"Thanks for everything Khadija enjoyed everything and was very happy there. Please let us know if there are more in the future"

"Very positive. 10/10. There is nothing like this available for Deaf children. My daughter joined a regular activity club last summer and felt very isolated because her communication needs were not met."

Abdi has absolutely loved his sessions at D.I.C.E this Summer. As I also work in a school my holidays are always the same as Abdi’s and if I’m being honest, usually I’m feeling a little daunted at the thought of the six week break. The days for me can be full on, lonely and a bit draining. There aren’t any other holiday clubs that will take Abdi without him having 1:1 support and they can never fully cater for both his deafness and physical needs. We are limited to what activities we can access and I always have to accompany Abdi so he has someone who can interpret into British Sign Language for him.

I cannot sing the praises enough for the D.I.C.E holiday club. The knowledge that all the staff can fully sign and communicate with Abdi and already know him and his needs is so reassuring. He loves going to school and I feel he saw the club as an equally safe and happy place. The children were given the best time, even organising free trips to bowling and trampolining.

The fact that the club was free to attend also ensured that we weren’t limited to what sessions we could afford as our living costs have gone up considerably. I want to say how happy we are as a family that the club is running over other school holidays 😊 We cannot thank the team enough.

I would like to thank the DICE activity team for the lovely summer club 2023.

Amina had so much fun doing numerous activities, bowling and jump extreme.

Amina's always came home happy and couldn’t wait to go again the next time to see some friendly faces.

Thank you for the Pick and Drop off service too.

My son James has recently attended the communication club offered by DICE charity. James has been hard of hearing since birth and this affects his confidence and he also suffers with anxiety.

At present James attends a mainstream school however, recently he has began to embrace his deafness and has wanted to interact with more people that are like him - deaf and hard of hearing with aids etc. His teacher of the deaf recommended the club to myself to enquire about sending him over summer.

When I was asked which dates we wanted I selected all thinking we would just be given the odd day I was not expecting to be given every day we chose however I am grateful that James was given the opportunity to spend so much time around other children with similar health issues to himself.

Usually in a morning, getting James out of bed for school etc is a chore but not with this club. He was straight out of bed, dressed etc and stood at the window waiting for the bus. I have honestly never seen him so eager to attend anything as much as he was with the club, not once did he complain or say he did not want to attend.  

I was worried about sending him in on the bus provided with him suffering with anxiety, I was afraid it could of been a little too much for him, with not really knowing staff or other children (- dropping him off was not ideal as I am currently working 12.5hr shifts on rotation of days and nights as well as having another severe SEN child, so the transport was a god send) but again he had no issue and was on the bus before I could get to the door most mornings. 

Whilst there James was given lots of opportunities to partake in many different activities and he came home every day telling me all about them, as well as the friends he has made there. He is now sad that he may not see some of them again, however has been able to swap numbers with some of the children in order to keep in touch.

James has had opportunities with after school clubs and unfortunately the lack of understanding when it comes to a person with hearing difficulties is quite frequent and he can sometimes struggle to hear and understand what is being asked, so the fact he could join in with something, that has staff trained to understand these difficulties was a well needed change!

I do hope this is a club which continues to be offered to children with hearing needs.