Tag Archives: Self advocacy

Reconnect through Music

Posted on by

What a brilliant Reconnect Through Music session we had last week! 🎉 We were treated to an incredible 28 brilliant performances from our talented members, making it another fun-filled morning of music, singing and dancing. 🎵💃🕺

Some of the highlights included:

🌟 Christine singing the much-loved Sweet Caroline, which had everyone singing along. 🎤
🌟 Sean got everyone up on their feet with a lively performance of the Can Can! 💃👏
🌟 Chris Davies entertained us with two fantastic songs by Rick Astley. 🎶
🌟 Chris Evans treated us to a wonderful selection of Tom Jones classics. 🎙️
🌟 A warm welcome to Eirwen, who joined us for the very first time and performed songs by Blondie and The Wanted. She summed up the session perfectly by saying, “It’s so good!” ❤️
🌟 Ellysia impressed us with songs by Billy Joel and Katy Perry. 🎹🎤
🌟 Tilly gave us a lovely rendition of Any Dream Will Do. 🌈✨
🌟 Anthony rounded things off with fantastic performances of songs by Tina Turner and Lulu. 🎵🔥

It was also wonderful to welcome Alisha to her very first Reconnect Through Music session. We hope both Alisha and Eirwen enjoyed being part of our musical family, and we look forward to seeing them again soon. 🤗💜

A massive thank you goes to Christy and Cheryl for all their hard work in the kitchen preparing a delicious lunch for everyone. 🍽️👏 Your efforts are always so appreciated! Finally, thank you to everyone who came along and helped make today’s session such a happy, welcoming and memorable one. Your enthusiasm, support and amazing performances are what make Reconnect Through Music so special. 🎶❤️

We can’t wait to do it all again, so we’ll see you all on Wednesday 22nd July for another fantastic Reconnect Through Music session! 🎤🎉

🌍✨ AdFest 2026 – Living My Best Life Around the World ✨🌍

Posted on by

What an amazing two days our members from Caerphilly People First had at AdFest 2026 in Cardiff! 💙 The conference brought together self-advocates, organisations, and friends from across Wales, the UK, and around the world to celebrate the importance of self-advocacy and how it helps people live their best lives.
🎶 On the first day, we enjoyed a fun and uplifting singing session with the lovely Maddie from RecRock. There was plenty of laughter, singing, and joining in. We also took part in a fantastic samba workshop where everyone had the chance to try different drums and instruments. 🥁🎵
🌍 Throughout the conference, we watched inspiring clips from self-advocacy groups around the world, showing the incredible work people are doing to make sure the voices of people with learning disabilities are heard. 🗳️ We attended the AGM and had the opportunity to vote on important proposals that will help shape the future of the movement.
💐 We would also like to thank and congratulate Ruth Northway, who has retired from the board after nine years of dedication and commitment. Thank you, Ruth, for everything you have done to support self-advocacy. 💙
📸 We enjoyed viewing the beautiful photographs from the Through Your Eyes project and celebrating achievements at the Mirror Awards. A huge congratulations to all the winners! 🏆
🍽️ The evening was filled with friendship, good food, lots of chatting, and a brilliant silent disco where everyone had a chance to let their hair down and have fun. 🎧💃🕺
🤝 There were lots of exhibitors sharing information and advice, including Cardiff People First, the Welsh Ambulance Service, Mencap Cymru, Llais, Learning Disability Wales, Learning Disability Nurses, and many more.
🎓 On day two, we attended the Confident Travels workshop and Game of Rights, where we learned more about human rights and how to speak up for ourselves. Both sessions were fun, interactive, and gave us lots to think about.
☀️ Despite the very hot weather, we were lucky to have no travel problems and were able to enjoy every moment of the conference. 💙 Most importantly, AdFest gave people the chance to learn, share experiences, build confidence, make new friends, and celebrate everything that self-advocacy can achieve. 👏 A huge thank you to All Wales People First for organising such a fantastic event. It was wonderful to meet people from Ghana, Ireland, Bournemouth, and many other places. We came home feeling inspired, connected, and proud to be part of such a strong self-advocacy movement. 🌟 We can’t wait for next year!

Breakfast and Belonging / Meet and Make with Multiply

Posted on by

✨ What a fantastic day at Caerphilly People First! ✨ We started the morning with our Breakfast and Belonging session 🥐☕ where everyone enjoyed a warm cuppa, fruit, pastries, crumpets, and a good chat.

This was followed by our very first craft session delivered by Deb and Louise from Multiply 🎨✂️ Our Meet and Make with Multiply sessions will run for the next six weeks with two groups:

🕙 10am – 12pm
🕐 1pm – 3pm

Today everyone enrolled and introduced themselves. The theme was to pick someone in the room and draw a portrait of them! 🖼️👀

Both our morning and afternoon members did an amazing job — and there were plenty of giggles with a fun game of “Guess Who?” once we revealed the finished portraits! 😂🎭 📸 Check out our designs below and see if you can guess who’s who! A big thank you to everyone who joined us today — what a brilliant start to the project! 💛🙌

Safeguarding Level 3 Training

Posted on by

Last week Christy and Ffion joined Jackie Hughes from Person to Person Advocacy and Citizen Advocates from across the Caerphilly Borough to take part in Safeguarding Level 3 training with our trainer Gareth. Gareth was very kind and detailed, listened to everyone’s stories and experiences, and made sure we all understood. There were lots of good conversations, lots learned, and new friendships made.

What is Safeguarding Level 3? Safeguarding means keeping people safe from harm, abuse, or neglect. Level 3 training helps you:

Spot signs of abuse or neglect
Know what to do and who to tell
Work with others to keep people safe
Understand your role and responsibilities

This training is for people who may need to report concerns or support others when something doesn’t feel right.

