Coleg Elidyr provides further education and training for young people with learning difficulties in an integrated residential setting in the heart of rural Wales. We work with around 40 young people each year drawn from all parts of Wales and England using Rudolf Steiner’s principles, which aim to foster development of all aspects of the individual with programmes tailored to their needs.
During the past 33 years we have supported over 440 young people. We urgently need to build new residential accommodation that will help the young people learn life skills and develop self-confidence so they can become active members of their own communities when they move on from college.
We are an independent registered charity providing a dynamic environment for support, learning and work opportunities to young adults with learning difficulties and disabilities. Our community philosophy and services are based on the Steiner Camphill principles and we operate in rural mid-Wales.
We provide a range of opportunities for young people aged between 18-25 years to live in a residential community for between 3-7 years. During this time they develop life skills, learn to live with increased independence and undertake vocationally-related training in areas such as horticulture, catering, retail, crafts, farming and conservation.
We are inspected by Ofsted, Estyn (Welsh regulatory body for further education), ALI (Adult Learning Inspectorate) and the Care Standards Inspectorate for Wales, whose latest reports are available on-line or on request from our office. Evaluation and monitoring forms are completed annually by students, parents, social workers and careers advisors. The following comments typify much of the feedback received:
“M’s abilities are being extended and he is making progress in all areas … (we) see more independence every time he comes home.” “B’s parents are extremely pleased. They feel that, of all the places B has been, Coleg Elidyr has picked on the essentials of dealing with him quickly. They feel he is safe and secure” “Work is the most important thing in his life. He gets his self-respect and self-worth here.” “L confirmed that she is happy in Coleg Elidyr, has lots of friends, likes what she is doing and does not want to change anything”
An integral part of our ethos is the provision of residential accommodation so that every person can learn to live in an increasingly independent way within a supportive community setting. For many, it provides an invaluable stepping stone when moving from adolescence in the family home to being an adult living independently within society. In a way you can say it is a ‘university of social and independent living skills’.
One of the cabins donated over 20 years ago
Some of our accommodation – redundant cabins donated by an oil company over 20 years ago – has far outlived its active use. It is unsuited to those with physical disabilities and is impractical to renovate to meet the latest standards. It is vital in order to enable students to continue benefiting from the college’s work that we build new accommodation blocks.
The brief for the new houses was developed by the community members together with Camphill Architects. Each house will be shared between 4-6 young people, short-term support workers and long-term support staff.
Blueprint for the next new house
Bjarte Haugen
College Manager
01550 760400
admin@colegelidyr.com
Sketch of New House
Our latest house: Ty Rhieni
Coleg Elidyr sunset