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Author: Sarah Tulley
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Our new site at Co-op Academy Brierley

We’re delighted to announce more information about our brand new site at Co-op Academy Brierley, launching in September 2025.

From Saturday 20th September, families will be able to access a range of services, including: 

  • Sensory room (private family sensory sessions)
  • Rebound therapy
  • Dance and musical theatre sessions
  • Archery (using safe inflatable equipment)
  • Cinema Club (monthly)
  • Cookery Club (monthly)

Co-op Academy Brierley is located at Cross Green Lane, Cross Green, Leeds LS9 0BA. 

Referrals Now Open

Referrals for our new site are now open. If you would like to apply, please complete a referral form and a member of the SNAPS team will be in touch.

Complete a referral form

Please note: We expect demand to be high for these sessions, so we kindly ask for your patience while we process referrals.

We’re very excited to be expanding our reach and offering more opportunities for children with additional needs and their families.

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SNAPS Shortlisted for Charity Governance Award

We’re thrilled to share that SNAPS has been shortlisted in the People in Governance category at the Charity Governance Awards 2025!

This award recognises excellence in charity governance, and celebrates outstanding contributions made by charity boards and trustees. We’re incredibly proud that the hard work and dedication of the SNAPS Board of Trustees is being recognised in this way.

Our trustees’ commitment, experience, and guidance help us ensure we’re delivering the best possible support to the children and families we work with across Leeds and West Yorkshire. .

The winners of the Charity Governance Awards will be announced at a special ceremony in London on Tuesday, 3rd June 2025. We’re honoured to be shortlisted alongside so many inspiring charities doing exceptional work across the UK. 

A huge thank you to the Charity Governance Awards for this recognition, and congratulations to all of the other shortlisted organisations.

Runner at the London Marathon

The London Marathon for SNAPS: 26th April, 2026

  • Sunday, 26th April 2026
  • Minimum Fundraising: £2,000
  • SNAPS application deadline: Sunday, 17th August 2025
Run the London Marathon 2026 for SNAPS!

We are extremely excited that SNAPS has secured a place in the London Marathon 2026! 

We are now seeking one fantastic fundraiser to take on this epic challenge for us. We are looking for someone who is dedicated, enthusiastic and full of fantastic ideas to raise as much as possible for SNAPS. 

If you would like to take part in this iconic event, please email: fundraising@snapsyorkshire.org  to request an application form. The deadline for applying for a SNAPS place is Sunday 17th August 2025. Forms returned after this time unfortunately cannot be considered. 

You will be informed whether your application was successful or not by Friday 5th September. 

If you have any questions, please contact fundraising@snapsyorkshire.org.

For further information about the event and terms and conditions, please visit:  https://www.londonmarathonevents.co.uk/london-marathon  

Thank you for your interest, and good luck! 

Request your application now
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A new look for SNAPS

We have a fresh look (kind of)!

Our logo still has the same bright and colourful look, but you may notice a small change. We’ve simplified the design and removed the tagline of “Special Needs and Parent Support”. We think that this updated name better reflects who we are today and the positive and inclusive work that we do.

Rest assured, we’re still the same SNAPS! Our mission hasn’t changed: we’re here to provide vital support to children with additional needs and their families.

If you have any questions about the new brand, or you are from a partner organisation that needs a copy of the new SNAPS logo, please contact our Communications Manager, Sarah Tulley: sarah@snapsyorkshire.org. 

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Celebrating World Book Day

Today is World Book Day, a day to celebrate reading for fun.

We love books at SNAPS. Reading can be such a fun and rewarding experience for all children, no matter their age or ability. It offers countless benefits for development and wellbeing – fostering speech and language development, enhancing creativity and imagination, promoting empathy, and helping to reduce stress and anxiety.

At SNAPS, we see storytelling as a powerful way to bring families together, creating connections that go beyond the page. We especially love to see books where children with additional needs are represented in a positive way. It can really help to nurture self-esteem and confidence when children are able to identify with the characters,

Here are just some of our favourite children’s books featuring characters with additional needs or storylines about diversity and inclusion. Many of these have been written by people with additional needs or parents and carers with first-hand experience.

Picture books

See What I Can Do by Jon Roberts
This book tells the stories of children with a variety of additional needs, inspired by the real-life experiences of the author’s daughter, who is autistic.

No Horn Unicorn by Shani Dhanda
There’s something different about Ugo the unicorn… a heartwarming story that celebrates difference.

When I See Blue by Lily Bailey
A touching and honest book about life with OCD, and the power of friendship. 

You’re so Amazing! by James and Lucy Catchpole
About a child with a limb difference who is tired of being told how amazing he is for doing normal things.

Dexter! The Amazing School Dog! by Lucy Plunkett and Sian Bowman
Introduces readers to neurodiversity through the lovable school dog, Dexter. 

This is Me! by George Webster
A heartfelt and positive picture book from one of our favourite CBeebies stars. 

Talking is not My Thing: Rose Robbins
A celebration of diversity and neurodiversity, this is a rare example of a story that recognises non-verbal communication.

