Reopening of Suffolk School for Parents

[stephen]

Hayley on in a few minuites with Dame Vera Lynn.Available on Freesat even if you are not in the region.

Stephen

[Libby]

What's Anglia?

[martindn]

Hi Libby,

It's a TV channel and news programme, covering "East Anglia" the part of England above London and to the East, that sticks out a bit.

Since it includes Ipswich, where Hayley was today I guess they are covering the "takeover" of that school by Dame Vera Lynn's cerebRal palsy charity, of which Hayley is vice-president of course.

Martin D

[stephen]

Hi Martin and all,
Quite a bit of Hayley shown and as Martin suggested it involved Hayley and Dame Vera visiting a special school supported by Dame Vera`s trust of which Hayley is I believe is Vice
President.Also a small clip shown of the launch of last years poppy appeal launch.Although in the Central news region myself I picked up on it whilst channel hoping and posted a notice Straight away.

Stephen

[Steve H]

Oct 4, 2010 18:53:29 GMT martindn said:

Hi Libby,

Tthe part of England above London and to the East, that sticks out a bit.

Martin D

Are you saying I stick out a bit living over here

[martindn]

Hi Steve,

Anglian born and bred myself, so if you stick out so do I . Did you get to see the show? Do you know if there is a player where we can all see it?

Thanks for posting Stephen.

Martin D

[Jillian]

Hi everyone,

There's a video here of Hayley with Vera Lyn at the school. Is this what you're after?

www.eveningstar.co.uk/news/video_forces_sweetheart_dame_vera_lynn_meets_suffolk_children_1_662320

Cheers,
Jillian

[comet]

Huh !

and I thought it was a car with a weird back window and rear suspensions that eventually make their way inside the boot (Trunk to you in the US )



also set of spare hubcaps and headlight rims for sale for above !

[Libby]

When I clicked on it, it said it had been removed by the user, or something, and redirected me to the Evening Star home page. I searched for Hayley Westenra, and it found stuff from 2008. I then put in Dame Vera Lynn, and it had an article about her scheduled visit to Suffolk today, but it did not mention Hayley at all, and there was no video.

[Richard]

Hello folks!

I've found a short video here: www.itv.com/anglia/support-from-vera-lynn11562/

I can't be certain, but that might be Hayley playing with the children in the background.

Richard

[Richard]

I've found another video HERE, which definitely shows Hayley.

Richard

[Mark]

Hi everyone

Thanks for your efforts to find video of Hayleys visit - she tweeted yesterday to say she was on her way to ipswich, so i was hoping to see some footage of it.

Best wishes

Mark

[Richard]

From the Evening Star:

Video and Gallery: Forces Sweetheart Dame Vera Lynn meets Suffolk children

By Natalie Hoodless
Tuesday, 5 October, 2010



CHILDREN from a Suffolk school threatened with closure have met the musical legend who came to their rescue.

The School for Parents, which works with children with cerebral palsy and their families, welcomed Dame Vera Lynn and soprano Hayley Westenra to their official relaunch yesterday.

It was a chance to celebrate the school’s new bright future and thank the charity headed by Dame Vera and the young New Zealander for stepping in at the 11th hour.

“It was great to meet the children,” said ex-Forces Sweetheart Dame Vera, 93, after being shown around the Sproughton school.

“It was lovely to see them attempting their games and their songs and I was tempted to join in with them.

“Music is a great medium for teaching. The singing helps them understand to a certain extent.”

Head of Early Years, Alison Stonham, said the Burstall Lane school was just weeks from closure after struggling to raise enough funds to keep it going. “In July, we started winding things up because the funding situation was so dire we thought we would have to close,” she said.

But it was thrown a lifeline when the Dame Vera Lynn Trust, which runs a similar school in Sussex, offered to operate its fundraising activities. It has now taken over as a parent organisation.

The trust has brought in a professional fundraiser to arrange large-scale events, seek corporate sponsors and apply for grants to ensure the school can continue offering hands-on support for youngsters with special needs.

“We have realised that fundraising is a full-time job,” said the specialist teacher. “You cannot do it alongside your normal work in the classroom.”

The Suffolk School for Parents, which runs the schools, takes a unique approach to working with children with special needs – they have a maximum of six children in each class and they work with the parents.

They spend half of the weekly session working on physical skills, learning through song, movements and touch and then have a snack session so parents can learn the best way to get their children to eat.

The school can take up to 60 children a term and teaches those aged from around three months to five years, however, they currently only have 13 families registered because they did not think they would be running this year.

--------------------

A MUM who took her daughter to weekly sessions at the school for four years described the near-closure as tragic.

Hannah Mitchell, now eight, was just nine months old when she first joined the school. “It was the friendship that helped me more than anything else,” said her mum, Alison, of Bramford.

“The school gives you a chance to meet people who are in the same situation as you. You can bounce ideas off the other parents.”

She added: “It was so disappointing when we heard it was going to close. It would have been tragic if children like Hannah were unable to experience such a great school.”

Hannah now attends the Thomas Wolsely School in Defoe Road, Ipswich, four days a week and spends the fifth day at Bramfords Primary School.

“Going to a mainstream school once a week gives her the chance to socialise with other children and it makes them aware that we are not all the same.

“There are people out there who are different.”

--------------------

DAME Vera Lynn was born in East Ham, London, in March 1917. She was named Vera Margaret Welch, but adopted her grandmother’s maiden name of Lynn.

The singer’s career flourished during the Second World War, when she was nicknamed The Forces’ Sweetheart.

She said yesterday that the most cherished song in her repertoire is We’ll Meet Again, one of the best-known wartime songs. “That song has gone around the world. It is a wonderful expression and it speaks of home.”

Dame Vera is one of the last surviving wartime entertainers. It was through the world of entertainment that she became involved in the care of children with special needs.

“In the 1950s, I belonged to a theatrical organisation which fundraised for charitable causes. We used to have big concerts at one time, but they cost so much to put on that we had to forego those concerts and find other ways of raising money.”

In 1982, she established the Dame Vera Lynn Trust and £1m was raised to open the Sussex school for children under the age of five.

They introduced conductive learning, established in Hungary, which sees children working with their parents.

“The parents can continue the idea at home, it is really a matter of signing or acting, anything that the child can understand.”

Hayley Westenra, who was chosen as vice president because her music and image are similar to that of Dame Vera, added: “It is a critical age and it is important that they get this support at this young age.”

Click here to see the gallery. Click on the link at the top of this post to watch the video.

The link in Jillian's post now takes you to the same article.

Richard

[Sing]

Thanks for the videos...I was planning to watch this on tv last night but I got distracted by a history essay!!...Now I can watch it
best wishes
Sing

[stephen]

Hi all,
Until tonight the full programme is on the Anglia site.Simply Google Anglia Tonight and click on full programme.

Stephen