Dame Hannah Rogers Trust's Specialist 19+ Unit

Continuing special education and care for 19 - 25 year olds

For many years parents of existing students have expressed their need for continuing special education and care at Dame Hannah Rogers Trust for their children when they reached the age of 19.

In response to this, and after successful trialling of new services to offer this provision, our Specialist 19+ Unit was officially launched in September 2007.

Dame Hannah Rogers Trust is committed to ensuring that young people and their families benefit from extended learning opportunities, especially cognitive opportunities that focus on the teaching of life skills to facilitate independent living. This is what the Dame Hannah Rogers Trust Specialist 19+ Unit is all about.

One of the most unique elements of our 19+ unit is the purpose built bungalows that provide the accommodation for our young adults. These bungalows, built through charitable donations give the 19+ students a strong sense of individual space - nurturing their abilities to make decisions, learn about life on a 24 hour a day basis and really grow in independence.

The Specialist 19+ Unit aims to broaden the range of opportunities for disabled young people and is a national resource. There are currently only a very small number special colleges for physically disabled young people in the UK.  It also answers a huge question facing all disabled young people and their families - what are their prospects after reaching the age of 19?

For some students the alternative to this provision would be lifetime care placements, of which there is a shortage. For young people who need ongoing medical support the options are very limited; with some finding placements in the most inappropriate situations such as nursing homes primarily intended for elderly residents. Others will remain at home with parents who find care of a disabled adult very difficult as they themselves get older.

Recognised by Ofsted as one of the leading providers of education and care for profoundly physically disabled young people in the UK, The Dame Hannah Rogers Trust already runs a residential school for students aged 5 -16, a residential further education department for young people aged 16 - 19 and a state of the art respite unit. A great difficulty facing all of the Trust`s students and their families is finding appropriate post-education care with organisations that can deal with very specialist needs.

Once past school age there are no guarantees for the future.  A lack of specialist provision, transition planning and often poor co-ordination between children`s and adult social services means many young people are placed in inappropriate environments after they leave school.

To find out more about specialist 19+ provision at Dame Hannah Rogers Trust please contact Lynne Taylor on 01752 892461 or email fe@damehannah.com