14955/1Today the Gazette and Herald launches the Springboard Appeal to raise money to stop places being cut at the only pre-school for special needs children in north Wiltshire.

Here Zoe Mills looks at the history of Springboard and its importance to families in the area.

IT'S a heartening tale. Tiny one-man pre-school survives 28 years of turmoil and finally begins to thrive.

Springboard now helps more children with special needs than ever before from all over north Wiltshire.

The story could easily have a happy ending. But there's a big downside. Money.

In basic terms Springboard costs around £85,000 a year to run. That's almost £2,000 per child.

But, last year it only received £45,000 funding from Wiltshire County Council. That's £1,000 per child.

So, every year Springboard has to find the extra £40,000 and it's not easy.

With specialist staff and equipment costing more than the average pre-school, its managers fear the only way to keep Springboard alive is to dramatically cut the number of places it offers.

It could mean almost half the pupils at Springboard have nowhere to go.

Jane Cross, who has run Springboard for the past two years, said it is the worst financial crisis in the pre-school's 28-year history.

"Fundraising takes an awful lot of hard work, but thanks to the Gazette, we're hoping that will be a lot easier this year," she said.

Springboard was founded in 1976 when a steering committee including health visitors, social services and parents decided there was a real need for a special needs pre-school in north Wiltshire.

The following summer it opened its doors for the first time at the Bridge Centre in Chippenham, with around 20 children.

On the original steering committee was Marigold Treloar, who later became Springboard's first team leader.

"It's a terrible thing to find that the perfect child you were expecting doesn't turn out like that," she said.

"Springboard was somewhere the children were comfortable and the parents gained confidence. It's an amazing place."

Rosemary George, who answered an advert for Springboard's first play leader, spent hours cycling round collecting equipment, visiting families and recruiting volunteers.

"We stayed at the Bridge Centre until a fire in 1979," she recalled. "The numbers had been dropping and we almost closed, but the children were so deserving we decided to keep going.

"I'm so proud of Springboard it gives children a wonderful start in life. We planted it as an acorn and it's grown into a big tree."

In its infancy, Springboard moved from one venue to another until a site was eventually found at Frogwell Hospital in 1980 and a portable building was donated.

This was the pre-school's home until in 1989 when the health authority closed the hospital and sold the site.

Fundraising began again, and after a huge amount of effort and determination, a new building at Frogwell School became Springboard's home in 1990.

Fifteen years on and Springboard is thriving, with more children and staff than ever before.

Mrs Cross said: "Springboard provides so much more than just a playgroup for children with special needs. We are able to support the families by offering transport to those who would otherwise not manage to attend. We offer advice and information about the child's condition and the strategies that may be useful in managing it.

"Children attend Springboard in tandem with their mainstream playgroup or nursery. This means that they can access our specialist setting, be assessed by therapists and receive a therapy programme where appropriate and begin to work in small groups."

The huge costs of running Springboard are mainly down to the high ratio of staff needed to look after the children. Staff and training alone cost the pre-school £64, 500.

Mrs Cross explained: "Our children require individual attention in varying amounts to help them learn and meet their special needs. At Springboard we have up to ten children per session with four or five members of staff at any one time. Mainstream pre-schools have a ratio of one member of staff to eight children.

"We also spend a lot of staff time doing an initial home visit, attending meetings to support and represent the child and family, including planning for school and linking with mainstream placements."

On top of the staffing costs Springboard pays £4,000 a year for a music therapist, £5,500 in transport costs, £6,000 for the building and grounds maintenance, £3,000 on toys, equipment and outings and £2,000 on overheads and administration.

"As you would expect the staffing costs are huge and the needs of the child and families are huge," said Mrs Cross. "We spend a lot of time referring, giving advice, lending an ear and helping with practical problems."

This year Springboard has had to raise the £40,000 shortfall, and it's been hard work.

"Five parents formed a fundraising committee and three of us run a corporate fundraising team to apply for grants," said Mrs Cross. "Each year we go back to square one and start all over again."

Springboard exists to provide a safe and stimulating environment for children with special needs to learn through play. Each child has an individual learning programme and has a named worker to support them throughout.

The centre also acts as a one-stop shop for professionals to meet parents and assess children at Springboard.

Mrs Cross said: "Our aim is to enable every child to reach their full potential. Staff are very experienced in the sort of difficulties encountered by the children and their parents, and can quickly help the family overcome many of their concerns."

Springboard has been a lifeline for three-year-old Fabian Viles, who has cerebral palsy, and his family, said dad Phil.

"Hopefully he will be going to Neston School in September, and I'm sure Springboard has contributed towards that," said Mr Viles.

A county council spokesman said there was a pot of money that was divided between Wiltshire's five special needs pre-schools.

He said the council does not fund the full cost of running Springboard because it is a voluntary organisation.

Springboard facts

Springboard Opportunity Group is a pre-school for children with special needs based in the grounds of Frogwell School in Chippenham.

It helps children with cerebral palsy, autism, medical and genetic syndromes, Down's Syndrome, physical abnormalities, disorders of hearing, sight or language and developmental delays.

It has 45 children on its books from all over north Wiltshire including Malmesbury, Calne, Corsham and Chippenham.

Last year Springboard received £45,000 from the LEA. It had to raise another £40,000 just to pay for basic running costs.

A registered charity, Springboard has a band of dedicated volunteers to help raise the rest of the money.