Grapevine Cov and Warks

25/08/2026

Our Coventry Youth Activists - CYA making the most of people being out and about in the sunshine as an opportunity to talk about disability, inclusion and barriers disabled people face in our society. They're forming their next campaign—look out for more news on this soon! 🙌💛

ID: Three photographs show the young disabled activists wearing yellow CYA t-shirts with an information stall in Coventry city centre talking to shoppers outside the Post Office and Central Library. It is a sunny summer's day. One member of CYA holds a cardboard sign that says, "Do you have 30 seconds? Want to play a game?"

18/08/2026

SOCIAL ACTION IN WARWICKSHIRE UPDATE 🔔 The Westbury Road/Cambridge Drive traffic issues petition may have closed now, but there is still time to add your opinion to the report being prepared by the Friends of Stockingford with our community organiser Michelle.

Call or message her on 07478089792, or email [email protected]. The residents working on improving the situation would love to hear from you! 💬

Are you impacted by the traffic congestion on Westbury Road and Cambridgeshire Drive? Please review and sign the petition if you wish to support positive change.
You do not need to be a resident; family members, friends, or service users experiencing difficulties accessing these roads are also encouraged to participate.

https://democracy.warwickshire.gov.uk/mgEPetitionDisplay.aspx?ID=92&RPID=28852038&$LO$=1

Many thanks!

17/08/2026

A few photos from Thursday's wonderful annual celebration event for our young people with SEND, aka TeenVine+ and Teenvine+ Covid 19 Next Steps Summer Camp Out 2026 🥳

In spite of the heat, Alfrey Activity Centre (Warwickshire Scouts' official campsite in Meriden) was again the perfect spot to bring this year's group together one final time for food, fun, family time, crafts, creativity, awards, and lots and lots of hydration 💦

A huge thank you to Village Hotel Club for bringing and preparing a delicious BBQ lunch. As their charity partner, we were also extremely grateful to be able to use the proceeds from their July charity quiz night to pay for our summer camp out 🙏

Thank you to every member of our team who helped out. Plus our brilliant volunteers helping to keep everyone safe 💜

A very special thank you to Sarah, Laura, Poppy and Molly who work across both Teenvine projects, coordinating the whole event following 12 months of working intensively to develop each young person in preparation for the exciting next steps of their lives 🙌

Grace from Media Mania also volunteered with us for the day - look out for the amazing song she helped the young people write and record soon 🎤

We are so pleased it went so well and hope everyone had the best time!

As we close this chapter and prepare to welcome our new September '26 to August '27 cohort of teenagers with special educational needs and disabilities, we reflect on how we continue to strengthen young lives:

Starting from what they care about
And what they're good at
Building natural networks of support
Opening up opportunities
Taking charge of their own future
Having the freedom to dream
Creating a circle around them
And a bigger life outside of school
Where they feel heard
And can explore what excites them
To form a plan for their future
Without limits ✨

12/08/2026

Please take extra care, at least until cooler temperatures arrive this weekend 🤞

An amber heat-health alert is in place across parts of England from today until 14 August.

During an amber alert, hot weather can put more people’s health at risk – not just those who are usually more vulnerable.

Older people, young children and people with existing health conditions may be particularly at risk.

Take extra care and look out for others who may struggle in the heat.

Find tips on how to stay cool: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/seasonal-health/heatwave-how-to-cope-in-hot-weather/

11/08/2026

JUST TWO DAYS until our summer celebration for young people completing our TeenVine+ and Teenvine+ Covid 19 Next Steps programmes 🥳

Two days until A-level results are out...
Nine days until GCSE results come in...

That's a lot of big moments for the young people around us—so we're taking this moment to reflect on what achievement means.

Project worker Poppy has kindly shared some of the thoughtful cards and gifts she's recently received from teenagers moving on following six months of exploring their identity, ambitions and future plans with her on Next Steps ✨

For young people with SEND, non-attendance at school creates anxiety, low self-esteem and a feeling of failure that builds long before exam season arrives.

Many were not attending school and while some now are, for others the process of returning to education will take a little longer.

But most have succeeded in other ways with Poppy alongside them—following their dreams and goals, making friends, joining new clubs, travelling independently, confidently accessing their community.

Capability, strengths, confidence and relationships that keep going long after their time on this project ends.

Take Scarlett for example—when Poppy met her she wasn't attending school. She was at home working online due to severe anxiety.

💜 Poppy worked one-on-one with Scarlett
💜 She supported her into an in-person study group
💜 Her confidence grew on joining a youth group too
💜 Scarlett felt strong enough to return to school
💜 She chose a new secondary school
💜 Attendance and new friendships going well so far.

Poppy said: "Sometimes, you don't realise the difference you're making until someone tells you.

"As youth workers, it's easy to leave work wondering if anything you've done has really made an impact.

"The little things matter far more than we realise. Those moments may only take a few minutes out of our day, but they can stay with a young person for years.

"Keep showing up. Keep listening. Keep believing in them.

"You never know which small act of kindness or encouragement could become something a young person carries with them long after they've left your service."

10/08/2026

We may have missed International Allyship Day as it fell on a Saturday (8 August) this year, but we think that's OK because every day should be about being a good ally to disabled people 💛💜

It's about learning, engaging and acting. And not waiting to be "perfect".

Why do our Coventry Youth Activists - CYA need allies?

They say: "We believe allies can support the disabled community to be empowered.

"We recognise that at times the voices of the non-disabled are listened to more and we want to tap into this power and potential.

