A group supporting the siblings of disabled children is set to have its first meeting in Harrogate this month.

The Sibling Group is an organisation offering a safe space for children with siblings who are disabled or have special needs. The first event in the area is set to take place January 20 from 10am-12pm at Christ Church.

The group for children aged six to 11 aims to “support their wellbeing and happiness”. The event will include activities and games to build positive relationships.

Grace Williams, founder of The Sibling Group created the organisation to support families who have children and siblings with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

She has a younger brother with special educational needs who is non-verbal, has a learning disability and autism. Grace has become devoted to supporting other families in a similar situation. She has a degree in special education, is pursuing a masters degree in autism and inclusion, and currently works as a specialist key worker for the NHS.

She said

“Growing up there was not much support available and there was a lot of stigma around this. It was very challenging for my family and I, as we had to take on a care giving role and adapt to my brother’s needs very quickly.”

Grace grew up in Harrogate and her brother attends Springwater School. She says that despite the large SEND community in the area she has always been “aware of the lack of support for families”, so when creating The Sibling Group, she “thought it would be a good area to work in.”

“Siblings are not thought about when services are created and offered to families, and I want to change this. Siblings experience extreme stress, isolation and miss out on things other children their age are doing.”

“The Sibling Group offers a safe space for children to come and meet other children with similar experiences. We offer fun activities such as arts and crafts, singing and dancing, sports and games.”

The meetings are free of charge and will be running during the school holidays and on Saturdays. To book a place at the event click here.

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Elderly and disabled commuters from the Harrogate district face ‘intolerable obstacles’ under proposed changes to Leeds train station.

Taxi ranks are due to be relocated much further from the station as part of a £39.5m revamp of the station’s main entrance and the adjoining area.

Trade union Unite said today commuters would have to travel 165 metres from the station entrance and use a lift as opposed to travel 45 metres now.

Unite regional officer Darren Rushworth, said:

“This proposal will put intolerable obstacles in the way of disabled people and the elderly who will have nearly four times the length to go to seek a taxi.

“Unite and a wide range of disability organisations want the status quo to continue and for people actually running this development to listen rather than dismissing our legitimate arguments, most of which have been outlined to the local council many times.”

Read more:

• ‘It’s working well’: Campaigner counts cyclists using Harrogate’s Beech Grove
• Rossett school bus ‘chaos’ and ‘shambles’ due to overcrowding

Many commuters use the line to Leeds from the Harrogate district.

Disability campaigners are staging a protest at Leeds Civic Hall at 11.30 on September 14 to lobby councillors to keep the rank where it is. This will be followed by a march from the Civic Hall to Millennium Square.

Leeds City Council, Network Rail and West Yorkshire Combined Authority, which are behind the planned changes, have said the redevelopment will make passenger movements easier.