Learning disabilities

Following assessment, if deemed eligible, you could receive a Direct Payment to support you to attend a day opportunity of your choice, as appropriate, to support your needs.  There are a variety of opportunities available, including:

• Day Centres
• Employment opportunities
• Social opportunities
• Lunch clubs
• Leisure opportunities

We also have some services provided directly by us, and these are outlined below. You may have to pay towards the cost of attending day opportunities, but this will depend on your financial circumstances.

Biggleswade Centre

London Road
Biggleswade
Bedfordshire
SG18 8HA

What we do in Biggleswade

We offer a range of centre and community-based activities for customers with a learning disability, including those who have profound and multiple learning disabilities.

Currently we operate between 9am and 4pm Monday to Friday. All customers are encouraged to tell us what activities they would like to get involved in and we try to provide these wherever possible.

Examples of activities we currently offer include arts and crafts, sport, culture, horticultural, and music sessions, both within the centre and out in the community.

With the support of staff, customers run community coffee shops in the local area as well as a lunch service for those attending the centre.

Townsend Centre

Portland Close
Houghton Regis
Bedfordshire
LU5 5AW

What we do at Townsend Centre

We offer a range of centre and community-based activities for customers with a learning disability, including those who have profound and multiple learning disabilities.

Currently we operate between 9am and 4pm Monday to Friday. All customers are encouraged to tell us what activities they would like to get involved in and we try to provide these wherever possible.

Examples of activities we currently offer include arts and crafts, sport, culture, horticultural, and music sessions, both within the centre and out in the community.

With the support of staff, customers run community coffee shops in the local area as well as a lunch service for those attending the centre.

We also run a satellite service known as the Communities Opportunities Group (COG) in Leighton Buzzard three days a week. The focus is community participation which currently includes weekly tennis coaching at the local tennis club.

Silsoe Horticultural Centre

Holly Walk
Silsoe
Bedfordshire
MK45 4EB

At Silsoe Horticultural Centre we support people with learning disabilities to be engaged in a range of centre and community-based activities from our beautiful three-acre site.

The people we support can follow two different pathways of support.

Pathway for employment and volunteering

Provides people with the training and specific support to develop employment skills to move to employment or volunteering opportunities.

Wellbeing pathway

Provides the people we support with a chance to enjoy the benefits of therapeutic horticulture and other activities to enhance their social and emotional and physical wellbeing.

We offer work experience and informal training in horticulture, woodwork, crafts and in our Potting Shed Café and kitchen.

Our onsite horticultural activities provide people with the opportunity to get involved with all aspects of gardening, including:

• growing and harvesting kitchen garden produce
• growing ornamentals and cut flowers, planting hanging baskets and potted arrangements
• site development and garden management
• building wooden planters and small wooden constructions
• customer service, in our on-site produce shop
• making garden and seasonal crafts

Our on-site café and kitchen provides people with a space to take part in:

• the preparation and production of a range of preserves such as chutneys and jams
• learning how to prepare and cook a wide range of dishes
• preparing and serve home cooked dishes for our onsite café
• customer service skills training

In addition to our onsite activities, we offer people the chance to get involved in our community partnerships.

Currently we work with Whipsnade Zoo in developing its community garden and growing a range of vegetables and flowers.

Our outreach gardening project works with council run homes in the development and maintenance of their gardens. These partnerships empower the people we support to use their gardening skills and benefit from social and therapeutic horticulture.

Our produce shop is open Monday to Friday between 10:30am and 2:30pm where we offer for sale to the public the items we grow and create.

The Potting Shed Café is open each week on a Thursday between 10:30am and 2:30pm and provides the opportunity for the people we support to develop skills in food catering and customer services.

To find out more about and how you can get involved please contact us on 0300 300 4641 or alternatively our Adult Learning Disability Team on 0300 300 8100.

The future day offer for older people and adults with disabilities

We're currently working to improve and enhance the day services available to older people and adults with disabilities in Central Bedfordshire.