FVSC summer newsletter

Welcome from Jacquie Winning MBE, chief executive of Forth Valley Sensory Centre
 Welcome from Jacquie Winning, leading on announcement about Wee County Hub
for Clackmannanshire

King Tuts sensory awareness training

We were delighted to provide sensory awareness training to staff at the iconic King Tut’s
Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow.
Our training sessions are designed to increase awareness of the needs of those with sight or
hearing loss, and the steps individuals and businesses can take to improve their experiences.

During an all-day session, members of King Tut’s staff were taken through practical activities
to simulate blindness or deafness with the aim of achieving greater understanding.
They were joined by FVSC staff and volunteers who were able to share real-life experience.
Staff at the music venue were given information and advice on communicating with those
with sensory loss and were later tested on what they had learned during a live simulation of
how they might help people in a club atmosphere.
For more information on the training opportunities we provide, please visit
http://www.forthvalleysensorycentre.org/services/sensory-awareness-training

Staff changes
Everyone at the Forth Valley Sensory Centre would like to welcome two new members of
staff to our team. Jamie McKay has joined as our customer service assistant and will often
be found at our Welcome desk. He can help with everything from bookings for the sensory
room to providing batteries for hearing aids. Meanwhile, Meagan Gourlay has started as our
new multi-tasking cleaner. As well as ensuring all areas of the centre are kept clean and tidy,
Meagan will help in the Café and on the Welcome desk with Jamie and Rowan Ferguson.
She’s also skilled in BSL and is happy to support Centre users where possible.
Our previous cleaner Jean McGregor, who had been with our Charity for over ten years, has
now retired and we would like to say a big thank you and wish her well for the future.
In recent months, we’ve also said goodbye to Duncan McPhee and Sara Burns, whose
employability and energy redress projects had come to an end. We’re extremely grateful to
both for their hard work and dedication and will miss having them around the centre. We
know that Duncan, who was with us for one year, and Sara, who was with us for two, will
continue doing great things.

Forth Valley Sensory Centre’s lipreading expert

Lipreading tutor Jill Bradshaw has been teaching weekly classes at Forth Valley Sensory
Centre for nearly six years and they are always popular and well-attended.
Jill, 67, was diagnosed as deaf at the age of four and throughout her life she has become a
an incredibly skilled lipreader.
She is a member of the Scottish Course to Train Tutors of Lipreading and as part of this she
has helped to set up a revamped course for trainee tutors at Forth Valley College, which
begins on August 19 and will see her act as a mentor.
In March, Jill held an open day at the centre to encourage more people to become
lipreading tutors and to raise awareness of the new accredited course. The number of
people with hearing loss in Scotland is set to rise in the coming years – largely driven by our
ageing population – and having skills like lipreading and BSL can help people cope and
continue to communicate.
Jill – who admits one of her favourite hobbies is lipreading strangers on trains and in
restaurants – told how learning to lipread involves a level of “brain training” that focuses on
speech movement, memory, and coping strategies.
But she stressed that learning the skill, and using it in people’s daily lives, can often be tiring.
She said: “At lot of the class is memory training, because to be a good lipreader you need to
have a good memory to remember what people have told you.
“The coping strategies relate to how you cope with going to the bank, the post office, the
doctor, because there are a lot of barriers when it comes to communication like the
windows you see in these commonly used places.
“Quite often I will have a lipreading lesson planned, and someone will come in and describe
a horrible day they’ve had because of something that’s happened. So, I’ll tend to put my
lesson plan aside and we’ll talk through the problems and how to solve them.
“We also focus on words that are difficult to lipread, and on invisible lip patterns. There are
so many words that look the same – words beginning with ‘b’, ‘p’ and ‘m’ often look and
sound the same.
“I try to make the classes fun because lipreading is very tiring for someone who is having a
conversation. It’s tiring on the eyes, so I try not to make every single part specifically about
lipreading.
“The best part of the class is the cup of tea because everyone has a chance to relax.”
Jill described the joy she takes from seeing people developing and growing in confidence
and said the classes have also allowed her to continue learning like everybody else.
The mum-of-three said: “My family call me an encyclopaedia because I pick up so much
information from the lipreading classes.
“I would like to encourage more people to consider coming to lipreading classes. When you
are diagnosed with hearing loss it can be quite devastating and traumatic and lonely.
“Most people who’ve come say it has built up their confidence and it cut out the isolation
because they’re meeting other people in the same situation.
“Forth Valley Sensory Centre has such a nice atmosphere and it’s so welcoming – all of the
staff are wonderful.”
Jill’s top tips for communicating with someone who is lipreading are to ensure you are
facing the person with nothing covering your face, and to keep eye contact.
Lipreading classes take place at the centre on Mondays from 4pm-6pm. For more
information, please contact linseystocks@forthvalleysensorycentre.org.

MSPs visit after success of parliament exhibition stand

Two of our local MSPs paid visits to Forth Valley Sensory Centre to learn more about the
services we offer. Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, was at the centre in March,
and Claire Baker MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, visited in April.
This was a fantastic opportunity for us to speak about the work we do to support thousands
of people with sight and hearing loss in Falkirk, Stirling, and Clackmannanshire.
During their visits, both MSPs enjoyed a tour of the centre and facilities and had the chance
to engage with our service users.
Mr Simpson said: “Jacquie and the team are doing vital work, providing essential services
and hosting various classes, to improve the lives of people in the Forth Valley with visual and
hearing impairments.”
The informative visits were arranged following the success of our exhibition stand at the
Scottish Parliament in February. We look forward to welcoming Mr Simpson and Ms Baker –
and any MSP with an interest in the centre – again in the future.