My Brother Otto by Elisa Pallmer
An engaging picture book that shows everyday life with little crow siblings when one of them is on the autism spectrum. 

Loud! by Rose Robbins
An adorable picture book about a little girl who  finds that she can express herself through singing. 

Chapter books for older readers

Vivi Conway and the Sword of Legend by Lizzie Huxley-Jones
An action-packed, epic adventure featuring an autistic heroine.

The Stickleback Catchers by Lisette Auton
A magical adventure of family and friendship with inclusive portrayal of disability and illness. We especially like the positive description of the main character’s mobility aids. 

The Amazing Edie Eckhart by Rosie Jones
Inspired by comedian Rosie Jones’ own experiences of navigating school with cerebral palsy.

Wilder than Midnight by Cerrie Burnell
A magical, fairy tale inspired story that celebrates individuality and difference.

Further reading

 

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SNAPS is expanding!

We are thrilled to share the exciting news that SNAPS is continuing to grow!

Due to increasing demand for our services, we will be launching sessions at a brand-new site:
Co-op Academy Brierley, located on Cross Green Lane, East Leeds.

This is in addition to our existing services and will allow us to support even more children and families across the region, as well as offer some new and exciting services to our current families.  

We are planning to launch this new site in September 2025, with additional sessions including sensory, rebound therapy, stay and play and more.

This expansion will not affect our current provision at Penny Field and Broomfield – they will continue to operate as usual.

What’s happening next?

  • To help us prepare for this expansion, we will be increasing physiotherapy sessions at Broomfield for the Summer term only.
  • Referrals for our services at Brierley will follow the same process as Penny Field and Broomfield. We plan to take referrals for the September term, for all of our sites, later in the summer.
  • More details on how to book sessions will be shared in the coming months.

Please keep an eye out for further updates, and if you have any questions, feel free to reach out.

We are very excited to be able to extend our support to more families and widen the range of services we offer.  We look forward to this next chapter for SNAPS!

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Smiley Charity Film Awards Finalists!

We’re thrilled to say that our film has been shortlisted as finalist at the Smiley Charity Film Awards! 
 
We’re very proud of this film as it tells the story of SNAPS so well and really highlights the impact we have on the families we support. A huge thank you to our friends at Strata for producing it for us. 
 
It’s wonderful to get exposure like this for SNAPS and the work that we do with our amazing families. Thank you to everyone who voted for our film, we couldn’t have done it without your support . 

We’ll find out whether we’ve won on 20th March. 
 
You can find out more about the Smiley Film Awards at their website. 
Strata reveal their fundraising total for SNAPS

Strata raises over £125k for SNAPS

Over the last 18 months we have been lucky enough to have the support of the wonderful team at Strata. 

Not only have the Strata team raised a significant sum of money for SNAPS, but they have provided us with support and advice, attended our events and even created a film for us (which you can view here). 

This week we found out their final fundraising total for SNAPS: an incredible £125,743.84!

These funds are will help us to maintain our vital services supporting children with additional needs and their families. We cannot thank the Strata team enough for their  support. 

Matthew Bloomer, Head of Social Purpose at Strata, says: “It’s been amazing to help support such a worthwhile charity in SNAPS. Having met the families and seen first-hand what a difference the charity makes to people’s lives, we feel proud to be able to have helped.

“The people there are fantastic and the generosity and enthusiasm shown from everyone who has supported our events has been inspiring.”

Feeling inspired? If you’d like to give back to the community through your business, find out more about our corporate fundraising opportunities. 

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SNAPS Christmas Raffle

Join the SNAPS Christmas Raffle and be in with the chance of a cash boost just in time for the festive season!  

We have two cash prizes up for grabs: 

First prize: £150 
Runner-up prize: £50

It costs just £2 per entry, and the winners will be announced on 18th December.

All funds raised will help to support our mission at SNAPS to be there for children with additional needs and their families.

To enter, please visit our Enthuse raffle page via the button below. Good luck! 

 
Enter the SNAPS Christmas raffle
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Notice of SNAPS AGM: Saturday, 30th November 2024

We will be holding our Annual General Meeting 2024 on Saturday, 30th November at 10.00am. It will take place at Penny Field School, Tongue Lane, Meanwood, Leeds, LS6 4QD.

Everyone is welcome to join us and we would especially love as many parents as possible to  come along.  It’s a chance to hear about SNAPS’ service delivery from the past year, our finances and the management of the charity. It is also an opportunity to raise any suggestions or concerns you may have. We are driven by our families’ needs, so your feedback is incredibly important to us.

For further information about the AGM or to request to attend, please email Lucy Owen:  lucy@snapsyorkshire.org.

We hope to see you there! 

  1. Notice of the Annual General Meeting, November 2024 
  2. Minutes of SNAPS AGM, January 2024
  3. Nominations: November 2024
  4. Summary of Accounts: April 2023 to March 2024
  5. SNAPS Annual Accounts: April 2023 – March 2024
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