf before as we knew he wouldn’t’ be able to do it ‘properly’. Here he could try it out without judgement and he loved it!”
Another said:
“It was lovely to spend some family time together. It took the pressure off us all for a few hours, and to see my two daughters so happy made it so worthwhile.”
Prior to the pandemic the Compass Card team would hold one or two Compass Card Days a year, enabling Compass families to come together and enjoy a free day out. Since Covid-19 this has become harder to achieve so the funding from WSCC was very gratefully received.
