Cognus Therapies Post 16 team hosts interactive shopping and budgeting stall at the London Borough of Sutton Preparing for Adulthood Event.
On Thursday 24th November 2022, the London Borough of Sutton (LBS) hosted a Preparing for Adulthood (PfA) event at the Sutton Life Centre. South London Partnership kindly sponsored the event and Sam Clark (Local Offer Coordinator) led the event from Cognus’ side. The day was aimed at young people with a Special Education Needs Support plan or Education Health and Care Plan from Year 9 onwards and more than 200 students and their teachers or parents/carers attended. The event was an opportunity to learn more about what support and services are available around 4 key topics: independence, community inclusion, supported employment and health. Over 70 stall holders and volunteers supported the event across two sessions, and it was great to see so much enthusiasm from stall holders and attendees alike.
The Cognus Therapies Post 16 team were asked to design a stall for the independence room, showcasing the work that Speech and Language Therapy (SaLT) and Occupational Therapy (OT) do with the Post 16 cohort. They decided to create a meal planning, shopping and money management theme where the young people were invited to roleplay each step of the process and take away an easy-read recipe to recreate at home. For access to the visual recipes used on the day, see Recipes – Accessible Chef. They collaborated with Morrisons’ Community Champion, Teresa, who not only took part in the stall but also kindly organised for all the ingredients needed for the day to be available. Sam, a young person who volunteered his time to the event, was a wonderful addition to the team and worked as the stall cashier.
Emma Perridge (OT) & Ashlea Stephens (SaLT) who lead the Post 16 team said the following about the event: “We loved being part of such a wonderful event for the local community. It was great to see such a buzz of activity around our stall and, although it certainly kept us on our toes, it was so good to see lots of young people interacting and engaging in role play to practice choosing a recipe, shopping for ingredients, budgeting and paying for their items. We hope they can continue these skills at home by making use of the recipe and cooking the actual meal!”
Ruby James (OT at Sherwood Park school) who accompanied their young people to the event, gave the following feedback: “Your stall was definitely a favourite for the Post 16 cohort from Sherwood Park school! It was super accessible and interactive, they even cooked the pasta with tomato sauce last week using your recipe 😊”
For a glimpse of the excitement on the day, feel free to watch this short video
Find out more about the Therapies team – Cognus Therapies – Cognus