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Sparkle Appeal

The Sparkle Appeal will fund a much needed hydrotherapy pool and therapy centre at Livability’s Victoria Education Centre and Sports College (VEC) in Dorset as the current pool is over 40 years old.  The pool was originally built as an outdoor pool and then adapted to accommodate hydrotherapy facilities.

The School

VEC is a very special school for 100 disabled children and young people aged 4-19. It already demonstrates exemplary standards of teaching and therapy, helping our students to reach their full potential.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is a great place to live, learn and develop, offering the very best start in life for children and young people with disabilities including cerebral palsy, epilepsy, spina bifida and muscular dystrophy, acquired head injuries and other more rare conditions. Students with more complex and profound needs are referred to VEC, where they can receive the high levels of support and therapy that they need.

David’s Story

David is 15. He has cerebral palsy and epilepsy. Many of his muscles are in constant spasm and the specially warmed water of the pool is the only time he can get them to relax. If he can’t get in the hydrotherapy pool every day, his muscles stiffen and he suffers from painful joints. David is passionate about wheelchair football. Hydrotherapy is the one thing that makes it possible for him to play. Water gives David and other students a sense of freedom and relief from pain.

I'm able to do things that I can't when I'm in my wheelchair.
David, Age 15

The Pool

Without a new pool, soon all of our students would not be able to get their much needed relief from pain, keep their joints moving, relax and increase their posture and balance. We are in a race against time to begin construction of the new pool to avoid real danger of our pupils being left completely without hydrotherapy. Our pool is not a luxury but an essential part of providing our pupils with the daily therapy they require to move, eat, study and play an active part in the life of our school.

Livability has exciting plans for a state of the art hydrotherapy pool and therapy centre that will benefit current and future students for years to come, as well as other local disabled children and their families who use the pool. The new hydrotherapy pool has been designed by architects who are experienced in meeting the needs of disabled people. It will feature family changing room, new tracking hoists that will take children directly from the changing room to the swimming pool as well as  sensory elements such as coloured lights, gentle breezes and giant bubbles, to help children with more severe disabilities to engage and interact with the world. With the help of the Sparkle Appeal, VEC’s quality of care will soon be matched by its facilities.

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