A huge thank you to everyone who came along to our consultation on Friday! 🥰👏 At Caerphilly People First, it’s all about our members and making sure your voices, ideas and opinions are heard. 🗣️❤️ It was fantastic to hear your thoughts and some brilliant new ideas for the future! 🌟
And of course, it wasn’t all brainstorming! 😂 We enjoyed a fun quiz, bingo and some yummy hot dogs too! 🌭🎉📝 A massive thank you to everyone who helped out today — we really appreciate all your support. 💙🙌
Today we had a fantastic Travel Confidence training session with our members, delivered by Marid and Kurtis from Innovate Trust. 😊🚌 A special thank you to Marid and Kurtis from Innovate Trust for their support and guidance during the session. 🙏
We started planning our bus trip to Pontypridd on 29th September. 🗓️🚌 Members talked about what they need to do before travelling and how planning ahead can help them feel more confident. Members then completed a feedback form about their own experiences of travelling by bus. 📝 We talked about:
👍 What we like about travelling by bus
👎 What we don’t like
😊 Good experiences
😟 Bad experiences
🚌 How we feel when using buses
🌍 Travelling and the Environment
We also talked about the best ways to travel that are better for the environment. 🌱🌍 We discussed how using public transport, walking and sharing journeys can help reduce pollution. We talked about why it is important to give yourself plenty of time to get ready for a journey. ⏰ Members learned about:
🗺️ Planning your route before you leave
📱 Using Maps or Google Maps
🏠 Knowing the address and postcode of where you are going
🚌 Checking the bus times
🚆 Checking train times
🎫 Remembering your bus pass
💷 Taking money if you need it
🧡 Remembering your orange wallet
⏰ Leaving plenty of time so you don’t feel rushed
The session helped members think about how good planning can make travelling easier and less stressful. It also helped members build confidence and prepare for our Pontypridd trip. 🚌💪😊 We are looking forward to putting our travel skills into practice on 29th September!
A huge thank you to Cwm Taf People First for inviting us along to Viva Fest last week — we had such a brilliant time! ❤️🙌 It was fantastic to see everyone enjoying themselves, having fun and getting involved. 😊 Our members especially loved the petting zoo 🐐🐰, making clay models 🏺🎨, and having a go at axe throwing! 🪓😂 So many smiles, laughs and great memories made! 🥰 Thank you for having us — we can’t wait for the next one! 🎊❤️
What a fantastic music session we had today! 🌟 It was wonderful to see so many of our talented members singing a mix of much-loved old favourites and debuting songs we’ve never had at music before. 🎵💙
Our performers were brilliant:
🎤 Ffion and Amy had everyone singing along to “Something Inside So Strong” by Labi Siffre – a truly uplifting performance! 🙌
🎬 Rhys entertained us with a song from one of the Ernest films.
❤️️ Anthony performed the beautiful “On the Wings of Love” by Jeffrey Osborne.
🏍️ Helen gave an energetic and fun rendition of “Cool Rider” from Grease 2, which had everyone smiling!
🎸 Kyle impressed us with the Eagles classic “Hotel California”.
😊 Curtis rounded things off with the feel-good anthem “I Love My Life” by Robbie Williams.
A huge thank you goes to Ffion and Amy for running another brilliant session 👏, Christy for preparing our delicious pizzas 🍕, and Cheryl for giving everyone such a warm welcome 🤗. Thanks also to everyone else who helps make these sessions such a success each week. 💙
Our music group is so much more than singing—it’s a place where people can showcase their talents 🎤, build confidence 🌟, catch up with friends ☕, enjoy a cuppa and a chat 🫖, and simply have fun together. ❤️️
It was lovely to hear some of the feedback from our members:
💬 Diane said, “This group is amazing.”
💬 Elizabeth said she loves talking to her friends.
💬 Helen said she had a great time.
Thank you to everyone who came along and made today another memorable session. We can’t wait to do it all again next time! 🎶🥳💙
Today, we had a wonderful visit from the lovely Becky from Torfaen Museum! 😊 Becky gave the group a fascinating presentation all about toys through the years, taking us on a journey through history and showing us how children have played across the centuries. 🏛️✨ We had the opportunity to see and learn about a fantastic variety of traditional toys, including spinning tops, kaleidoscopes, Jacob’s ladders, dominoes, yo-yos, skipping ropes, toy soldiers, dolls, and many more! 🪀🌈🪢🪖🪆
It was amazing to see examples of toys from hundreds of years ago, as well as toys that many of our members remembered owning or playing with when they were children. The presentation sparked lots of conversations, memories, and smiles all around. 💭💖
💬 Gethin said the presentation was awesome and really interesting.
💬 Hannah said it was really good and especially enjoyed the spinning top.
💬 Andrew said it was amazing and loved looking through the kaleidoscope and having a go with the skipping rope.
💬 Amy said she loved all the information Becky shared about the history of the toys and felt she learned a lot.
A huge thank you to Becky for delivering such an informative, engaging, and enjoyable morning. We all had a fantastic time learning about the history of toys and experiencing some hands-on fun! 😊👏🧸
What a fantastic cookery session we had on Friday! 😋 We enjoyed delicious chicken burgers and fries, with a lovely fresh salad prepared by our members. 🥗🍔🍟 Everyone got involved and it was absolutely delicious!
