 Welcome to your Summer 2025 newsletter
Welcome to our new look, more accessible newsletter.
We’ve brought together plenty of ideas to keep children and young people with additional needs busy during the summer holidays.
In this issue
- Wokingham Libraries - Summer Activities and CAN Card offer
- New to CAN Card - Beale Wildlife Park
- Transport fun - buses and fire engines
- Join Me2 Club at Reading Pride
- Local accessible groups and activities running this summer
- Annual Wokingham Borough SEND Survey
- Useful contacts
- CAN Network Information
As always, we’d love to hear your feedback and ideas – as well as about any clubs, groups or activities you’ve found that you think might interest our families and carers.
 Wokingham Libraries - Summer Reading Challenge and free activities for CAN Card holders
There’s lots going on for children across Wokingham Borough Libraries this summer.
Summer Reading Challenge
The Reading Agency’s Summer Reading Challenge is a free scheme for children. It's all about reading for enjoyment and having fun during the long summer holidays. All children aged four to 11 are welcome to take part.
This year's challenge theme, Story Garden, is an enchanting take on nature and the great outdoors.
Sign up at your local Wokingham Borough library from 30 June to take part and collect rewards for your reading. Completers will receive a certificate and medal.
Children can choose any sort of library book they like - of any type or reading level - for the challenge: fiction or non-fiction, picture books or graphic novels. Books can be read with support or alone. Find out more.
Summer Children’s Activities
There are children’s activities running throughout the summer at libraries across Wokingham Borough. Activities include:
- Get Arty
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Drop-in crafts/activity sessions
- Igniting Writing Summer Creative Writing Workshops
- ZooLab’s ‘Environmental Time Machine’ - climate themed workshop
Costs vary from £1 to £5 per session. Please visit the Wokingham Borough libraries events page for more information.
From July to August 2025 CAN Card holders can receive free access to all children’s activities.
Please book via email stating that you have a CAN Card. You will be provided with an event pass to present the pass to your event’s organiser on the day of the session.
 New to CAN Card - Beale Wildlife Park
We’re delighted to say that Beale Wildlife Park have agreed to accept the CAN Card as proof for a free carer’s ticket.
Alongside wildlife, playgrounds, and their new soft play area, from 21 July to 4 September you can enjoy:
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Daily Pony Parade – watch our ponies every day at 11am
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Special Animal Talk of the Week – meet new animals each week
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Splash Pool – don’t forget your towel
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Face Painting - become your favourite animal
 Fire station open days
Surrey Fire station open days are running through the summer.
Open days run from 10am to 11am for Additional Needs and Disabilities, and from 11am to 3pm for everyone.
No need to book, just turn up within the start and finish times.
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Dorking Fire Station - Sunday 20 July
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Godalming Fire Station - Saturday 9 August
- Service Open Day (Reigate) - Saturday 16 August
Please be aware that there is no parking at the fire stations for these events unless stated otherwise. Find out more.
 Me2 Club at Reading Pride
Me 2 club will be at Reading Pride celebrating diversity and inclusion – come and say hello!
- Saturday 30 August.
- Parade begins at Reading Station main entrance (11am set off)
- Parade arrives at Kings Meadow (12pm approx) for the free festival opening
See their FAQ for access information, including limited disabled parking and details of how Reading Pride is a family friendly event.
Me2 Club is an inclusion charity providing support for children and young people aged five and older with additional needs and disabilities in the Reading and Wokingham boroughs.
 Accessible groups and activities running this summer
Our House - Summer Stay and Play Sessions provide inclusive family play, with no charge and no booking required. See the summer timetable here. Any queries please email.
Swings and smiles in Thatcham run their family play sessions throughout school holidays, providing activities for children and young people aged 0 to 18 years old with a wide range of disabilities and special needs. – find out more including how to register and book here.
Thames Valley Adventure Playground will be open throughout the summer. More information including how to book here.
Camp Mohawk are running family sessions throughout the holidays. Find out about their accessible facilities, registering and more here.
Wiggly Worms – (Wokingham residents only) running through summer – under 5s group for those with or identified as needing assessment for an ASD diagnosis. Thursdays 9.30am to 11am at Brambles Children’s Centre, booking required.
Trampolining: Jump In Slough, Jump In Camberley, and AirHop Guildford are all continuing their Monday 6pm SEN sessions throughout summer holidays.
Coral Reef run SEN Sessions throughout school holidays. Remember you can use your CAN card as proof of disability for the session and to book your free carer ticket as applicable.
Loddon Valley Leisure Centre is continuing its regular Tuesday morning disability swim and SEN soft play sessions. To find out more and register for the disability swim group please call the centre on 0118 931 2066.
 SEND Voices Wokingham's Annual SEND survey 2025
SEND Voices Wokingham's Annual SEND survey 2025 is now open. SEND Voices said:
"If you're a parent carer of a child or young person with any special educational need and/or disability, please complete our Annual SEND Survey 2025 here.
"Share your experiences of all aspects of SEND Education, Health & Social Care as well as the availability of information and parent carer well-being.
"The survey gives us a real overview of the "lived experience" for SEND families locally and helps shape services for families like yours.
"The survey will run until the 25 July and is for all families who live in the Wokingham Borough and who have a child aged 0 to 25 years with any special educational need and/or disabilities, with or without a diagnosis.
"It will inform where services are working well and where improvements still need to be made."
Useful contacts
Parenting Special Children - Set up to help other parents/carers navigate the world of SEND. Empowering families whose children/young people are neurodivergent and/or have special needs and/or disabilities including early life trauma.
Promise Inclusion - Activities and groups for children with learning disabilities and/or autism. Activities for siblings.
Send Voices Wokingham - independent parent carer forum. Set up to ensure that families and carers of children and young people with Special Educational Needs and disabilities in the Wokingham Borough, can have a voice and participate fully in the development of services.
Wokingham Carers Partnership - A partnership of three commissioned local charities: Age UK Berkshire, Berkshire Youth and Promise Inclusion. Offering information, advice, and support to people throughout Wokingham who are caring for a child or adult family member, partner or friend.
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What is the CAN Network?
The CAN (Children with Additional Needs) Network provides an Information and Support Service for families and carers of children and young people (aged up to 25) with additional needs and disabilities.
The CAN Network also maintains Wokingham Borough Council’s Children with Disabilities Register, and CAN Card.
The Children with Disabilities Register is a voluntary, confidential list of information about children with diagnosed disabilities in Wokingham Borough.
The information shared with us is used anonymously to help plan and improve future services to meet the needs of local disabled children and young people.
Those eligible to join the Children with Disabilities Register can receive a free CAN card.
The CAN card is a photo ID card which can be used as proof of diagnosed disability; accepted by many local attractions as proof for concessions or free carer tickets.
Find out more about signing up to the Register and receiving a CAN card here.
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Get in touch
For support using our online application or for any other enquiries please email.
Disclaimer
By sharing information with you the CAN information network is not providing a recommendation or endorsement of a service/organisation.
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