Love Thomley
Thomley’s Theory of Change
Vision, Mission, Values
Vision describes what we want to be. Mission describes how we will achieve our Vision. Core values describes who do we want to be.
Thomley exists to enhance the lives and experiences of people with a disability, their families and the wider community.
- A lifelong learning and leisure centre for people of all abilities and disabilities.
- A visitor destination.
- Activities which enhance the lives of visitors, their families and the wider community.
- Friendly, trained, experienced staff who understand our visitors’ needs.
- A safe, secure, stimulating and non-judgemental environment.
- Passionate and professional.
- Supportive and caring.
- Consultative and collaborative.
- Accountable.
- Believers in quality.
About Thomley
Our story
Thomley was conceived in 1997 by parents of children with autism and complex needs. Many of these families felt excluded from mainstream leisure facilities and wanted to create a safe, fun and inclusive place to spend time together. A place where the staff and other visitors would be understanding and supportive, and everyone would be welcomed.
In 2001, we were formally registered as a charity and company limited by guarantee. This enabled the founder members to actively campaign for funds and donations to make sure that we became sustainable.
We started providing services at our current location in 2002. We started out by renting this space that eventually led to us acquiring the freehold in 2011. We occupy a total of 8 acres (3.2 hectares) which is used to deliver our programme of activities.
Our ethos is about being here for the lifetime of people with disabilities. Over the years we have extended and developed our activities where we now support people with disabilities of all ages and with any impairment.
We actively welcome non-disabled visitors who take part in the same programme of activities as their disabled peers.
Our specialist team develop a wide range of active and creative activities our visitors’ individual needs. Our programmes help make that each visitor can fully access their play, education, and the world around them, and reach their full potential.
Our value proposition is that we provide a valuable service for people with disabilities, their families and carers throughout their lives.
Thomley delivers a huge programme of activities from our eight-acre site.
Thomley in a nutshell
Thomley is a lifelong learning and leisure centre for people with disabilities of all ages.
Most of our beneficiaries (70%) have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), a developmental disability caused by differences in the brain that make it difficult or impossible for them to access mainstream facilities and programmes.
We provide play, leisure and learning opportunities for people of all abilities and disabilities at our indoor and outdoor facility, on the border between Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.
More than 37,435 people visit us each year (14,974 people with disabilities and 22,461 non-disabled people). 43% of our visitors come from Oxfordshire, 42% from Buckinghamshire and 15% from across England.
Click here to view our annual accounts
Name:
The Thomley Hall Centre Limited (Thomley)
Contact:
Ewan Shinton (Chief Executive)
Legal Status:
- Registered Charity and Limited Company Number: 04297671
- Registered Charity Number: 1089224
Thomley is governed in line with the Charity Commission for England and Wales guidelines. Governance is delivered through Trustees who have independent control over, and legal responsibility for, the charity’s management and administration.
More than 37,435 people visit us each year (14,974 people with disabilities and 22,461 non-disabled people).
Nine strategic objectives
We have identified nine strategic objectives and have developed activity plans to achieve them.
- Financial sustainability
- Service excellence
- Site development
- Theory of Change and impact
- Marketing communications
- Community development
- Fundraising
- Digital
- Governance
Financial sustainability
Generate annual contributions to reserves, to enable continuity, development and continuous investment in Thomley.
Service excellence
Provide quality-assured services to enhance the lives and experiences of people with disabilities, their families, carers and the wider community.
Site development
Transform our services through the sympathetic development of our own and satellite sites.
Theory of Change and impact
Identify and measure how our activities will lead to the outcomes and impacts we want to achieve.
Marketing communications
Develop a dialogue through messages and media with all our audiences, to ensure we deliver the services people need and want.
Community development
Fundraising
Secure grants by aligning with the criteria of funders’ values and goals, so donations contribute to our financial sustainability and development. Adhere to the Code of Fundraising practice at all times.
Digital
Deliver our digital nine-strategic to transform and maximise the benefits of data assets and technology-focused initiatives.
Governance
Ensure Trustees continue to have overall control of Thomley, in line with Charity Commission guidelines.
Thomley in action:
Our facilities
Thomley opens five days a week, all year round. We also have regular Sunday and early-evening openings.
We run dedicated clubs and workshops, as well as recurring, seasonal and one-off events.
All our facilities and equipment are designed to be accessible.
