🎶🎤 Music Session Report 🎤🎶

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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! 🎶🥳💙

🧸 Toys Through the Years with Torfaen Museum 🪀

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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! 😊👏🧸

🍔🍟 Reconnect Through Cookery 🥗❤️

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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! 🎶🎤💃🕺

🚆💙 Travel Confidence Training! 💙🚆

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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! ❤️

Health and Social Care Experiences and Future Improvements

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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 💙

🎵 Reconnect Through Music Session Report 🎤🎶

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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! 🎵💙

✈️ Travel Confidence Training 🚌

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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! ❤️

🍽️💚 Reconnect Through Cookery 💚🍽️

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What a delicious day we had on Friday! 😋🥗 Our amazing members got stuck in preparing a lovely fresh salad with 🍅 tomatoes, 🥬 lettuce, spring onions, 🥒 cucumber and 🫑 peppers. We also boiled and peeled the eggs 🥚 and cooked some delicious Welsh baby potatoes 🥔.

Everything was put together with ham and coleslaw, and it was absolutely delicious! 😍👏 And of course, we couldn’t finish the day without some yummy ice cream! 🍦😋 A HUGE thank you to everyone who helped in the kitchen today — you all did a fantastic job! We couldn’t do it without all of you! 🥰🙌

🎉 Thank you Sarah for keeping everyone entertained with bingo!
🧠 Thank you Amy for our brilliant quiz!
🧽 Thank you Anthony for helping to clean the hall afterwards.
💚 And as always, a massive thank you to Cheryl for all her help and support.
🏠 Thank you to Peter, our wonderful caretaker, for setting up the hall for us.

Caerphilly Parent Network Trip

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A huge thank you to Amanda and her wonderful team for giving us such a fantastic day out yesterday! 💕👏 We started our day with a visit to Cardiff Museum 🏛️, where we enjoyed a lovely tour and discovered lots about Cardiff’s history, people, art and culture. The museum has a fantastic mix of collections, including natural history, archaeology, social history and beautiful artwork. 🎨🦖🏛️ Of course, we had to stop for a delicious coffee ☕😋 and take some time to enjoy all the amazing art.

Then it was off to Barry Island! 🌊☀️ We enjoyed a lovely walk along the seafront, took in the views and, of course, had a go on the shows! 🎢🎠🎡 There were plenty of laughs and lots of happy faces! We were also very kindly provided with a yummy packed lunch 🥪🍎🧃, which kept us fuelled for our busy day! It really was a fab day enjoyed by everyone — full of friendship, fun, laughter and making special memories together. ❤️😊 Thank you again, Amanda and team, for making it such a wonderful day! 🌟💜

📸 TRAC Photo Shoot at USW Treforest! 🌟

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Yesterday afternoon, Ffion, Amy and Gethin took part in a photo shoot at USW Treforest as proud TRAC members. 💙 Their photos will help promote Learning Disability Nursing on social media and the university website. 🎉 We can’t wait to see the finished photos! 📷✨ A big thank you to Stacey for inviting us.

💙 Learning Disability Nurses are so important. They help people with learning disabilities get the right care, feel listened to, stay healthy, and be treated with dignity and respect. They make a real difference every day. 🌈🤝 Well done, Ffion, Amy and Gethin! We are very proud of you all! 👏💙