Talk and Sign group takes flight at bungee fitness class

Members of our Talk and Sign group embarked on a thrilling adventure as they tried out a
bungee fitness class for the first time.
The visit to the Circle Gym Club in Glasgow in March was a big success, with 10 members of
the group taking part in the new fitness craze Bungee Super Fly.
At the class, participants wore harnesses while completing an energetic workout packed
with lunges, squats, and jumps. The Talk and Sign Group meets once a month at FVSC and
allows members to communicate and socialise using British Sign Language (BSL). By coming
together once a month, the group offers a supportive and inclusive environment for
individuals with sensory challenges.

Fundraising for FVSC

We’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who attended our afternoon tea and quiz
event in May, raising over £700 for the centre.
On Wednesday August 2nd, from 12:30pm – 2:30pm, we will hold a community BBQ in our
Sensory Garden, and everyone is welcome to join us. There will be burgers, hot dogs, and
hand-fire pizzas, as well as a raffle, a tombola, and a carnival stall.
Our kind-hearted and generous fundraisers are incredibly important to us, and we would
love as many people as possible to join our Forth Valley Sensory Centre Champions team at
this year’s Edinburgh Kiltwalk on Sunday, September 17. There are a range of distances for
people to sign up to, and we will provide t-shirts and sponsorship materials. For those who
pledge to raise £100 or more, we will also cover entrance fees. For more information about
the Kiltwalk, please visit www.thekiltwalk.co.uk/events/edinburgh.

New mosaic and Sculpture 20/20 unveiled

In recent months we have been delighted to reveal two new pieces of artwork outside the
centre.
First was a mosaic sensory sign at our entrance which was created by a group of kind-
hearted young people working towards their Mark Scott Leadership for Life Award.
Teenagers Amna Anwar, Eva Robertson, Sophie Wood, Heather Fleming, Georga Beattie,
Lucy Ismail and Megan Donaldson, designed the mosaic so that it is interactive for those
with sight loss. They dedicated three days to working on the sensory sign, with the
assistance of Emily Purcell, 21, a Stirling University psychology student who was on
placement with FVSC. In addition to their artistic efforts, the group also fundraised for the
project, and sourced all the necessary materials including timber, tiles, grout, glue and
jewels from local companies.
Meanwhile, a large spiral sculpture, created by Scottish Artist Alex Allan, was unveiled
outside the centre in April. Standing at 6ft tall, and named Sculpture 20/20, it features
concrete building blocks with black bollards to give a unique “pencil top” design.
Its robust and tactile design allows it to be explored by those who are blind or visually
impaired. Originally crafted as part of Allan’s degree show at Edinburgh College of Art, the
sculpture has undergone 20 difference shapes over the past decade.
The sculpture was brought to the centre through the Sculpture Placement Group’s ‘Adopt a
Sculpture’ initiative, along with support from Falkirk Health and Social Partnership’s See
Hear Fund. We hope it will spark intrigue among our centre users and members of the wider
community and become a talking point for the local area.

Volunteer Spotlight
In each edition of our newsletter, we will feature one of our amazing volunteers to find out
about their role at the Centre and get to know them better.
Ann McFarlane started volunteering with FVSC five years ago. Ann was already a centre
user, attending our popular lipreading classes, and was inspired to inquire about
volunteering. She regularly helps out as a sighted guide, selling raffle tickets at fundraisers,
and explaining the work of the Centre. Here, Ann explains why she loves volunteering…

How did you come to start volunteering?

I started volunteering at FVSC about five years ago after hearing a talk from David, the cook,
and Martin, at a UTA meeting. They inspired me to enquire about volunteering. I already
was a ‘user’ of FVSC, attending beneficial lipreading reading classes there.

What do you enjoy about volunteering at FVSC?

I like that it is so varied. At different times I have helped at events serving teas, been a
driver, supported at curling, helped at fundraising events, leaflet dropped, and helped
explain the work of FVSC at various events in the area. I enjoy meeting inspirational people
with sensory impairment. It opens my mind and awareness to the possibilities and
challenges that people deal with daily. I also appreciate the staff – their caring and
supportive attitudes encourage me to volunteer. They provide training to meet my needs
and those of the tasks I’m carrying out, which is superb.

Can you describe FVSC in three words?

Welcoming. Supportive. Professional.

What do you do when you’re not volunteering?

When not volunteering, I like to have long lies! Over the years I have volunteered with
several other charities, and I still do with PAS.

What would you recommend about volunteering at the Centre?

It allows you to see – and be part of – the support that is available to enhance and improve
the lives of people with sensory loss in practical and social ways, as well as learning new
skills and making new friends.

BSL Group
Our BSL Group meets every Wednesday at the centre from 12.30pm-2.30pm. It is open to
BSL speakers of all ages who would like to come and socialise, learn from each other, and
make new friends. We currently have around 20 members but the door is always open to
new faces. The group regularly plays Bingo – £5 to play! – and occasionally goes on outings.
Recently, we had a visit from the British Deaf Association who came in to do a talk. At its
heart, this is a social group for all BSL speakers in the local community, and a well-loved
gathering of people who relish the opportunity to speak to others with similar lived
experience to themselves.
Cathy, who has been coming to the centre since it opened in 2006 and has been a part of
the BSL Group since it started, said: “We come to the centre to meet deaf people and play a
game of Bingo leisurely.
“We catch up and exchange the latest news, locally and nationally, relating to the deaf
community and everyday news, generally.
“Most of us enjoy going to the café before and after the club to have a chat too.
“The centre itself is very ideal for us to meet with its good facilities, good location, and
plenty of transport travelling to and from the centre.
“Above of all, members of the centre staff are good at communication and having good
attitude towards us.”
Anyone who would like further information should contact our Group Co-ordinator Linsey
Stocks at linsey.stocks@forthvalleysensorycentre.org.