Formal Opening of Seeing You Seeing Me Photographic Exhibition and trail – Celebrating the Shropshire SEND Community
29/10/2024
The ‘Seeing You Seeing Me’ Exhibition and Trail was formally opened on the 25th October 2024 by the Shrewsbury Mayor.
The photographs in the exhibition and trail capture the experience of SEND families who participated in this year’s Health Lives Summer Programme and shares their voices about what why the opportunities offered were so important.
For the past 3 years PACC has hosted our Healthy Lives Programme, aiming to provide opportunities for young people with SEND and their families, to come together during school holidays, reducing isolation and building friendships while being both creative and active.
Each year the Healthy Lives Programme has grown, with increasing numbers of local community providers joining us. In 2024 we have so far worked with 30 providers and delivered 144,818 hours of activity, supporting 189 young people.
For the PACC team it has been a privilege to share this experience with these young people and their parent carers. We have seen friendships blossom, confidence grow and self-belief increase, as these young people have made the most of the opportunities offered. They have showed us what they can do given the chance.
And that is what ‘Seeing You Seeing Me’ is all about. Too often the conversation around SEND is about what young people can’t do but, ‘Seeing You Seeing Me’ changes that conversation and focuses on what they can do. This is such an important message. Like any child or young person, children and young people with SEND will thrive with the right support. They will learn new skills, they will be active, they will support each other, and they will tell us how important these things are to them if we are prepared to listen.
One of the most important things about Seeing You Seeing Me is that the Trail takes pictures of young people with SEND out into the wider community. It shouts loud and clear, we are here, see what we can do, hear us and don’t forget us.
PACC would like to thank all the activity providers who have supported the Healthy Lives Programme to date, the businesses and organisations who welcomed the chance to celebrate the Shropshire SEND Community by being part of the Trail and Exhibition, our funders the Inclusive Communities Fund, Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care Board and Shropshire Council and Saffron Russell for working with us to develop the Trail map and Seeing You Seeing Me promotional material.
Finally, and most importantly we want to thank the young people and families from the Shropshire SEND Community for allowing us to share their holidays and Ming de Nasty and Eliot Thomas for capturing such important and wonderful images. We know that anyone who has visited the exhibition or completed the trail will have had their spirits lifted by seeing what these amazing young people and families got up to this summer!
The Seeing You Seeing Me Exhibition is on in St Mary’s Church Shrewsbury until 5pm on Thursday 31st October and the Trail will be available until and including 1st Nov 2024. Plans are currently being made to exhibit ‘Seeing You Seeing Me’ throughout Shropshire.
