Mayor learns more about Buddy Bear Trust’s plans for satellite school in Derry
1 December 2023
Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Councillor Patricia Logue, has met with a deputation from Buddy Bear Trust to learn more about the work they currently do with families in the North West with a child or young adult who has Cerebral Palsy.
The Buddy Bear Trust are a charity established over 30 years ago to provide specialist Conductive Education to children with Cerebral palsy and Motor Disorders
The group run a successful Conductive Education School based in Dungannon specialising in teaching children with Cerebral Palsy which affects an average of 55 children born in Northern Ireland each year.
Brendan McConville, Chairman and Founder Member of the Trust and the Conductive Education School, explained more about their work: “Our aim is to provide Conductive Education to children with Cerebral Palsy and Motor Disorders and provide support and encouragement to their parents and wider family circle. Through an individually tailored education programme, we try to provide each child with the tools to enable them to reach their full potential in life,”.
Brendan discussed how essential it is to “work with children as young as four months old as early intervention during the ‘Golden Years’ of 4 months to 6 years old can have the biggest positive impact.”
“We advised the Mayor that a number of children from the North West that have attended our School from we opened in 1993. We have plans to look into opening a satellite school in Derry, so we need to know the number of parents that would be interested in sending their child there.”
Mayor Logue praised the work the Trust does to support local children and families: “I was delighted to learn more about how children from our Council area have benefitted and continue to benefit from the Buddy Bear School in Dungannon,”
“Since it opened its doors in 1993 the school has worked hard to meet the needs of parents and children and give them a set of life skills that will help meet the challenges they will face and improve their quality of life.”
The Chairman and Trust members were delighted when Mayor Logue accepted the invitation from Principal, Ms Ildiko Veres to visit the School to see the Conductors and Staff working with the children and to talk to the parents.
Brendan McConville, Chairman confirmed that he and the Trust would be delighted to make a presentation to all the Councillors at a Council Meeting in the New Year as the old Derry City Council had supported Buddy Bear Trust from the beginning when they needed to take children to Budapest to receive Conductive Education from especially trained Conductor/Teachers before the Conductive Education School was opened in Northern Ireland in response to the pleas of parents.
For more information on the Buddy Bear Trust visit www.buddybeartrust.com
Parents interested in contacting Buddy Bear Trust should contact the Principal if they would like to make an appointment for a free assessment by emailing [email protected].