BEAM!
BEAM! through Gymnastics is an accessible gymnastics club supporting children with additional emotional, physical, behavioural and sensory challenges.
The brain child of sisters, Adele Lawrence and Rachel Rogers from Cirencester, ‘BEAM! through Gymnastics’ was formed to fill a void in the lack of local sports clubs for children with additional emotional, physical, behavioural and sensory challenges in the local area. ‘Beam!’ has aspirations of facilitating young people to participate in the Special Olympic Games. Adele and Rachel have identified a need in the local area for Gymnastics Groups for children with additional emotional, physical, behavioural and sensory challenges and realising that, between themselves, will create an excellent team to deliver such a service. They have both attended a disabilities gymnastics course at Lilleshall through British Gymnastics and launched a six week term of pilot sessions to trial the concept in September 2017. Such was the success of the pilot that a second cycle of sessions started in November 2017.
The target audience of BEAM! is any child who has additional emotional, physical, behavioural and sensory challenges. Acknowledging that every gymnast has differing needs, Adele and Rachel would work with each child individually to set achievement targets for each participant.
- New gymnasts will Initially start in a session of between 6 and 8 participants for the first term
- Sessions run on a cycle of 6 weeks
- Expectation that a participant would attend the full 6 session cycle with opportunity to experience gymnastics
- A participant can engage in a new cycle at the end of each cycle if they so wished
- Each session will include warm up games, movement to music, apparatus circuits and cool down
- Sessions offer an accessible break out areas at all times, with a dark den, sensory toys and lighting
- Visual aids such as ‘now and next’ cards
- Affordable membership fees
The club currently operates from the Sports Hall at Powells School, providing a welcoming, supportive and accepting environment where children are able to ‘Beam! through Gymnastics’
Here’s what our Coaches and Parent/Carers had to say after the Pilot Sessions:
Gymnastics Coach Rachel said, ‘Our goal was to give children with additional needs a fun, safe and welcoming gymnastics club to attend where not only do they feel accepted but also their parents and carers also feel comfortable in knowing that whatever the challenges that their children have, BEAM! Gymnastics will embrace them!’
When asked what positives parents/carers saw from their child attending BEAM! Gymnastics feedback included:
- He practices balancing poses at home and has more confidence climbing in the park and balancing in the park and at soft play.
- Growing confidence and becoming stronger through gymnastics.
- Helped with his co ordination balance and listening and taking in turns
- Confidence- was the biggest part
- Having fun and keeping fit
BEAM! received further positive feedback with:
‘Just thank you so much for helping my son, he has surprised me in ways I never thought were possible’
‘My daughter is loving her Gymnastics and I think it’s a wonderful club for her to join. It’s so lovely to see what she can achieve through Beam and it will do her a world of good for her posture. Rachel and Adele are brilliant with my daughter interacting with her and helping her to achieve things that she hasn’t been able to do. ‘
‘I have not seen what my son is doing in gymnastics however he comes out really excited about the session and looks forward to coming the next week. He talks about it and his friends their jumping etc. So we are really pleased with the sessions and hope they continue and he continues to do it.’