Hundreds of children with disabilities benefit from free fun event at the Beacon of Light

“Hopefully the families leave here today feeling a little bit lighter and knowing where they can turn to get help”

The words of Choice Wellbeing Service chief operations officer Hayley Harrison after hundreds of families of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) attended a special event at the Beacon of Light.

The event enabled families with SEND children to take part in a range fun activities including sensory experiences, seeing birds of prey and other animals, a giant inflatable slide, meeting the emergency services, all whilst being able to speak to representatives from 52 organisations which support SEND.

Hayley, whose own son George, 6, is autistic and has global development delay, said: “When George was diagnosed, I didn’t know where to turn and so we set-up Choice to ensure other parents don’t feel in the same position.

“That is what today is all about - bringing families together to have fun but also signposting them to where they can get the support they need.

“We’ve around 500 families at the Beacon, the turnout has been amazing.”

Choice was established by Tracey Huggins whose daughter Delilah, 14, uses a wheelchair due to an undiagnosed condition. Along with Hayley, in March 2025 they published the Rainbow Guide, a yellow pages style directory of vetted SEND support services for families.

The event saw many of the organisations in the Rainbow Guide come together under one roof. Organisations included Therapeeze, SENDelight Gifts, Sunderland Family Hubs, the Foundation of Light, Autismable, Together for Children, and Daisy Chain.

Tracey said: “The Rainbow Guide is great, but it’s always better to meet and discuss things with people face to face and having everyone in one place makes it much more accessible for parents.

“This is the biggest event we’ve held and it’s great to see whole families here together and seeing siblings who may not have SEND interacting with their brothers and sisters.”

Like Hayley, Tracey set-up the Community Interest Company to ensure parents could access the support she didn’t get.

She said: “I was genuinely amazed the day that I was allowed to leave the hospital with my medically complex four-month-old child, without any sort of manual, guide, or even information.

“That journey home from the hospital I remember thinking what am I going to do. I didn’t know where to turn and by the time Delilah was six or seven, I was really struggling with my mental health.

“There are lots of children who’ve undiagnosed conditions who struggle to get the support they need. The fact we’ve had so many families here today really highlights the need for this event.”

The Sunderland Echo’s newsletters deliver news and sport highlights to your inbox - sign up for free here

One of the families at the event was Chelsea Taggart and Ahmed Kader who were there with daughter Layla, 16, who has cerebral palsy and severe learning difficulties.

Chelsea, 33, said: “This is a great event to bring families together who are in similar situations and can share support. There’s lots of fun activities, freebies and a lot of available information.”

The event was also attended by city mayor, Ehthesham Haque, and the mayoress Lynda Scanlan.

The mayoress said: “This is an amazing event and I’m particularly pleased to see organisations supporting children with sight loss.”