A huge thank you to:
💚 Zoe and Cheryl for all your help.
🧠 Amy for a fantastic quiz, with a few extra questions added by Rees! 😂👏
🎉 Sian for doing bingo.
🏠 Peter, our caretaker, for setting up the hall for us.
We couldn’t do it without all the amazing people who help make our sessions so special. ❤️ Have a lovely Bank Holiday weekend everyone! 🌞🎉 Enjoy yourselves and stay safe. ❤️ We’ll see you all Wednesday for Reconnect Through Music! 🎶🎤💃🕺
A huge thank you to Marid and Kurtis for another fantastic Travel Confidence training session! 🙌😊 We were also delighted to welcome British Transport Police 🚔👮♀️👮♂️, who delivered a really useful presentation all about rail safety and staying safe when travelling by train. 🚆🛤️ Our members also enjoyed a fun train and safety quiz 📝🧠, putting their knowledge to the test!
🧡 Everyone received an Orange Wallet to help them feel more confident and supported when travelling. These can help people communicate important information if they need assistance. 👍 Another brilliant session helping our members build their confidence, independence and travel skills! 🌟💪🚌🚆 Thank you to everyone who took part! ❤️
This morning, All Wales People First held a Zoom meeting to hear what people with learning disabilities think about Health and Social Care in Wales. Members of the Senedd want to know what is working well and what needs to change, and All Wales People First is collecting people’s views and will send them to the Senedd to help improve Health and Social Care services. People shared their own experiences and talked about what they think needs to improve. The main issues people talked about were:
🩺 Annual health checks are very important, and everyone should be supported to have one.
🧠 There are not enough mental health services for people with learning disabilities.
👩 Women’s healthcare needs to be better.
🔍 Some people with learning disabilities are not diagnosed properly or are not listened to.
📋 People do not always get the follow-up support they need after a diagnosis or treatment.
🦷 It can be very difficult to find an NHS dentist.
🤝 Some people felt their social worker was not giving them the support they needed.
📍 Many people have to travel too far for appointments because services are not available close to home.
⏳ Waiting times for appointments and treatment are too long.
💬 Better communication is needed between professionals and the people they support.
👥 More support workers
At the end of the meeting, everyone was asked to take part in a poll. Members were asked to rank which Health and Social Care issues they thought were the most important.
The options were:
⏳ Waiting lists
🦷 Access to NHS dentists
🤝 Not enough social workers
🗺️ Different services available in different parts of Wales
💻 Digital systems and personal data
🩺 Preventative care, such as annual health checks
🏥 Hospitals being too far away
💙 Health professionals not understanding people with learning disabilities
⭐ The top priorities chosen by members were:
Health professionals understanding people with learning disabilities.
Preventative care, including annual health checks.
Hospitals and healthcare services being closer to where people live.
It was great to hear everyone’s lived experiences and ideas, and All Wales People First will collect all the feedback from these meetings and send it to the Senedd. Our hope is that the Senedd will listen to the feedback we provide, and make changes to improve Health and Social Care services for people with learning disabilities across Wales 💙
A huge thank you to everyone who attended today’s Reconnect Through Music session! 💙 We had a fantastic morning filled with music, laughter, friendship, and plenty of feel-good vibes. Our talented members treated us to an incredible 26 special vocal performances, making it one of our most enjoyable sessions yet. 🌟 Some of the standout performances included:
🎤 Ffion – Enchanted by Taylor Swift
🔥 Anthony – Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash
🚗 Rees – Life Is a Highway by Tom Cochrane
🌟 Katrina (our newest member!) – Hopelessly Devoted to You from Grease
🎶 Sean – China Girl by David Bowie
💣 Chris – Sex Bomb by Tom Jones
A massive well done to Amy and Ffion, who successfully ran their very first music session! 👏🎉 You both did a brilliant job, and we’re so proud of you. Thank you for all your hard work and enthusiasm — you made the session a great success! 💖
A special thank you also goes to:
🏡 Pete, our caretaker, for getting everything set up before the session.
🥪 Christy for preparing another delicious lunch that everyone enjoyed.
📝 Cheryl for welcoming everyone and taking care of all the all-important paperwork.
Most of all, thank you to every single person who came along. Whether you got up to sing your heart out 🎤, cheered on others 👏, caught up with friends 🤝, or simply enjoyed the wonderful atmosphere, you helped make the session so special. We can’t wait to do it all again soon! 🎵💙
A big thank you to Kurtis and Mared from Innovate Trust for another fantastic Travel Confidence Training session with our members today! 💙 Today we learned about:
📙 Wallets – a simple way to let transport staff know that someone may need extra help or support when travelling.
🚌 The difference between a bus and a coach – and how to recognise which one we need!
⚖️ Our legal rights when using public transport – knowing our rights helps us feel safer and more confident.
🤝 Having assistants and getting the right support – everyone should be able to travel as independently and safely as possible.
Travel training is all about building confidence, independence and skills so people can enjoy getting out and about in their communities. 🌍💪 We are looking forward to seeing everyone next week, when we will be joined by British Transport Police for a special presentation! 👮♀️🚆 Thank you again Kurtis and Mared for making the session fun, accessible and informative! ❤️
