A warm and friendly welcome is assured at the Langdon Brady Club for children and young adults – even those at mainstream school – who find it hard to mix.

The 6-18 age range is catered for, with specific club nights and age-appropriate activities like cookery and current affairs talks for order attendees. Others enjoy drama, crafts, board games, colouring in, card games, electronics or may even sit quietly with a book. The board games, especially selected, all require players to think tactically and to communicate with fellow competitors. Winning or losing never matters.

Club Leader Joel Langschaft-Singh, a qualified informal Jewish educator, took inspiration from FZY, Hanoi Hatzioni and other clubs from his own youth in running the Langdon Brady format.

“All those years ago, I felt a youth club was my environment to do what I wished. I felt part of a community and I went out of choice.

“Those attending are in control of their own experience here and have the freedom to think for themselves, which may be quite rare for children with special needs, where home and school may be a more controlled environment,” he said.

Joel works alongside sessional youth leaders, and one described running club sessions as ‘the best job ever’. Langdon Brady goes down well with parents too, with one mum commenting: “Taken the kids to Brady tonight. All I’ll say is wow! Such a lovely atmosphere and the leaders are outstanding. Really impressed me.”

Long-standing attendees are encouraged to become volunteers and are given the task of welcoming younger ones to make them feel at home. “Here, anyone who finds it difficult to mix in a mainstream setting can find friends,”  Joel says.

Most attendees spend their days at Langdon College or Kisharon Noé School, other special needs schools or in mainstream education often spending time in SEN units.

Attendances of 10 -15 are average and most club nights, apart from those at Kisharon Noé School, are at Maccabi House in Edgware. A Sunday club takes place at The Liberal Synagogue in Elstree.

Langdon Brady Club also runs day trips and holiday schemes. Could someone you know be interested in coming to Langdon Brady?

Email: joellangschaft@kisharonlangdon.org.uk