Mencap's history

2026 marks 80 years of Mencap supporting people with a learning disability to live their lives to the full.

It marks 80 years of working towards people with a learning disability having the same rights and chances to do things as everyone else.

In 1946 a lady called Judy Fryd wrote a letter to a magazine called Nursery World.

She wanted to let people know her daughter wasn't able to go to a school with everyone else.

Judy thought this was wrong.

The letter was the start of a group that turned into Mencap.

You can find out more about Judy Fryd, her daughter Felicity and the start of Mencap at https://www.mencap.org.uk/easyread/blue-plaque-judy-fryd-founder-mencap 

Below are some of the main things from the story of Mencap over the past 80 years.

In 1946 Judy Fryd wrote to Nursery World magazine and asked other parents to contact her.

Judy started 'The National Association of Parents of Backward Children'.  This turned into Mencap.

In 1955 the association changed its name to 'The National Society for Mentally Handicapped Children'.  It opened a home called Orchard Dene for people with a learning disability.

In 1958 the National Society started a project called the Brooklands Experiment. The project showed that children with a learning disability who lived with a family and had nursery education learned more than children with a learning disability in hospitals.

In 1963 Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother opened the National Society's new hostel and training workshop in Slough, Buckinghamshire.  It was the first training centre like this for adults with a learning disability.

In 1966 the National Society started Gateway clubs.  Gateway clubs were groups where people with a learning disability could try sports and do fun activities together.

In 1969 the National Society changed its name to Mencap.

In 1975 Mencap started its Pathway employment service .  The Pathway employment service helped people with a learning disability to have support and training at work.  This helped more people with a learning disability apply for jobs.

In 1976 the Mencap Trust Company started.  The Mencap Trust Company look after money that families want to give to people in their family who have with a learning disability. They help families plan the best way to do this.  They make sure the person with a learning disability can spend the money on the things that are important to them.

Mencap's work helped to make sure that people with a learning disability were included in the Further and Higher Education Act. 

Mencap set up the first homes in the community for people with a learning disability in the UK.  Before this, people with a learning disability often lived in special homes or hospitals which were not part of the community.

In 1985 Mencap opened homes for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities.

In 1986 Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother became the patron of Mencap.

People with a learning disability were elected as Mencap national assembly members.  They helped to decide how Mencap was run.

In 1995 the Disability  Discrimination  Act was passed.  It wanted to stop disabled people from being treated badly.  

In 1998 Golden Lane Housing was set up as a charity.  It wanted to help people with a learning disability have more choices about good places to live.  

In 2004 the Countess of Wessex became Mencap's patron.

In 2008 Mencap updated its look.  It made a new font called FS Me with the help of people with a learning disability.  

In 2009 the UK agreed to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.  This gives disabled people the same human rights as non-disabled people.

In 2009 the International Paralympic Committee voted that athletes with a learning disability could take part in the Paralympic Games again.

In 2011 a BBC TV programme showed people with a learning disability being treated badly in a long stay hospital called Winterbourne View.  Since then, Mencap and the Challenging Behaviour Foundation have been working with families to fight for people with a learning disability to be able to live in the community with the right care and support.

In 2015 Mencap started a campaign called Hear My Voice.  The campaign wanted MPs to know about the things that are difficult for people with a learning disability. It also wanted more people with a learning disability to vote.

In 2016 Mencap started a campaign called Here I am.  The campaign helped people see and understand people with a learning disability.

In 2018 Mencap started a campaign called Treat Me Well.  This campaign worked to change how the NHS cares for people with a learning disability in hospital.

In 2020 Mencap was the main charity partner for the London Marathon.  The race was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.  Team Mencap ran the race virtually instead.  The team included 10 people with a learning disability.

In 2020 Mencap started campaigning for people with a learning disability to be some of the first people to get Covid-19 vaccines.  Numbers from Public Health England said that up to 6 times more people with a learning disability were dying from the virus than other people.

In 2021 the government agreed that people with a learning disability should be some of the first people to get Covid-19 vaccines.

In 2022 Mencap told people about a group called the Myth Busters.  The group has 18 people with a learning disability.  They show that everyone with a learning disability is different and they should be seen and heard as much as everyone else.

In 2024 Mencap's work with Omaze UK raised £3.9 million.  Mencap used this money to run campaigns to help to make the UK a place where people with a learning disability are included and treated fairly.

In 2025 Mencap started a campaign called I'm in.  The campaign tells people about the learning disability register .  The register helps people with a learning disability get better health care and a free health check every year.

In 2026 Mencap started a new 5 year plan called Mencap 2030.  The plan looks at the most important things Mencap wants to do.

In 2026 Mencap celebrated being the top UK charity for people with a learning disability for 80 years.

In March 2026 Historic England put up a blue plaque where Judy Fryd lived and worked.

We will carry on campaigning, telling people about learning disability and helping people with a learning disability to live their lives to the full.