The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Weekend adventure beckons as play centre to raise hours
An outdoor play centre which promotes adventure for disabled children in Aberdeenshire could soon be open at weekends.
Edgehill Kids Centre in Inverurie will extend its opening hours to give more disabled children the chance to play and have the same opportunities as their counterparts.
They are on the lookout for families who would want to make use of the new project and are working with other north-east charities to build up interest.
Owner of the centre, Silvia Darmutji, is in the process of forming a new charity for the purpose after she realised there was a gap in the area for these types of activities.
She said: “We want to work together with other registered charities and have approached Scill and SensationALL to help us provide this community resource.
“It will give parents a chance to network with each other while their kids play outside.”
The centre currently runs Monday to Friday, but Ms Darmutji believes there is a demand for weekend opening too.
“We had an open day at the weekend to see how
“Can help develop good social skills”
much interest from locals there was and the response was great, we had about 20 families,” she added.
“We provide a place that gives kids the opportunities to climb trees, build dens, cook over a fire pit and learn how to become independent. It gives them confidence and can help develop good social skills – and gives them a sense of adventure.”
A spokeswoman for SensationALL said: “We are very excited that this is happening and because it is along the same lines as ourselves, then we are looking towards working jointly with Edgehill.
“We are very much looking forward to doing some joint work in the future.
“Our impression is very much that sensory facilities are great and getting outdoors is all good.”
For more information please visit www.edgehill kidscentre.co.uk