‘Every child deserves to feel included’: Children’s charity The Yard aims to provide safe play spaces

From her first visits to The Yard, Celine Sinclair could see the transformative power that play could have on children with disabilities and additional needs.

With it facing closure, she was determined to help it continue and help others in the way that it had helped her with her four-year-old son, Alex, who had recently been diagnosed with autism.

Now, almost 20 years on, she heads up the charity, which has expanded to help thousands of children and families.

Using play as a vehicle at centres across Scotland, the organisation builds communities of peer support that help families navigate the journey of bringing up a child with a disability or complex needs.

The centres are places where children can be as quiet or loud as they like and are given freedom within a safe environment to be themselves.

“I came as a parent when it was a very tiny service with a couple of sessions a week,” Celine said. “I found out it was about to close its doors.

“As the parent of an autistic child who had just been diagnosed, I really struggled with the thought of not having that wonderful play space.

“The staff were amazing. They truly understood the needs of my child, probably better than I did. That made me realise that they’d created a model that had real potential.

“I suggested we could look at raising the money to build a bigger service and tell the charity’s story.

“We raised around £250,000 that first year and have grown in our 19-year journey from 50 families to 3,000 we support now.

“Every year we build, we listen and we learn from our families. We identify what’s needed with them, and then we respond.”

© The Yard / Lesley Martin

With help from TV’s DIY: SOS Big Build, the charity turned a dilapidated shed into a centre in Edinburgh that’s a safe environment for children with a range of needs. Further Yards followed in Kirkcaldy and Dundee.

“It would’ve been transformational for me back then,” Celine said. “It has a kind of magical feeling. They’re one really big space and within there’s all sorts of things you can do.

“There’s the kitchen, an art room and a sensory room. Outdoors there’s go-karts, bikes, places to play and swing, lots of mud and sand and water and climbing structures.

“We might chuck out a tarpaulin and oar and a bunch of kids will go off to Hawaii doing their role play.

“Other kids might grab the oar and bang it against the ground just because they love the sound and feel the vibration.

“They’re free-play environments where children can do what they like with what we give them.

“It’s an amazing space for kids to be themselves, run off energy or be quiet and relax.”

The Yard’s continuing expansion, which includes a £1.5 million renovation of their Dundee centre and a new facility in Glasgow opening later this year, comes alongside increasing demand for their kinds of services.

A recent Audit Scotland report showed approximately 40% of pupils in Scotland are in receipt of additional support for learning. Many families also face long waits for diagnosis.

“During that time, they’re entirely at sea and rudderless,” Celine said. “That’s why we support children at point of need, not diagnosis.

“You don’t need a diagnosis to come. That was always the premise we’ve operated on – if you need support, you just come. It’s something that we encourage other services to do as well.”

© he Yard / Derek Anderson

At the heart of The Yard’s mission is the important role that play can have in children’s development.

“Children develop their imagination through things like role play, but much more importantly, play is important in developing social communication,” Celine explained.

“Very simple things that are incredibly important in terms of communication, like turn-taking, are often very difficult for children with developmental delay or who are neurodivergent.

“We have the opportunity within our specialist spaces to practise those skills.”

Play is also a vital part of building friendships in young people.

Celine added: “There are huge challenges in terms of social isolation for children with additional support needs within mainstream schools.

“For children who attend specialist schools, because they are not within their community, they’ll often be bussed in and out and have no local children to play with.

“Being isolated is extremely damaging for children’s wellbeing, and that has a big impact on the waiting lists in children and adolescent mental health services, another area of very serious crisis.

“Nobody wants their child to be lonely.

“Every child deserves the chance to play, feel safe and included, be part of a community and make friends.

“We’ve got to remember that life is about fun and friendship.”

The services provided are also crucial for parents’ peace of mind, not only in knowing that their children are in a safe environment but giving them the support they need.

“We had a lovely mum who travels from Airdrie every other week with her little girl, who said to me that when she came to the service, she felt she was drowning, but now she feels that she can do backstroke,” Celine said.

“That was a lovely summary of what makes the difference, and a lot of that is about confidence building and empowerment.”

The Dundee centre in Mid-Craigie is fundraising the last £300,000 chunk for its renovation, with things like taking part in the KiltWalk and offering businesses the chance to sponsor bricks.

“Last year we supported 384 families,” Celine said.

“With the new centre, we’ll be able to support more and offer a much greater service.

“We’re going to be able to be Care Inspectorate registered, which allows us to provide respite for families.

“It’s very important we have that space in Dundee to deliver a service of the same breadth as we currently deliver in Edinburgh.

“We hope that people will come on board and dig deep for Dundee.”

A safe place to play

Gaynee Hastie is a regular visitor to The Yard when looking after daughter Lisa’s children, five-year-old Abel and his three-year-old brother Elijah, while Lisa is at work.

Abel is currently awaiting a diagnosis, potentially for developmental delay and autism, and finds mainstream play settings challenging.

“Abel gets frustrated if we don’t understand what he’s trying to communicate or if we’re trying to reason with him,” Gaynee explained.

“Before Lisa was referred to The Yard by her health visitor, I always had to watch him and ensure he was safe and wouldn’t run away.

“It wasn’t easy, and I wouldn’t be able to catch him. The days were quite unpredictable.

“No parent or grandparent wants to stop the child all the time or tell them to wait or come back; we want to enjoy them and have fun when we’re with them, and The Yard has allowed us to do that.”

© The Yard / Derek Anderson

Former nurse Gaynee said The Yard has made a massive difference to her and the boys.

“They can have fun without me worrying about where they are, what they’re doing, or if Abel will run off.

“Because the staff are so great and so patient, Abel can just be himself; he’s not limited in what he does or wants to do.”

Mum Lisa added: “It has definitely helped Abel socially, helping him see that it’s OK to be different and, in fact, something to celebrate.

“The Yard has also helped me with my own mental health as I can relax knowing they’re having fun with my mum, and in a safe and welcoming space.”

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Visit theyardscotland.org.uk