"The online disabled community is growing but we need more people to stand in solidarity with us." ✊

Please see below for what you can do today to stand with disabled people, even when they're not in the room 👇

06/08/2026

AUGUST TEAM MEETING ✨ At Grapevine, we listen to the people we walk alongside, our team and our partners, and let what we learn change what we do.

In that spirit — and as an ever evolving team often out in the community — monthly meetings always provide a good opportunity to:

💜 Learn what each team is working on
💜 Swap stories and valuable insights
💜 Find new ways to collaborate.

August's monthly team meeting at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry had a theme of "working as one team" and two hours away from the day-to-day work of strengthening lives, sparking community and shifting power to discuss our different strands in action moving towards one mission.

We asked:
❓ What is working well?
❓ Where are the opportunities for crossover?
❓ What more could we test out?

Here are a few photos of us all thinking about that together.

With a wellbeing day coming up in September and a refreshed five-year strategy rolling out the following month, yesterday's team meeting was the perfect chance to start the ball rolling on new collaborative practices between teams.

And if you'd like to answer yesterday's check in question that helps settle everyone into the room and the moment, here it is:

What helpful life hack makes the most difference to you? Share with us in the comments if you like 👇

ID: A four-photo grid collage showing small teams within our team working together with flip chart paper, post-its and pens on a set of questions about how we continue working effectively as one team. Michelle joined us via the laptop.

03/08/2026

If you think you might know what our health team project worker Herbie is holding in this photo... then you are probably right 😆

"It's a great bit of kit!" said Herbie.

In case you don't know, Herbie is holding a model of a human female v***a — handmade by their colleague and resident Grapevine artist Emma O'Brien. The v***a even detaches from the hood to show its inner workings. Not actual size, just to be clear.

Just another day in the office at Grapevine! 🍇

So, why are we making demonstration v***as? Here's the whole story...

Participants of our Help and Connect - Grapevine project (for autistic people and people with learning disabilities in Coventry) join regular ‘Top 2 Toe’ sessions in the company of their peers as part of their individual six-month journey with one of our connectors.

Their connector helps them make connections while learning the skills to stay healthy and safe in their lives. Gradually building the confidence, capacity and self-belief for a stronger future.

Some of the group sessions focus on physical and mental health with the help of Emma and Herbie from The Health Team - Grapevine.

Emma says: "We use our giant v***a and p***s props as part the sexual health session and they certainly help to break the ice — especially when we also get out the STI (sexually transmitted infection) plushies to play top trumps!"

We've included a photo of these in the comments.

This isn't the only part of the Health Team's work.

They also work alongside people with lived experience and public health services using campaigns and training to tackle health inequalities at system level — improving the lives of people with learning disabilities and autistic people across our Coventry and Warwickshire region 🔗 https://bit.ly/49hbkS6



ID: Herbie holds a pink and beige model of a v***a made from soft materials sewn together. They wear a car mechanic themed patterned short-sleeved shirt with their dark curly hair and beard. Behind is an office at Grapevine in Spon End, Coventry.

30/07/2026

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for our charity quiz night at Village Hotel Club on 9 July!

The evening event raised £421 plus another £211 from raffle ticket sales — making a grand total of £632 to go towards hiring the venue, food, activities and entertainment for our TeenVine+ summer camp out in August.

The annual summer camp out brings young people from our Teenvine Plus and Teenvine+ Covid 19 Next Steps programmes together to celebrate the milestones they've achieved, friendships formed and plans made for their futures during their time with us.

Both intensive development programmes are part of our Strengthening Lives strand of action and aimed at giving young people with special needs and disabilities the best start as they prepare to transition to adulthood.

Please look out for news and updates on the camp soon ⛺

Thank you to all of the staff at the Village Hotel who set this event up for us as their charity partner — in particular Daniel, Debbie, Rian, Helen, Lily and Richard 🙏

Here's a photo from the night of our Coventry Youth Activists - CYA team including Mel, Melissa, Rishard, Joanna, Joey and Prash.

ID: The photo shows teams at different tables inside a hotel conference room with purple lights, black and white carpet and overhead projector showing the quiz questions.

29/07/2026

STRENGTHENING LIVES 💪 Kirk completes first leg of his journey to independence! 🚉

On the Help and Connect - Grapevine journey, we sit alongside each person listening closely to their talents and passions and helping them build a future connected to natural networks of support that bring opportunities to take charge of their lives for good.

Kirk’s Help and Connect journey has seen him go on a very literal journey with his connector Michelle — to Coventry train station via a detour to a helpful rail worker and a final stop at his favourite pastime, trainspotting. Then lunch 🍔😋

He is one of between 80 and 100 people with learning disabilities and autism in Coventry who spend six months with a Grapevine connector each year — first building trust, then growing the lasting confidence, capacity and self-belief required for a stronger future.

Kirk wanted exactly that when he came to the project. Isolated outside of college hours, he dreamt of greater independence in his local community outside of home with Mum.

Trainspotting became the vehicle for Kirk to explore the world on his terms.

This is by no means the final destination for Kirk but has been a great first leg of his journey. We’re excited to see what he does next!

Read his story here 🍇 https://www.grapevinecovandwarks.org/grapevine-news/strengthening-lives-kirk-completes-first-leg-of-his-journey-to-independence/

A huge thank you to Daud, Shireen and all Avanti West Coast staff working to make Coventry Train Station so welcoming 👏

Learn more about of Strengthening Lives strand of action — which also includes TeenVine+ and Teenvine+ Covid 19 Next Steps for young people with SEND — by following this link 🔗 https://bit.ly/GVstrength

Including other stories from people we have worked with and how to contact us.

heartcrp Community Rail Network Coventry