Over the last couple of weeks, our Teenvine Plus and Next Steps teams have been attending council briefing sessions for Coventry clubs and organisations preparing to welcome young people in receipt of free school lunches to their setting for a hot meal and fun activities during the Christmas holidays. The national Holidays, Activities and Food […]
Rounding up our focus on Teenvine Plus this week is the story of Curtis from Coventry. A young man with autism, he has faced a number of obstacles over the last year, exacerbated by the pandemic’s effect on his school and home life. A story so common for young people across the country. Listen to […]
We’ve been looking forward to Youth Mental Health Day (7 September) for weeks, knowing we’d have lots to share and celebrate from our projects that strengthen and empower young people. What we didn’t expect were six short films all at once, animated using stop motion techniques and voiced by the teenagers who made them! Janson, […]
Our Teenvine Plus and Teenvine Next Steps are combining their talents to offer a Summer of Fun programme to young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in Coventry. The prospect of leaving school either for the summer break or altogether following exams can be daunting, especially for teenagers who have been amongst the […]
In the dark February depths of lockdown, young people from our Teenvine Plus and Teenvine Plus Covid Next Steps projects began an online photography course with a difference. Yes, they were learning compositional techniques and styles from the masters at Grain Photography Hub. All the while adding to their practical skillset. But they also had […]
When Rhea from Coventry signed up as a ‘buddy’ to young people her age who have a learning disability or autism, she had some idea of what she might be able to do for others… but no idea of the effect it would have on her own life. “It’s been an eye-opening adventure with people […]
In no particular order: Soup, dreams, families and a working microphone – Key ingredients for a successful get together. Last night at Backhaus & Co there was a gathering of families brought together by our TeenVine Plus team. We challenged them to think about the moral of the story told by Coleman. This set the scene […]
Naomi Madden is our Director of Projects. She works across Grapevine’s Strengthening People strand of action – including overseeing intensive development programmes like Teenvine Plus for ages 13-18 and Help and Connect for learning disabled adults, and our non-statutory advocacy service. Exam season is here and June’s Learning Disability and Loneliness Awareness Weeks, plus the […]
Last week Grapevine was invited to Coventry City FC’s Valentine’s Day match against Millwall. Fortunately for our Strengthening People participants (and the Cov City team and their fans!) we all enjoyed a 1-0 win. Coventry Building Society, CBS Arena sponsor, hosted our 23 Teenvine Plus young people, families, 14 Help and Connect participants and carers, […]