Autism charity on the move
A CHARITY which helps autistic children across the Valleys is moving to a new home. ASD Rainbows is set to move into the former Perthcelyn Flying Start building in Mountain Ash from its current base at Cwmbach Primary School.
A CHARITY which helps autistic children across the South Wales Valleys is on the move to a new home.
ASD Rainbows is set to move into the former Perthcelyn Flying Start building in Mountain Ash from its current base at Cwmbach Primary School.
ASD Rainbows is a social enterprise which provides early intervention therapies for children with autism spectrum disorder to help them reach their full potential.
Children come from across Rhondda Cynon Taff, Merthyr Tydfil, Neath and Caerphilly to use the service.
They provide daily nursery sessions for two to five-year-olds, afterschool provision for five to 16-year-olds, support groups managed by parents, autism awareness training, parent-child sessions and a consultancy service to provide training for teachers and staff in mainstream schools. They hope to open an independent centre supporting people affected by anxiety-related conditions.
Children can be referred to the service by parents or health staff and they don’t need a diagnosis as the service will support those undergoing assessment.
The group will take on a seven-year lease of the building, which has been empty since February 2018, through a community asset transfer.
It will pay an annual rent of £4,000 and be responsible for all maintenance and repairs.
A council report says it will enable ASD Rainbows to actively sustain and transfer their service from Cwmbach Primary School, where their tenancy ran out last month and the school needed the space they were using.
The move will also reduce council spending by cutting the amount of business rates it is paying.
The proposal is for the group to register with Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) for up to 12 children, but the group currently has 31 children and seven on their waiting list for September.
The panel which looked over the group’s business plan said ASD Rainbows are capable of delivering a quality service and that the building would be economical to run and suitable for their needs.
The panel also said there is no similar bespoke provision across RCT, with other groups focusing on those aged 16 and above.
The panel’s biggest concern was the financial sustainability of the group, which relies on feepaying families, fundraising activities, donations and grant funding among other things.
The community asset transfer is part of the council’s RCT Together approach which was approved back in 2014 to allow groups to run services the council may no longer be able to on its own.
ASD Rainbows is run by a board of 12 trustees including nurses and teachers and others with experience of nursing, childcare and education.
They have six full-time and part-time staff who run the day-to-day operations.