See a full list of our facilities here:
Take a look indoors
- Pavilion café and event space
- Seven serviced offices
- Three camping pods
- Two sensory rooms
- One soft playroom
- Two playrooms
- Imagination room
- Music room
- Construction room
- Games room
- Teenage den
- Gym
- Accessible ‘Changing Places’ toilets
- Life-skills classroom and kitchen
- Meeting room
Take a look outdoors
- Soft surface multi-use games area and playground
- Adapted swings
- Zip wire
- Jumping pillow
- Trampolines
- Bed swing
- Wheelchair-adapted swing
- Climbing wall
- Covered sandpit
- Wheelchair-friendly play fort and roundabout
- One-kilometre cycle track with adapted bicycles, tricycles and go-karts
- Go-kart track
- Sensory garden
- Horticultural area
- Woodland area
- Football pitch
- BMX track
- Car park
- Interactive Water Feature (Summer 2024)
- Outdoor Learning and Adventure centre (Summer 2024)
The Difference We Make
- People with disabilities miss out on developmental opportunities because mainstream provision is often ill-equipped to address their complex needs
We help people with disabilities realise their full potential through developmentally meaningful play, leisure, learning and training.
- Parents and carers are often overwhelmed in their caring roles and do not know where to get support.
We help parents and carers become more resilient and better equipped.
- Non-disabled people often have little or no experiences with disability and are not prepared to meet the needs of people with disabilities.
We break down barriers and help people gain a fuller understanding of the needs of people with disabilities.
- There is a lack of strategic, joined-up approaches to addressing the lifelong needs of people with disabilities in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.
We create and encourage joined-up solutions to improve lifelong provision for people with disabilities.
Parents and carers are often overwhelmed in their caring roles and do not know where to get support.
Thomley in action
What we do
At Thomley, we have five areas of activity...
1
Visitors:
Visitors are encouraged to enjoy and engage positively in our activities. We will listen to and respect everyone.
2
Learning:
Learners are given the opportunity to experience a sense of progress and achievement outside of school.
3
Community engagement:
Our activities help non-disabled people understand and meet the needs of their disabled peers.
4
Commercial:
We provide services which partners, clients and organisations require – and we deliver to a quality standard.
5
Fundraising:
Our vision is aligned with the people and organisations which generously fund Thomley.
Thomley Achieve Life Skills Programme
We empower and support young people to achieve skills so they can live life more independently.
The Achieve Life Skills programme:
- Is an entry level course which includes learning and hands-on, practical tasks
- Builds towards a Certificate or Diploma in Skills for Employment, Training and Personal Development (SET-PD) as well as English and Maths Functional Skills.
- Is for Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) holders aged 16-25
- Has no entry requirements
- Runs 2.5 days a week in our dedicated learning spaces at Thomley (Worminghall)
The Achieve Life Skills programme include modules on:
- Employability
- English and maths qualifications
- Money management
- Independent living
- Accessing and interpreting information
- Healthy eating and health and safety
- Progression to independence pathways
We are inclusive and sensitive to the needs of every student on the programme. We take into account each person’s EHCP, their views, individual areas of strength and development, and their progression pathway.
The Achieve Life Skills programme is accredited by the National Open College and the Office for Standards in Education.
The impact Thomley makes
How we measure impact
We don’t need to re-invent the wheel, so we use BBC Children in Need’s outcome and impact tools.
We gather on-the-day feedback to track progress towards our key outcomes. We also gather feedback through regular surveys and one-to-one conversations with visitors. Everything is recorded by our Services Team, and we look regularly at the data to see the difference we make, and identify how our programmes and activities can be improved.
BBC Children in Need’s outcome and impact model
Annual Survey
Every year, we ask visitors about their experiences so we can measure Thomley’s impact.
Annual Survey
Every year, we ask visitors about their experiences so we can measure Thomley’s impact.
Annual Survey
Every year, we ask visitors about their experiences so we can measure Thomley’s impact.
Annual Survey
Every year, we ask visitors about their experiences so we can measure Thomley’s impact.
Annual Survey
Every year, we ask visitors about their experiences so we can measure Thomley’s impact.
Annual Survey
Every year, we ask visitors about their experiences so we can measure Thomley’s impact.
Annual Survey
Every year, we ask visitors about their experiences so we can measure Thomley’s impact.
The Thomley experience: Real stories
Kyle’s journey: From visitor to play worker
When Kyle was five, his mum Helen realised he wasn’t like other children.
‘Kyle was like a reactive time bomb,’ said Helen. He needed things to be a certain way – or he would become overwhelmed.
‘Kyle would hurt himself out of temper and frustration… But this wasn’t normal frustration,’ added Helen, a single parent since 2009.
Kyle excelled academically, but his autism meant he couldn’t cope with any change to his routine. ‘We couldn’t go anywhere with him. The few times we did try to leave the house, we would end up so stressed we would have to turn around. We were completely exhausted because he was so stressed.’
Kyle was years behind his peers socially, and depended on his mum to feel safe. But his high-functioning autism meant he had no obvious disability. One day, as Helen was at the end of herself, a friend told her about Thomley. ‘Come along,’ she said, ‘You’ll get a break; they will understand.’
Helen and Kyle visited Thomley, and everything changed.
‘By his second visit, Kyle was able to leave my side and know that he could find his way back,’ Helen explained. This was in marked contrast to other places, where Helen was always made to feel Kyle’s behaviour was inappropriate – and she was inadequate.
