Tesco grant helps to fund crucial service to help children with Down Syndrome in Portsmouth

The forward-thinking Portsmouth Down Syndrome Association provides progressive educational services for children and young people with the condition.

Its School Advisory Service supports the inclusion of children with Down syndrome in school to reach their milestones, succeed and become valued members of their communities.

To help to continue the service, the charity applied to Tesco’s Stronger Starts scheme, which awards funds to charities and community organisations that make a positive difference in the lives of people.

The charity’s application was successful, earning it the maximum £1,500 grant, which will go towards supporting children now and in the future.

Alice Osborne, Primary and Early Years Manager, said: “We are very grateful to Tesco for this funding. It will help the children to achieve their potential, learn the skills they need to reach their developmental milestones, succeed, and become valued and productive members of their communities.

“Our crucial service has been a lifeline to hundreds of families and local schools over the years because school staff don’t automatically receive the specialist training, so they need to successfully include children with Down syndrome.

“Research shows that children with Down syndrome perform better in an inclusive learning environment and benefit best from being included in mainstream education, where they can succeed with appropriate support.

“Our service is delivered by experts in the field and offers a comprehensive package available throughout the school year, covering all aspects of education and enables the successful inclusion in over 100 schools and colleges across the region, training thousands of education professionals, and better inclusion and knowledge leads to improved outcomes for all.”

The Stronger Starts scheme, in partnership with the Groundwork charity, aims to support many Portsmouth community projects and good causes, with thousands of pounds to give away.

The scheme gives shoppers a chance to vote for local good causes to receive a £500, £1,000 or £1,500 grant.

Claire De Silva, Head of Community at Tesco, said: “We’re delighted that we can help voluntary organisations like Portsmouth Down Syndrome Association. Stronger Starts invites our customers to use their blue tokens to vote for local schemes they feel will benefit people on the Portsmouth and it’s so good to see the impact that the funding makes.”

Portsmouth shoppers can support their local organisations and groups by dropping the Tesco blue token they receive at checkout into the relevant voting box as they leave the store.

For further information about Stronger Starts, go to https://tescostrongerstarts.org.uk

More information about Portsmouth Down Syndrome Association is available online at https://portsmouthdsa.org/