Reconnect Through Music

Posted on by

Today’s Reconnect Through Music group was full of energy, laughter, and incredible talent. In total, our members performed an amazing 28 songs 🎤✨, and each performance brought its own magic to the room. 🌟

Matilda shone with her powerful rendition of Believe by Cher 🌈, while Ffion and Amy teamed up for a lively performance of Rehab by Amy Winehouse 🍷. Sean had everyone smiling and moving along to My Boy Lollipop by Bad Manners 🍭, and Ellysia wowed us with her version of Crazy by Gnarls Barkley 🤯. Natalie brought a touch of pop sunshine with Flowers by Miley Cyrus 🌸, and Jackie gave a heartfelt performance of Back for Good by Take That 🎶.

As the performances flowed, everyone gathered together to enjoy a delicious hot dog lunch 🌭 lovingly prepared by Christy, Cheryl, and Helen 👩‍🍳👩‍🍳👩‍🍳. This provided a lovely opportunity to relax and chat with friends. We’re grateful to Sharon and Libby 📝 for helping with the paperwork, and to Pete the caretaker 🛠️ who made sure everything was set up and ready before we even arrived.

The feedback we received today really shows how much the group means to people. One member shared, “I made more friends” 🤝, while another said, “I love singing and seeing friends” 🎵. We also heard, “I wish it was every week” 📅, and perhaps the best compliment of all: “You can’t improve this session – I love it” 💖.

Overall, today was a truly joyful session filled with music, friendship, and community. Thank you to everyone who contributed to making it such a success! 🎉

Online Hate Crime Training

Posted on by

✨ A huge thank you to Noah for delivering the online hate crime training today ✨

Our members really enjoyed the session and gave some great feedback on what they learned:

Andrew – learned how to make accounts private and how to report hate crime.
Ffion – learned the same and found it very useful.
Theresa – found it helpful, especially learning not to answer phone scams.
Morgan – enjoyed everything and learned more about staying safe and interacting with people.
Mark – said he liked it all.
Amy – found all the information helpful, learned more about staying safe, and said it was fab!
Gethin – said it was great for information.
Olivia – found it very interesting and learned about safe settings.
Christy – said the training was very detailed, delivered in an easy way to understand, with a fun ice breaker and interesting conversation throughout.
Stu – said the information was easy to put into practice, very friendly and accessible.

💡 Members also learned that hate crime can be reported to Victim Support, as well as through social media platforms if abuse happens online.

👏 Overall, members said the training was informative, enjoyable, and easy to understand. Thank you again Noah for supporting our members to feel safer online.

Reconnect through Cookery ✨👨‍🍳

Posted on by

On Friday our members prepared lots of fresh vegetables 🥦🥕🌽🥬 – we had cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, peas, and carrots to go with our delicious cottage pie 🥧.
We made it using 5% lean mince 🥩 and topped some with cheese 🧀 (and left some plain for those who prefer it that way!). Best of all – zero waste 🙌👏.
Everyone enjoyed the meal ❤️ and feedback is always fantastic! Huge thanks to everyone who helped out in the kitchen 👏, to Nat for sorting bingo & the quiz 🎶🎲, and to Peter the caretaker for setting up the hall 🙏.

💚 Why Healthy Eating Matters 💚
Eating fresh vegetables and balanced meals helps boost energy ⚡, improves mood 😊, supports overall health 🩺, and gives our members the confidence to try new foods 🍴.
These sessions make a huge difference by:
✨ Reducing isolation & loneliness 🤝
✨ Building independence and life skills 🥄
✨ Encouraging teamwork & confidence 💪
✨ Bringing joy and friendship to our members 💛
📌 Our next Cookery session: sausage dinner with vegetables and onion gravy 🌭🥔🧅.
🎵 On Wednesday we’ll be back together for Reconnect through Music 🎤🎶.
Thank you all for another lovely day 💛

Gardening at TARAGGAN

Posted on by

Today at TARAGGAN Educational Gardens we planted garlic 🧄 and onions 🧅! It was lovely to see Kyle and Sam, and a big thank you for teaching us and sharing your knowledge. 💚

Gardening has so many benefits – it helps us learn new skills, enjoy the fresh air, keep active, and connect with nature 🌿☀️. Most of all, it brings people together and makes us feel part of something special. 🌸 Thanks again to Kyle and Sam – we can’t wait to watch everything grow! 🌱👩‍🌾👨‍🌾

National Council Meeting

Posted on by

Report written by member Ffion Poole:

Amy Jones – supported by Ffion Poole – recently attended the All Wales People First National Council meeting at The Grand Hotel in Swansea. After introductions, the first agenda item was to go through the minutes of the last meeting. Next came the Chief Executive’s Report during which, in Joe Powell’s absence, Kurtis gave an update on LD Mag.

National Council reps then spoke about national actions, during which Amy provided feedback we have received from our members. Amy said that our members would like longer GP appointments, easy read letters from their doctors, and more annual health checks for people with learning disabilities. She also shared that our members said there needs to be more support in mental health services for adults with mental health issues, as well as people with learning disabilities.

Kelly then gave a communication update and said All Wales People First are in the process of making updates to how Talkback is distributed to members. We also spoke about the WhatsApp group for National Council reps, and came up with some rules the reps had to agree on.

After lunch Tracey shared the draft manifesto that All Wales People First has been putting together, and members shared their experiences with Direct Payments, and answered some questions from a consultation document about Direct Payments. It was a really interesting meeting and it was lovely to see everyone!