ABOUT US.
Our History.
Established in 1975, within St Luke’s Hospital, we will be celebrating our 50th birthday this year. Starting out as a toy library for children with additional needs and their families, our initial goal was to support clinicians in Children’s Outpatients with the provision of toys for children with sensory impairments, Autism and other life-limiting conditions.
For many families, purchasing specific toys for their children was often outside of their financial means and the Toy Library became the solution. Our staff team grew over time and by 2006 we employed two full time staff who both have children (now young adults) with additional needs.
Through their personal and professional knowledge, over the years, we have introduced more activities and services that support our children, young people and families alongside our toy library. All of our services have been developed with our families and children, so we are proud to say we are truly user-led. The change in our name in 2019 was borne out of the change to our services, we are more than a toy library now and we wanted our name to reflect our growth.
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Meet our Team.
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Emma went to college and training as a chef and worked in the catering industry until she had her two children. When Eleanor was born, she started a Business Therapy Centre, offering massage, reflexology and reiki which is still ongoing and sometimes brings her skills to the mums visiting The Bradford Toy Library!
Emma started visiting the Bradford Toy Library in 1998, when her daughter was diagnosed with Autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia and sensory nerve disfunction disorder. She was so impressed by the services offered that when her daughter stated school, she was offered a job here and has been here ever since! In the 20 years that have passed, she's helped thousands of families.
Emma Rae.
Michelle used to be a nursery nurse working in special education schools and used the Toy Library as part of her work. Following a work break she came into the role at the Toy Library and used her educational experience to help grow the organisation.
Michelle set about cataloguing the toys and making a toy ‘database’; the Friday Friends group snowballed from one person to many parents and days out with the families came out of her own personal understanding of their needs due to having a child with Autism.
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Michelle Neale
Amanda Jacklin
Amanda is a mum of two from Bradford, and has worked with Bradford Inclusive Disability Service for the last year. Before BIDS Amanda always worked in retail.
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Amanda made the decision to stop working so she could focus on and learn to understand her daughter’s sensory needs and unique behaviours.
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Amanda was first directed to and learned about BIDS in February 2021 after her youngest child had an appointment at St Luke’s Hospital during the Covid Pandemic. Amanda signed up in April 2022 when restrictions were lifted and she has never looked back. BIDS offered her comfort and support during her daughter’s Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis journey, which placed a lot of strain on herself and her family.
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Amanda and her family enjoyed all the activities BIDS had to offer, and said "It’s fantastic meeting and making new friends and most of all everyone understands". Amanda is now delighted that she herself can be part of this fantastic charity and team, helping families how they helped hers.
Megan joined Bradford Inclusive Disability Service at around the age off 11, as a member of the Teenzone activity group. Megan has her own disabilities and challenges, but that didn't stop her from fulfilling her ambitions.
As soon as Megan turned 16 she started volunteering for BIDs, she then went to university and trained as a Primary Education Teacher. Megan used to come home for the summer breaks and rejoined BIDS by helping out and volunteering!
When Megan graduated, she came back to Bradford and began working in a children’s care home, alongside supply teaching elsewhere where she specialised in special schools and pupil referral units.
After having her little girl Megan began to struggle with her health and began looking for administrative roles that still allowed her to help people and make positive changes. When a job became available at Bradford Inclusive Disability Service Megan was over the moon.
Megan Wilkinson
Tara Butterworth
Tara and her family originally joined Bradford Inclusive Disability Service in 2018 with her Son Ruben, who has a range of needs including Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) & Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Tara and her family were thrilled to start attending events when her son was able to.
Tara reported that she has seen such a positive change in her sons social skills and ability to build relationships with others. This inspired Tara to want to help with the charity to show her gratitude. So, Tara joined as a committee member in March 2024, then in September 2024, became a member of the team facilitating the Teenzone and Kidszone event groups on Monday evenings.
Tara is pleased to announce that she now works more closely with BIDS and will be facilitating more in 2025 with a new group called Prezone for ages 5 - 8 years old, and a group for 18+. As the charity approaches is 50th anniversary Tara "is proud to be part of something amazing".
OUR COMMITTEE.
Our committee gather over the course of the year, as well as working away behind the scenes, on things such as fundraising, aiding in decision making and supporting our staff and volunteers.
WHO WE ARE.
Our committee consists of a selection of parents, grandparents, professionals and interested parties, all whom share a passion for helping families who have been touched by disability.
We have had a wide variety of committee members from consultants to an MBE lady working in HMRC for 39 years, supporting the Princes Trust and being a school governor for over 17 years whom also had a son with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
We have a grandmother who is a full time carer for a grandson with a disability and has 4 children, two with disabilities and has worked in the care sector for years in a variety of different roles including managerial positions.
The rest of the trustees are all parents of children with disabilities so have many years’ experience between them.