How we got started

SCAMPPS in Surrey is a registered charity (No. 1112112) that supports young children who have moderate to severe complex special needs living in Surrey and the neighbouring London Boroughs of Croydon, Kingston-Upon-Thames, Merton and Sutton. It has been set up by a group of parents who themselves have young special-needs children. Our common bond is that we all attended 'JOG' – The Junior Opportunity Group run by therapists employed by Central Surrey Health which offers a range of therapies to children with a difference.

The children who are invited to attend JOG range in age from 0 to 3 years and have a range of disabilities.  Some of the children have common genetic conditions such as Down Syndrome; others have more rare conditions  for example, Prader Willi and Fragile X Syndrome.  Some of the children have a diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy and some face terminal conditions, whilst others remain undiagnosed.  In 2004 some parents got together to help raise additional funds for the group, and so SCAMPPS was formed...Striving for Children's Additional Medical, Physical and Personal Support.  We now have over 100 members and have supported more than 40 bids. While we continue to support JOG and the work it does, we also support families who have never been to JOG, as long as they live in our catchment area.  We are grateful for the support of Consultant Paediatricians Dr. Paula Sneath and Dr. Maria Garcia, as well as Senior Occupational Therapist Anna Roberts and Senior Physiotherapist Sharon Gosling from Central Surrey Health.  They have all taken on the role of special advisors to the charity.

How we help

We offer financial support to our local paediatric therapy team for equipment and toys. We also provide funds for individual bids for specialist equipment, sensory toys and software. In addition to organising networking events for the whole family such as swimming parties, we arrange adult social events (not subsidised) for parents and carers to meet and support each other.

We produce a quarterly newsletter which provides information on entitlements and services available in our area, as well as sharing helpful tips and recommendations from our members.

We are committed to raising awareness and promoting positive attitudes towards disability.

You can read about our aims here...