Providing Day Opportunities for adults with learning disabilities in Burntwood, Staffordshire.
Nestled in the Burntwood countryside, situated just off the A5190 between Lichfield and Cannock, Cherry Orchard Garden Services CIC (COGS) provides quality care for people with learning disabilities and autism.
We believe everyone should have an active and positive role in their community. Through work based learning, our members gain new skills, find friendships, and embrace the confidence and independence needed for everyday life in a safe environment with experienced staff.
When new service users come to us, they have often come from a school or college who have given them no further support regarding finding a meaningful job in an already competitive market not designed to employ people with ‘invisible’ disabilities. They are anxious about the huge change and find it extremely hard to cope with, with many being told they would never be capable of getting a paid job, therefore they end up sitting at home or wandering the streets day after day as they have been given no guidance or purpose in life and believe they can’t fit into ‘normal’ society,
We are not a quick academic course, where they will be disposed of after a certain time. We are invested in our service users for the rest of their future. We introduce them to a work-based environment without the pressures of a real workplace, where they can be supported and trained in their desired vocation at a pace that aligns with their own personal understandings of what a real job would be like, introducing the concepts of punctuation, break times, travel training, social behaviours, work etiquette and health and safety, as well many other work concepts that they will experience once finding employment. We have found that preparing them with all these notions beforehand makes the transition into employment a smoother experience.
Our educational programme runs for the purpose of preparing each individual for real life after school or college. We start from scratch and purposely evaluate each individual with baseline tests to see how much of their formal education they have grasped, and then formulate a teaching programme at a pace that suits each person in a learning style that will benefit each person the most. Although there is a personalised learning target for each student, there is no rigid curriculums that we have to stick to, so if we need to slow down the pace, or change the way we teach, then so be it. Nothing is impossible and everything is achievable.
COGS can offer half day or full day sessions which can be funded by Direct Payments, Personal Independent Payments or Private Funding.
Please call us to discuss your level of needs on 01543 676443 or email us on enquiries@cogsgardening.co.uk
Monday-Friday - 8.30am - 3pm
