Inclusive ski sessions show 'what children can do with right support'

7 hours ago

Charlie Stubbsin Madeley

News image — Simon and Mandy Buckley-Robins care for their 22-year-old daughter Emma

CHARLIE STUBBS/BBC There are three people called Simon, Mandy and their daughter Emma. The woman on the right (Mandy) is wearing a dark grey hoodie with the word England written on it with big red letters. She has dark brown shoulder-length hair. In the middle, there is a young woman (Emma) looking up towards her mum. She is wearing a white jumper and has long dark brown hair. The man on the left (Simon) is wearing a black jumper with red and white lettering. The letters EN are visual. He has a grey hair in a buzz-cut hairstyle and is balding. — Simon and Mandy Buckley-Robins care for their 22-year-old daughter Emma

A father from Telford has said inclusive ski sessions have transformed the life of his daughter, who has special educational needs.

Emma Buckley-Robins, 22, attends sessions run by staff at the Telford Snowboarding and Ski Centre in Madeley.

Her father Simon said she had the cognitive ability of a "two to three-year-old", but that the ski sessions had given her more confidence.

"Before, she couldn't do anything. We had to strap her into one of the little buggies and they [ski instructors] would take her down the slope," he said.

"She's progressed from that to being able to go up the ski lift to the top by herself, which is just absolutely amazing.

"We were in tears when we first saw it because we never thought she would ever do that, to ski down halfway by herself."

CHARLIE STUBBS/BBC There is a ski slope made out of white bristles with green banking either side. There is also four skiers. The two closest to the camera are wearing dark coloured coats and black beanie hats. There is also a man in a red coat skiing half way down the slope. In the far distance, there is another man in a red coat getting ready to ski. — The slope has been in market town for more than five decades

Telford Snowboard and Ski Centre has been in Madeley for over 50 years, and is owned by Telford & Wrekin Council.

Ski instructors at the centre help children and young adults with a wide range of disabilities and needs.

Staff member Jordan Gripton said: "It's an activity for them to do, so it gives them that social basis so they're not having nothing to do.

"They have got an activity they can enjoy it and it's something they'll keep coming back to.

"You can tell when they are nervous but then obviously when they get used to it, it disappears slowly."

Simon Buckley-Robins, who cares for his daughter with his wife Mandy, said the family's experience showed what children can do "with the right support and the right places to go to".

"We as families really try our hardest because our children deserve the same as every other child. They just need to be taught differently," he said.

"As much as we keep pushing, unless you have the right staffing out there to be able to put these sessions on, it just literally can't happen."

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