National Full Potential (NFP) Residential Course
October 22nd to October 26th 2007
The main aim of the residential week was to recruit 100 young deaf people and take them to the adventures course in order to build their confidence and make new friends. They also took part in ‘hidden’ learning activities e.g. problem solving, teamwork, budgeting and life skills to achieves the outcomes of the ‘Every Child Matters’ strategy.
The journey…
There were four coaches in total travelling to PGL's Outdoor Activity Centre at Caythorpe Court, Lincolnshire. Only two coaches ran effortlessly as H D A’s coach was trapped in traffic and DeafWay were waiting for their coach for over two hours! It was not a very good start for them. Thankfully they all arrived on time for dinner!
The first problem…
In the evening it wasn’t all trouble-free, as all the young deaf people were so excited and were so full of energy! We had to try to settle them down and get them into their beds as we knew we had to be up early for the activities but the young people were frustrated as it had been a long journey with nothing to do so they were all raring to go! Of course every evening was quite hard for all the exhausted staff that had to supervise all the youths, so I think some staff rotas are much needed for next time.
During the week…
Every day we had to get up 6.30am ready for breakfast at 7.15am, and we had lunch at 12.25 and dinner at 5.30pm. Each day ran smoothly and as planned. The daytime centre staff did a good job throughout the week. They had never dealt with deaf children before and especially not as many as we had so there were a few communication breakdowns but over all they were great and most of them were fantastic with the deaf children. A few of the youths complained that the centre staff couldn’t understand what the deaf people were trying to say and I had to explain to them that this is a fantastic opportunity for them to see and realise what the real world is like as when they leave school they will have to face the tougher hearing world. It benefits them to understand and learn how to outcome the problem of how to communicate with non- BSL users.
There were four interpreters and two RAD staff for communication support to translate all the information from the instructors and to ensure all the deaf children understood the health and safety throughout the activities.
All the young deaf people did a total of 14 activities each. The activities were: Zip wire, archery, high ropes, rifles, low ropes, problem solving, orienteering, Jacob’s ladder, trapeze, aeroball (a mixture of trampolining and basketball), challenge course (an assault course), climbing, abseiling and the Giant Swing.
The feedback I’ve got from the young deaf people is that they really loved the Giant Swing which the centre claimed is one of the biggest swings in Europe! The Giant Swing is all about team effort and team work. Two people are strapped into the swing and then the team have to work together to pull the swing to the top, which is about 40ft high. When the swing is at the top, the two people on the swing have to pull a rope which releases them and then they almost fall into the massive swinging! Spectacularly thrilling!!
The high ropes, rifles, trapeze and Jacob’s ladder were also some more of their favourites too.
The Evening Activities….
After dinner every evening we had ‘evening activities’. The first one on Tuesday was in the hall, with four contestants selected from the audience of 100 deaf children. Activities included peeling oranges using only their mouths; copying a karate expert’s movements, blind yogurt eating, drinking water, pot the coin into a funnel and a weetabix competition.
On Wednesday we had a disco with loud music. Almost everybody got dolled up and looking nice for the disco. All the youths enjoyed it and some of the staff showed off their dances moves too. There was a mix of music and dancing, which some young people showing off their break dances!!
Thursday evening we were in the old building, which the centre staff believes is really a haunted house - believe me, it is really scary!!! We had a quiz including rounds on True or False, the Simpsons and Linda’s shopping list budgeting activity!
The Special Moments…..
A young deaf girl who has got cerebral palsy went on the week. She uses a walking frame to help her walk short distance and sometimes a wheelchair for longer distances. The girls’ parents contacted me before we went and they were concerned that some of the activities would not be appropriate. During the residential week, the girl amazed me. She did every single activity – a complete 14 out of 14 activities. She was so incredibly brave and an unbelievable person. I was and am very proud of her.
The Emotional Moments
What an end! On Friday after lunch, it was their last minutes in the centre before boarding the coaches to go home. They had spent the whole week getting know each other, some of them making new relationships, some of them arguing, some of them never talking to each other. When the coaches arrived, there were 100 deaf children in the car park, swapping the mobile numbers, msn details, and collecting their email addresses. Just before the first two coaches left, they had a last farewell. Lots of the young people cried and there were lots of cuddles. It was lovely sight - they did make friends and lots of them thanked me for having them during the residential course. I am so proud of the NFP’s achievement.
Andy Taylor, NFP Project Manager
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RAD 