‘At other places you are making excuses and apologising and feeling you like you have to move away,’ Helen explains. ‘At Thomley, for the first time, Kyle could be himself. Even now I get goose bumps when I think about it.
The experienced and professional playworkers at Thomley – who see a wide range of disabilities – focused on what Kyle could do, not what he couldn’t.
Kyle’s autism meant that he would often fixate on specific things, and Thomley staff recognised these were important.
At one time, Kyle was completely fixated on Transformers, which dominated his play. Helen remembers how thoughtful and proactive Thomley staff were. ‘Kyle had a Transformer action figure that was very important to him and that he was reluctant to give up,’ Helen explains. ‘Joe (Thomley’s Operations Manager) said to Kyle, “Why don’t you give the action figure to me and I’ll keep him in my office. Next time you’re here I will give him to you.” And the next time we came, Joe had the action man there ready for him.’
Helen said, ‘I’ll never forget that. It shows the thoughtfulness of Thomley staff. I can’t think of anywhere which has that level of understanding and empathy to help a child feel safe, happy and appreciated.
’For Kyle’s older sister, Lauren, Thomley opened her eyes to the wide range of disabilities that exist. Helen said, ‘When we came to Thomley, Lauren was very upset that Kyle wasn’t behaving the way he was supposed to. She was embarrassed by his behaviour and struggling to deal with it. But by the second or third visit, she told me, “These are just people like me.”’
Lauren got to know other siblings of disabled people – and her empathy grew. ‘At Thomley, Lauren lost her fear of differences,’ said Helen.
Thomley has been life-changing for Lauren, Helen and – most importantly – Kyle. Today, Kyle is a Casual Playworker at Thomley, giving back to new visitors in recognition of the support he has received.
The Thomley experience: Real stories
Alice’s story:
Alice was diagnosed with Prader-Willi Syndrome when she was just a couple of weeks old. Prader-Willi is a complex genetic condition, with a long list of symptoms including feeding difficulties in infancy, low muscle tone, mild to moderate learning disabilities, behavioural issues, and hyperphagia (uncontrollable hunger) which kicks in some point in childhood. When Alice was diagnosed there seemed to be so much focus on what she couldn’t do, which felt really disheartening.
We first visited Thomley on the recommendation of another parent when Alice was one. It was clear from that very first visit that we had found a really special place where finally the focus was on what Alice could do.
Thomley soon became Alice’s favourite place to visit. She would get so excited when we turned into the driveway and she realised where she was going.
Now five years later, Thomley is still at the top of Alice’s list of places she enjoys going Her favourite things to do at Thomley change all the time, not least because so often there are new activities! At the moment she loves the jumping pillow, the art room and the sensory garden.
Having access to Thomley means that Alice doesn’t miss out on experiences her non-disabled peers might be able to take for granted. She can get overwhelmed in busy environments like softplay where her low muscle tone can also be a challenge, but none of that is an issue at Thomley. She can just get on with being a kid.
Alice’s twin and younger sisters also enjoy everything that Thomley has to offer. That is one of the incredible things about Thomley – that there is something for all the family, for all abilities and disabilities. It is also invaluable for Alice’s siblings to understand that there are other families out there living with disability.
They also enjoyed staying overnight in a pod at Thomley (and we have to go back so that they all get a go in the top bunk!). They couldn’t believe that they could actually sleep at Thomley! Camping at Thomley is on the list to try in the future too.
As a parent too Thomley provides something of a sanctuary, a place where we can come and don’t need to worry about being judged. The staff are so welcoming and friendly and it is great to be around other parents who “get it” because as a parent of a child with a disability you can feel isolated. There’s nowhere else where we can relax in the same way that we can at Thomley.
Sometimes Prader-Willi Syndrome makes the future seem scary, but knowing that Thomley is there and will be there for all of us as Alice grows and her needs change provides real comfort. We honestly don’t know what we would do without it. It really is an incredible place.
Site master plan
SRA Architects have produced a Site Master Plan and architects’ drawings for our Pre-Application Planning Advice for four projects:
- Building workshops for rental and creating an Achieve Life Skills pathway to employment
- Building a permanent Life Skills Centre
- Building a Leisure Centre for people with disabilities
- Development of our outdoor space.
The Site Master Plan has been presented to South Oxfordshire District Council (SODC) in a Pre-Planning Application meeting. SODC have confirmed that Planning Permission is required for all developments.
Our consultant’s Pro Vision have prepared a fee proposal and scoping document based on a staged approach to achieve a full planning application that is likely to be successful.
Costs to achieve full planning permission have been estimated at £110,000.
A high-level Cost Plan of the Masterplan has been received for the four Master Plan projects from QS’s Hadland Manning Bullock & Partners.
The cost is circa £10,600,000.
We are currently fundraising for these projects.
Please contact: Ewan Shinton (Chief Executive) to discuss your interest in our future development plans.
Trustees
Thomley’s board of trustees
Staff
Thomley’s staff team
