This is a club that provides an interactive learning environment where members are mentored in developing their social skills and building friendships, all in a safe, secure setting.



Our aim is to provide members with the opportunity and support to:

• Have fun together
  
• Develop social skills
  
• Build meaningful friendships/relationships
  
• Encourage and help each other
  
• Go on fun outings
  

• Where member’s can be assisted to build skills across different settings.
  
• Create specific opportunities for member’s to be able to share their lives with others.
  
• Facilitate discussion’s about friends and what being friends means.
  
  

• Contact details are shared between club members so that they can communicate outside of club meetings.
  
• Ideas for external activities are discussed with the group.
  
• Small groups have been set up within the larger club.
  
• Members of the smaller groups are encouraged to arrange their own activities.
  

A group of parents raised concerns that as their children with Down syndrome were reaching their teenage years they can become increasingly isolated and lonely whilst their peers moved on with their own lives.

In 2005 the Canterbury UPP club was therefore established and has been running very successfully since it’s conception. From this the Canterbury UPP Education Trust has been formed which is now the governing body for the UPP Club.
Our members now have established friendships, they have a regular meeting place they can go to, have fun and meet up with their friends.

The outings encourage participation in the community, give vital education of life skills and help show others in the community that our members are ‘just like them’.