It's been a sad week in that we announced the closure of a v special charity. Tower Hamlets Opportunity Group was estab 37 yrs ago by Lorraine Dooley. Lorraine had encountered exclusion & felt unwelcome in local EY services with her child with additional needs. There was little understanding of neurodiversity and no support for those navigating an unexpected parenting path. Together with Kim May, they found a space and opened the doors to all families who felt isolated and alone in caring for their children with additional needs. THOG pioneered an inclusive approach to early years ed, registering with Ofsted and ensuring that at least 51% of places were for children with complex physical, emotional & social needs. The team welcomed 100's of families through the doors over the last 4 decades, offering radical hospitality, love and welcome to all. I've been humbled to be part of THOG since 2005. I've learnt and benefited so much more than I've been able to give. It's shown me the strength of community led work. I've been challenged to think differently about how we partner with & trust the expertise of comms & VCSE sector. Too often we view communities like mine in LBTH from a deficit lens, when in fact there is much strength & richness in community despite the challenges we face. In the public sector we've more recently developed an industry of kindness & compassion, recognising the importance in delivering better services. We've built a language around this, instructed staff to "be kind" & researched what makes some places kinder than others. Whilst this is great, what strikes me with projects like THOG is: 💚 THOG staff didn't need a framework or academic paper to know that kindness & compassion matters 🌻THOG staff didn't need to be told about inclusion, it was automatically at the centre of all they did. A deep belief that every child matters & that each child needed an ind. approach to enable them to thrive ❤️ Early intervention should focus on supporting families as much as the children 💠 Enabling children to thrive is multifaceted. It is not about education quality alone, but a holistic approach. Staff would and still go above and beyond to support wider family needs, providing food, signposting and helping with housing, financial and health needs 🌟 THOG staff have never spoken about "hard to reach" children and families. When families in need were referred but couldn't access the centre, the team arranged home visits, and negotiated the use of mini buses to support with transport. They knew it was services being poorly accessible rather than "hard to reach people" 🥰 THOG understood the isolation that many families experienced, their feelings of disempowerment in navigating rigid statutory pathways, the sense of helplessness and feeling devalued. For the charity, seeing the value and the potential in all families & children was core to the incredible impact they've had Thank you THOG (& thanks for indulging my long post)
Sarah Randell
8mo
Hannah Harniess, so very sorry to read of the closure of THOG after 37 years. But please take comfort from all that's been achieved for children and families.
Digital and Data Exec Director/AI Strategist/Design thinking approach to Digital and Business Transformation.
8moVery sad to hear this as it sounds like it pioneered quite a bit in TH. I can only imagine how many benefited from its great work. In 37 years some things have changed for the better, a LOT has not. Sorry to hear Hannah. Who will follow the hole that this has left?