Samuel Rhodes School community impact project

The students worked with us to create a video that raises awareness of the challenges people with a learning disability face when finding employment , and led on organising an event to launch the video.

Planning the video launch event

To support the group in planning and delivering the event we worked in collaboration with Samuel Rhodes School and Islington Council .

To begin, the students organised weekly planning sessions in line with their school timetables. During their first session the group discussed event ideas. The most popular idea, and the one which the group selected, was to have an evening event with music, food and a preview of the film itself. 

The group worked together to decide on decorations, food and music. Together they identified each of their key strengths and assigned tasks. Such as creating the banners for the night, posters to advertise the event and the design of the invitations. One student also suggested using his DJ skills by having DJ equipment set up at the event!

The group really wanted to acknowledge everyone’s support by making small gifts for each guest. To be able to create something personalised they decided to make bracelets. The group used two of their sessions to work together to design and make over 80 bracelets for the guests.

The outcomes

The event, held at Islington Town Hall on 1 July, was a huge success. The group were thrilled with how it went and how many people attended.

The project has taught the young people how to manage their time, plan ahead, work as both a team and independently, communicate and problem solve. It has boosted their confidence enormously and provided them with new found independence .

What's more, the video and launch event has, and will continue to raise valuable awareness of the barriers people with a learning disability face when trying to enter into employment.