As Rosh Hashanah approaches we look back at the passing year. For Kisharon this has been momentous.

During the celebration of our 40th anniversary, each of our services has continued to thrive and this has resulted in exceptional outcomes for the individuals they serve.

Here are the highlights:

– Tuffkid Nursery was again rated ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted in all areas and was selected to work with the local authority as a model of good practice,

– thousands of hours have been invested in the development of the new Kisharon School and an application for planning permission is to be submitted imminently,

– HCC@Kisharon, our college provision, won a prestigious commendation at the TES Further Education Awards for its significant contribution to the local community,

– four young people, living in three different locations, have joined our supported living service and a planning application has been submited for a new provision. Also, work is continuing with two housing associations to access properties to meet growing demand,

– our employment service won the coveted Ruderman Award for Inclusion last October, and our social enterprises won the Atul Pathak Award this month at the House of Commons.

This award came on the eve of the opening of our innovative and exciting Equal shop in Temple Fortune which, in addition to the array of incredible gifts, home accessories and design on offer, will unleash many opportunities for individuals with learning disabilities.

Finally, it will be remiss not to mention the fundraising and communications team who for successive years have won Clarion Awards for their appeal films and have so ably raised funds to support all our work.

This, of course, is in partnership with the community, and at this time our sincere gratitude goes out to each and every one of you who aligns with and supports Kisharon. We are indebted and wish you a sweet and happy 5777.