enjoyment and empowerment
TAG Youth Club for Disabled Young People delivers a programme of personal, social and educational opportunities to young people with disabilities or additional needs.
We aim to empower and optimise the potential of those aged 8 to 25 who have a disability and an identified need. We work with young people who either live, learn or earn in Richmond Upon Thames and surrounding areas of Southwest London and Surrey.
For more than 23 years TAG has provided high quality short break opportunities to children and young people with additional needs and their unpaid carers who live, learn, or earn in Southwest London.
TAG aims to give children and young people with additional needs somewhere to go, something to do and someone to talk to by providing informal and experiential learning in order to support young people gain knowledge, skills, make informed choices and assist in their personal development within a safe, caring, well equipped environment. Attendees are given the opportunity to participate in a wide range of personal and social development activities including arts, drama, music, and sport.
Our ethos and high standards are supported and delivered by our dedicated team of Youth Workers who understand the needs of those they support. TAG is committed to improving the lives of children and young people by providing fun and high-quality activities.
Our experienced and energetic team makes a direct impact on the lives of those we support in the safe spaces we operate from and in the local and wider community.
TAG has been recognised locally and nationally by Richmond Council, UK Youth and the Children & Young People Now Awards. We are immensely proud to be one of only nine youth organisations to currently hold the London Youth Gold Quality Mark. As a charity, TAG is entirely dependent upon our supporters, funders, and volunteers. Without their continued support, we would not be able to continue our wide range of activities for those often hard-to-reach families, many of whom sit outside the statutory framework.
TAG is a parent-free zone (apart from our community-based sports activities). We provide an enhanced staffing ratio compared to open-access youth services; however, some children and young people may need additional support beyond this to access our activities. If you think your child or young person requires additional support to attend our activities, then please contact us, and we will be happy to discuss the options available, including any signposting. We will do everything we can to make our activities accessible to all.
OUR Vision
To provide access to high quality leisure activities and experiences for those who have reduced opportunities elsewhere.
Our core values
Emphasise fun
Exceed expectations
Prioritise young people with additional needs
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Our emphasis is on young people having fun; however, members can also achieve multiple learning outcomes which are delivered through exciting ways while taking part. Members embark on a personal journey and learn and develop their everyday skills within our safe and caring environment.
Each one of our activities, whether its attending one of our Clubs, Sports or Arts programmes, young people will take part in activities that will help them achieve in a number of developmental areas:
Personal – Developing skills to maximise personal achievement
Physical – Increasing physical movement and ability
Knowledge – Growing understanding relating to the wider world
Social – Improving behaviours to engage better with others
Emotional – Fostering positive feelings, emotional literacy, and mental health
OUR PROMISE
TO PROVIDE: Access to high quality leisure activities and experiences.
DELIVERED BY: Professional, approachable, experienced, and highly trained staff.
COMMITTED TO: Inspiring and engaging young people. Improving and enriching personal and social development. Raising achievement, success and aspirations in life
STRIVING TO: Exceed expectations. Review and improve everything we do
TO ENSURE: High satisfaction
Hear what some of the young people and parents thought about the work TAG did in 2021.
(This film was premiered at the 2021 AGM)
QUALITY ASSURANCE
The London Youth Quality Mark is the only quality assurance scheme for youth organisations which is accredited by City and Guilds and, uniquely, involves young people in assessment.
There are three levels within the Quality Mark; Bronze, Silver and Gold. The Bronze award focuses on the policies and procedures clubs need to have in place to ensure they are operating legally and safely. Silver focuses more on the opportunities provided to young people, as well as their training and support provided to staff and volunteers. The Gold award is a badge of excellence which focuses on providing evidence that the club is committed to continuous improvement and involves young people at all levels.
Ambition Quality is UK Youth’s nationally recognised assurance scheme specifically designed for organisations working with young people to enable them to develop quality provision, achieve lasting improvements and confidently demonstrate the quality of services being delivered to your young people. Ambition Quality also has three levels to achieve and we are pleased we have been accredited with the Ambition Quality Gold Mark.
We're also proud to members of:
SAFEGUARDING
Learn more about our safeguarding policies and approaches here
Our awards
We are proud to have been recognised and accredited by leading organisations for the difference we make to young people's lives