KIDS’ CORNER

he summer holidays are finally here for our younger English and Welsh readers! Hopefully the six or so weeks of holiday fun will see them exploring, adventuring, and enjoying the time they have with family and friends. Of course, for parents and guardians, thinking of things to do that will keep our younger readers from descending into the horrors of boredom over all those weeks is imperative. With that said, the summer holidays can get a bit pricey, and we know that for many people across the UK - especially disabled people and their families who are disproportionally affected by the cost of living crisis - money might be something weighing heavily on minds. That’s why on page 54 you can find our non-exhaustive but hopefully helpful list of all the places that have offers on that allow kids to eat for £1 or less.

Alongside that, you can read the latest from columnist Dan White on page 57, and this issue’s Future Voices contributor Courtney Reeve explains the importance of making Pride accessible on page 59. Remember, if you’re a young person who’d like to contribute to our Future Voices column, our inbox is always open - email Katie@2APublishing. co.uk to get involved.

pg60

BY KATIE CAMPBELL

Children under 16 can eat for £1 at Asda Cafes across the country, and there’s no minimum adult spend required to take advantage of the offer. Asda are offering the Kids Eat for £1 as long as the store’s cafe is open, and will offer young people a hot or cold meal. Babies will be offered a free pouch of Ella’s Kitchen baby good (70g) in cafes.

The supermarket giants are offering free kids’ meals to anyone who purchases any item in a Tesco cafe between July 25 and August 26, with the only stipulation being that you must be signed up to its Clubcard loyalty scheme, which is free to use and gathers points on purchases in store. To get the offer, all you need to do is scan your Clubcard at the till of one of their 311 cafes.

Children under 16 can eat for free when they’re accompanying an adult who purchases a meal worth at least £4.99. Young people can select anything from the children’s menu to have, and meals come with a piece of fruit and a drink.

Marks and Spencers are offering a free Kids’ Munch Menu breakfast or lunch to any child with an adult who spends £5 or more on food or drink for adults in a single transaction at their cafes until 12 August. The company says it’s expecting to give away over half a million meals to children for free this year!

Kids can eat at the sushi chain for free Monday to Thursday, between 3pm and 5.30pm - the restaurant allows three children to eat for free per table. For every £10 of food an adult eats, one child can eat for free, with a drink included in the deal, and a dessert can be added on for an additional £1.50 per child!

Two children under 16 can enjoy a free breakfast for each adult who purchases an unlimited breakfast for £9.50. Breakfast is served from 6.30am to 10.30am on weekdays, and from 7am to 11am on weekends.

It’s easier to convince the family to take a day trip to the famed Swedish furniture store once you know they’re offering children’s meals for 95p - the cafe are also selling combo meals for £1.50, which is comprised of a hot meal, a soft drink, a piece of fruit and jelly.

Children can eat for £1 in the popular Italian restaurant chain between 4pm and 6pm, Monday to Thursday, so long as they’re with an adult who is buying a main course. The offer is suitable for children aged two to 11, and comes with a drink. Other reduced price options are available for older children.

Children can get a main meal for £1 at Sizzling Pub and Grills throughout the summer holidays, Monday to Friday between 3pm and 7pm, with the only stipulation being an adult must buy a main meal in the same transaction.

Two children can eat for £1 at Farmhouse Inns on Monday to Saturday throughout the summer, but in order to claim this offer, you have to sign up to their mailing list and register for the email-exclusive voucher, which can take a little while!

All information correct at time of writing. See restaurants’ individual terms and conditions for details on each offer.

o, after months of waiting, planning and apprehension it has finally begun. What has? I hear the assembled readership exclaim. Well, our journey in brick dust hell as the process of building an accessible extension to our bungalow has begun. This process, as many you of are probably aware, started with the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) application. A DFG helps to cover the cost of making essential improvements to your home, meaning children and adults with disabilities can continue to live in them as they are re-structured for any accessible need. A DFG does not affect your rights to benefits or allowances and a child with a disability can qualify without the inclusion of their parents’ income. The sum offered by your local council here in the UK is £30,000 which is a reasonable amount of money and seems on paper like a good quantity of cash that would make a lot of adaptions to anyone’s home. These grants have been around for nearly 30 years; they’re delivered through 326 local authorities across England and help 50,000 people per year to adapt their home. However, as every parent with a disabled child knows adaptations - due to the cost-ofliving crisis which has made building materials skyrocket - always cost more than £30,000, so there is a real funding issue to go through. It falls to the parent to set up either a GoFundMe or check on the health of an elderly rich relative.

