Annabel

Fifteen years ago Roo and our board of trustees registered Tailor Ed as a company and charity. The aim was to provide practical hands-on guidance within family homes to help the parents of autistic children with the challenges of daily life. Most importantly we wanted to share our knowledge and experience so that parents could succeed in their role in helping their child learn the skills they needed for a fulfilling life.

In 2023 we’ve grown to a staff team of 15 operating 4 services across Edinburgh and East Lothian. We’ve diversified our income streams and are now in receipt of financial support from both the Scottish Government and Local Authorities. But most importantly, we’ve supported hundreds of autistic children and young people to learn skills essential for life.

We’re currently recruiting for a new CEO to take over from Roo during 2023. With the continuity of our board of trustees and our experienced staff team we’re confident that the values and approach that are central to how Tailor Ed work can continue to thrive.

If you’ve any questions about this, please get in touch. Equally please feel free to share the link to the ad below with any potential candidates!

Applications for the role are open until 10th February 2023 – please see link below for full job description and Application Form. Please feel free share this advert with anyone who might be interested in or suitable for this position!

The whole Tailor Ed team would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

We will be taking a break from Wednesday 21st December and returning on Wednesday 4th January.

There are many ways to support Tailor Ed, and now you can sign up to regular or single donations quickly and easily with CAF Online.

Tailor Ed is a charity committed to providing our services in a fair way to those that need them. As such we don’t charge families and generate all of our income through fundraising. Most of this comes from trusts that we apply to but donations big and small also really help us. When supporters of our work sign up to regular giving you help us create a sustainable income stream which builds security. It also helps us leverage funding from grant providers as they see the clear evidence of how valued our services are by those who use them.

Every contribution makes a difference and you can be assured that it will contribute directly to delivering our services to families who need them.

TAILOR ED FOUNDATION is looking for individuals and families, friends and supporters to join on us for a fun day helping to raise funds for our work.

There are three walking options;

• The Wee Wander: approx. 4 miles (ideal for families)
• The Big Stroll: approx. 14 miles
• The Mighty Stride: a long, long way 24 miles!!

To encourage as many families as possible to take part on our behalf we will sponsor the first 10 families to get in touch with us (2 adults and 2 children). Please get in touch with Stuart if you are keen to go for a walk – Stuart@tailoredfoundation.co.uk

You can find lots of information on their web site: https://www.thekiltwalk.co.uk/events/edinburgh

Every single penny you raise will go to our services and Sir Tom Hunter and The Hunter Foundation will top this up by a HUGE 50%

Faith, a pupil at Liberton High School, chose Tailor Ed Foundation as her Youth Philanthropy Initiative Project, and has won!

Tailor Ed Foundation was delighted a few months ago when a student from Liberton High School contacted Stuart and asked if it was okay if she did her Youth Philanthropy Initiative Project on us. The student explained she wanted to share her experiences of being autistic to her classmates and the whole school. She said there was no better local charity to support than Tailor Ed and just maybe she could raise funding for our work. Of course we agreed and Stuart was interviewed by the student as she prepared her presentation for her YPI project.

In June a very excited student then got back in touch with Stuart to say she had WON and that we would be getting £3000 towards our services.

This was a fantastic outcome: the student told us she is delighted to have raised awareness of autism throughout her school, with her friends, other students and school staff and she was over the moon that she had raised so much for us.

Tailor Ed Foundation would like to thank Faith Sinclair for choosing us as her local charity and for sharing her experiences so powerfully and convincingly with everyone at Liberton High School.

Youth Philanthropy Initiative is a well established part of social studies in the school curriculum for all High Schools for second year students and there is a separate programme for senior pupils: if your child ever comes home and tells you they are taking part in YPI but not sure which local charity to carry out their project on, please point them in our direction! Stuart would be delighted to help and support them – stuart@tailoredfoundation.co.uk

During school holidays, you can join us to start the day at Circle Time, each weekday at 10 am. You can join the group from 9.55am. Feel free to participate in any way you want and you feel comfortable; by having the camera on or off, microphone mute or unmute, dressing in your favourite costume or accompanied by parents or siblings. Please display your child’s name so we can welcome them.

If you joined Circle time before, you can use the same Zoom link; or if you want to join circle time for the first time, you need any help accessing this or have any questions contact contact@tailoredfoundation.co.uk 

Again this year we’re running our workshop for parents who want to teach their child to ride a bike. The practical sessions are for parents and carers and their child to practice riding a bike.

The sessions will be Saturday 9^th July and Saturday 30^th July at the Edinburgh Academy Junior School grounds in Canonmills (some free parking may be available). Our team will be on hand to help you teach your child and practice the various exercises. We can provide bikes if needed.

Places on this workshop must be booked in advance as there are limited places. To book email contact@tailoredfoundation.co.uk or speak to your project worker