Condover College Ltd is a small independent specialist college and
residential care provider in the heart of Shropshire. Founded in 2004 by
Steve McGill, a father who insisted the only very best care for his
son, Matthew. Steve’s goal was to find a college that catered for his
son’s disabilities and he struggled so he decided to start a college
himself.
Today 16 years later, we continue Steve’s legacy of providing
the best care and opportunities for learners aged 18+ who have moderate
to severe learning disabilities, profound and multiple learning
difficulties and additional complex needs.
We provide Education, The
Opportunities Programme, Care and Support including Accommodation and
Short Breaks. Condover College has expanded and grows progressively
every year, starting from just one residential home to now 13
residential homes nested in communities in and around Shrewsbury.
At
CCL we use Makaton every day and we truly believe that it makes a huge
difference to the lives of the people that we support. By making the
world a more inclusive place, Makaton is helping everyone who lives with
a communication difficulty to understand and be understood.
With
this is mind, CCL wanted to fundraise for The Makaton Charity, to
support them to be able to continue to provide the wonderful service
that they offer. We had organised a Mini Makahike to take place at the
beginning of May but this sadly could not take place due to the current
COVID-19 situation. All was not lost… we decided to twist it up and
collectively travel the equivalent distance of Snowdon as part of our
daily exercise. And of course, no decent Mini Makahike is complete with a
song so we all managed to practice the signs for ‘Mr Blue Sky’ and
create a fun video compilation of our efforts.
Using platforms like FaceTime and Skype to communicate and teach the Makaton signs to learners and staff was a great method
to use in lockdown. Creating the video has lifted the spirits of
everyone and put a smile on lots of faces! Our fundraising target was
£100 and at the time of writing, we have reached £231. From everyone at
CCL, we would like to thank everyone who has donated and to all staff
and students who took part in the video.