DFG grants aside however, there is another issue here that needs addressing, why aren’t we building enough accessible homes in the UK as a matter of course? Why are parents of newly born disabled children being thrust into completely unsuitable council accommodation or buying a house which they know they will either make do in or go through the stress of a DFG application and subsequent appealing to people’s pockets? There are 11.6 million disabled people in Britain and with a rapidly ageing society, children with disabilities being born and the unknown repercussions of long COVID, research shows that there is not a sufficient supply of accessible homes to meet this increasing demand. Surely it makes sense for planners and builders to realise the need to make new build homes accessible and inclusive for all? The reasons for such an inclusive move would mean families with disabled children like mine would move into a home where forward thinking has enabled that child to grow up independently, giving them a starting point for inclusion in community life, not to mention the removal of avoidable future stress for a parent carer. It would also mean the chance to move to a new home that is fit for purpose and brick dust free for those lucky enough to be on the property ladder.

It may shock you to know that in 2019 the government completed a consultation into accessible housing, it was called the “Raising accessibility standards for new homes”, and they ignored the findings with ministers imposing no requirement for any of the housing schemes across the UK to include any accessible homes. This means planners have a golden getout clause to not provide accessible homes. Basically, there is a failure to recognise the importance of the issue of disabled living. Only 23% of homes due to be built by 2030 are planned to meet basic accessibility criteria – an entrance-level toilet, or bathroom walls strong enough to bear the fitting of grab rails while only 1% will be wheelchair accessible, a national tragedy and seemingly final proof of how disabled people are viewed. It would only take a bit of common sense, a bit of humanity, to readdress these issues. Disability isn’t going to vanish overnight, government and planners need their fingers out their ears and to overdose on the empathy. So that’s where we are at with the most basic of human needs, a home fit for purpose. While the system repeatedly continues to fail disabled children, their parents, and disabled individuals over housing, it seems we as a community are left to manage with what’s available unless we plead and beg for grants and charity. As for us? Well, we continue to live amongst rubble and ruin, hoping our Crowdfunder will see us over the finish line, if not, we live in a half built, half useable shell of a home, and we are not alone. Homes for real heroes please, everywhere, now.

to see more online Pride events along with making sure the in person events are as inclusive as possible. Pride is often seen as a celebration, but it was born out of protest. We have Pride as a reminder of how far we have come as a community, and as a reminder of the Stonewall Uprising. The Uprising was a series of community-led rebellions in response to consistent, targeted harassment by the police. This set in motion many protests and campaigns that ultimately led to important wins for the LGBTQ+ community in the West. But in 2022, the fight is far from over. It’s important that we continue to learn from each other’s lived experiences so that we can see the needs in our community. We must keep listening, learning and changing to come closer together. Fully including disabled experiences and voices in Pride allows us to realise how COURTNEY REEVE much more work we have to do to make a more inclusive world for all LGBTQ+ people and we need to work together to do it.

magine that you are excited about coming to Pride for the first time, and you find it’s not accessible for you and your friends. You have come to an event that celebrates inclusion and found yourself excluded. That’s the reality for one in five disabled people that live in the UK, especially the many disabled people who also identify as LGBTQ+. Pride should improve access for performers and workers, so that people attending Pride can see disabled people working and performing, which will improve representation. It shouldn’t be just accessible for the audience: there should be opportunities for disabled people to work and perform, as well as making more of an effort to help make the LGBTQ+ space more accessible for all. I have been to Pride events that felt very inclusive, but my heart sometimes hurts when I don’t see things like BSL interpreters or quiet areas. It can be hard to find your community when you are both disabled and LGBTQ+. There won’t necessarily be other disabled people in LGBTQ+ groups or LGBTQ+ people in disabled groups. Many people turn to the internet to find others like them. Going to Pride is a good way to meet people beyond the internet, especially as the internet is also not always an accessible space for some disabled people. However, we still need online events as some disabled people struggle with in person events or don’t feel safe going out, so I would love

These wristbands are designed for children aged 3-9 years old to wear discreetly in their wrists on case of a medical emergency or if they get lost or separated from their parents or carers. There is an ID card that is stored on the inside of the wristband and you can include information like your child’s name, your contact numbers, any medical or allergy information. It is waterproof and comfortable to wear.

Avoid using fiddly name labels that can often be felt by children who are sensitive to different materials by using this reliable stamp. These stamps can be customised to include an image alongside your child’s name and stamped straight onto clothes, socks, bags and other material items to stop them being lost. It must be initially left for 24 hours before washing, but it will not come off in the wash.

This portable sensory room is made using a thick material to keep light out, ensuring a dark space is created inside. It comes with a large door area and window panel and it can be set up vertically and horizontally depending on what your child wants. It is a great portable sensory room that little ones can enjoy anywhere you travel.