“Thanks you so much Science Museum for hosting your first ‘Early Birds Evening’ and inviting us along. We had a lot of fun! So nice to be in an environment where nobody would judge Lumen for his bare feet, spinning, or hand flapping. And so nice to be in a space where the crowds disappeared and there was no queue for the Wonderlab, the lights were dimmed, the hand driers were turned off, and all the staff were accommodating. I need to make it my personal mission to make more spaces in london offer this.”

“It gives me great pleasure to introduce the yearbook for our 2018/19 inaugural cohort of emerging women leaders. This newly established leadership scheme generates great pride across the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) as we say farewell to 12 dedicated and accomplished doctors who are developing their leadership skills as consultants” – Dr Emma Vaux, Senior censor and vice president (education and training), Royal College of Physicians

Read the report here.

With the generous support of the Lord Leonard and Lady Estelle Wolfson Foundation, Dawnosaurs 2 got off to a fantastic start in 2018/19. The biggest story of the renewed programme’s first year has been the impressive surge in participation we have witnessed. Read the full report here.

The Lord Leonard and Lady Estelle Wolfson Foundation has kindly supported the National Portrait Gallery’s Access programme since 2013. This report outlines some of the activities and audiences the funding has been able to support over this year; this includes Musical Portraits, the Gallery’s creative arts project for young people with autism; the Gallery’s onsite access public programme and access resources. Read more here.

Extract taken from the British Museum Review ‘Being human’ 2018/2019

New programming to widen access included ‘relaxed’ talks and drawing workshops for those with autistic spectrum conditions, sensory and communication disorders and learning disabilities.  The events were supported by the Lord Leonard and Lady Estelle Wolfson Foundation. Activities for hard-to-reach groups included free community viewings of special exhibitions and the new Albukhary Foundation Gallery of the Islamic World.  The event welcomed over 3,500 people from supplementary schools, charities, adult learning centres, refugee support groups and community centres local to the British Museum.

Extract taken from Natural History Museum Annual Review 2018/2019 ‘Speaking to the World’

A Museum Leader in Autism

Supported by a fresh tranche of three-year funding from the Lord Leonard and Lad Estelle Wolfson Foundation, six additional Dawnosaurs events took place in 2018/2019 in South Kensington and Tring.  Around 3,500 visitors benefited from events as part of the new funding stream, a significant increase on 2017/2018.

Now entering its fifth year, the Museum’s Dawnosaurs programme provides autistic children and their families with calm and supportive museum engagement away from the usual crowds and sensory overload.  Events include ‘relaxed’ early access to most galleries, live animal shows and other science learning and creative activities. A Changing Places toilet is also available for mobility-disabled visitors and a sensory room for those needing quiet.

Additions to the programme this year included live music in Hintze Hall, Dawnosaurs events at Tring and free entry to the Life in the Darkexhibition, which welcomed over 1,200 autistic children and their families across three events.

Read the feedback here

“I just wanted to thank the Trustees for the continued support of SEN at London’s museums and in particular your support at the National History Museum. As a father of 2 young boys with additional needs these events provide an opportunity to explore the delights of the museum on their terms and have a much enhanced experience for both children and adults alike. It is greatly appreciated and I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you and highlight the difference that this makes to our family.” – Neil Budd (neil.d.budd@barclays.com)

“I am writing to thank you for the most wonderful experience that my family had on Saturday. We visited the Science Museum’s Early Bird session for the first time and it was so very special for us to see our three sons, aged 4, 7 and 9 so engaged and inspired by everything around them. Our eldest son has autism and this stops him from accessing these places during normal opening hours. Sadly it often prevents his younger siblings from going too. We have only just discovered the autism-friendly museum openings and see that the Natural History Museum has one too, which you also make possible, so we are very excited about discovering that later in the year. We just wanted to say thank you for making these events possible and giving us all so much joy.” – Molly Neal

The Lord Leonard and Lady Estelle Wolfson Foundation has generously supported an access and education programmes at the British Museum since 2014. In September 2016 the Foundation awarded the Museum a grant of £90,000 over three years to support Phase II of the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Access and Education Programme, 2017 to 2020. Leading on from learnings in Year One, in Year Two the programme began to embed the most successful activity elements into the Museum’s permanent programming. Read the full report here

Over the past twelve months the Wallace Collection’s Access and SEN Programme has continued to flourish. We have expanded familiar and successful sessions and tours as well as added new and experimental elements to our programme. Of course we also continue to support colleagues in other cultural organisations to implement and improve their offer of accessible events and activities. From April 2018 – March 2019 we hosted a total of 48 adult events reaching 836 adults, almost double last year’s amount, and ran 19 SEN school workshops, reaching 622 pupils and teachers. Read more

We would like to thank the Trustees of the Lord Leonard and Lady Estelle Wolfson Foundation for their generous support for the National Gallery’s two valuable programmes for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. Read more here.

Our programmed of Adult Access events for adults plays an important role in enabling the National Gallery to achieve its aim to be ‘accessible to all’ ensuring that its great works of art can be enjoyed by the widest possible public. Read more here.

2018 witnessed the 500th anniversary of the Royal College of Physicians. Thanks to the support of the Lord Leonard and Lady Estelle Wolfson Foundation, we were able to mark the occasion with the exhibition ‘This Vexed Question: 500 Years of Women in Medicine’. This report briefly outlines the nature of this exhibition and the positive outcomes and legacy it had for the RCP. Read more

This year-long fellowship provides women with the opportunity to be involved in RCS activities, become familiar with how the RCS operates, and encourages them to apply for Council and other leadership roles. Apply before 30th April. Read more here.

Early Birds is a sensory friendly morning for children who need a quieter environment to enjoy the museum. The Lord Leonard and Lady Estelle Wolfson Foundation have generously pledged support for this project over three years. This report outlines the activity over the year 2018/19 and plans for the year to come. Read the full report here.

Together, The Lord Leonard and Lady Estelle Wolfson Foundation and Mencap are working to give more people with a learning disability the chance to live with greater independence in a safe, well equipped and happy home. This year, year one of three, we begun this vital work by creating a home for three individuals with developing needs in Rotherham. Read more here.

Making Music has been a vital part of assisting sick children during their stay at St. George’s Hospital, and the programme has been extremely well received. Read more here.

Feedback from a parent who attended Early Birds at the museum recently.

“We came to the Early Birds session this past Saturday morning. I just wanted to say it was BRILLIANT! It was the first time I had been able to come with my son and the difference from previous trips when everything is busy, loud and stressful was night and day. It was so calm, and we all really enjoyed it. It was an extra special thing for me, not only seeing my son being able to enjoy it, but I am also autistic and this was the first time I have been to a museum and not felt overwhelmed, and truly able to enjoy it! So thank you. We appreciated all the extra little bits they had for us. The things to make and build, the extra workshops, seeing animals, making motorised pen things! And a big highlight for us was the pop up planetarium. They were fantastic and calm. But all the helpers were amazing, helpful and great at engaging with our son. It was also really fun for us as a family to enjoy in the interactive lab with the slides, and all the different experiments. Thank you for making this possible!! I really didn’t think we would be able to have a family day like that with the challenges we face, but you made it possible! And we are so very grateful.”

Evelina London Children’s Hospital is incredibly grateful to the Lord Leonard and Lady Estelle Wolfson Charitable Trust for your generous support to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and Fetal Cardiology Unit (FCU). Your support has made a real difference to our ability to provide specialist pre and postnatal care to some of our most at-risk patients. 

Read the full report here.