At the beginning of 2023 we sent our annual survey out to the parents and carers of children currently accessing our core service, where children are supported by a volunteer to attend weekly mainstream leisure activities. We received responses from 60% of our parents and carers and are pleased to share the survey results with you. The majority (85%) of the families who responded to the survey had been accessing Me2 Club support for over a year and 35% of respondents have been supported by Me2 Club for over 3 years!
We hope that through our core service children and teenagers will progress in 3 outcomes: becoming more confident, more independent and feeling less socially isolated.
- 100% of families felt their child had become more confident with 89% rating their child had become significantly more confident at their activity. Due to the increase in their child’s confidence one parent commented “He has tried things we would have dreamt of him trying” . And another said “My son would not do any other club without support and his confidence has grown having great volunteers that have helped boost this”.
- 93% of parents rated their child had increased in independence with 61% noting a significant increase in independence. One parent said “[Me2 Club] has allowed our son to start attending activities without one of us being there for him, an essential part of growing up”.
- 96% of parents rated their child as having increased in sociability and connectedness and 63% rated their child as having made a significant increase in sociability at their activity. One parent noted “Me2 Club has made my daughter feel like she is accepted and valued, and therefore she is more comfortable in relationships with other children”. Another parent reported “His relationship with his volunteer is amazing and the bond between them enables H to grow”.
We were so pleased to know that 100% of our families would recommend Me2 club and many had important comments to make about the impact of the service on their child. One parent commented “The support Me2 Club provide is amazing. The volunteers have all been fantastic and are trained well. All the communication is excellent and Me2 Club are always thinking of ways to support and engage the children. I would highly recommend Me2 Club to anyone with children who have special needs”.
We also wanted to know more about how Me2 Club support impacts the wider family and one parent said “As my child is very happy to be able to join the main stream activities and knowing that he is well supported by a volunteer is a great relief for me, I don’t have to worry for him for the period that he is with the volunteer”.
A huge thank you to all the families who took the time to complete the survey, we really appreciate your feedback and will use the information shared to improve our service and better understand the impact of inclusion on our children and teenagers.
