The Beginning of City of Leeds Society - A Short History by Valerie Cohen.

Our society was first started in 1953 by a group of parents and carers of special needs children.  At that time in Leeds and throughout the UK very limited support services were available. 

Institutionalised

When a baby with disabilities was born parents were often told to place it in an institution and forget about it; cruel and heartbreaking words.  Many children were abandoned to such a fate.

The National Society of Parents of Backward Children

Parents began by holding meetings in their own homes.  Later a committee was formed for a Leeds Society which was then known as the National Society of Parents of Backward Children.

The inaugural meeting was held on the 18^th April, 1953 at Leeds Museum and arranged by Squire Hoyle.  He was the Executive Officer of Leeds Health Department.  (As it was then called).

It was not until 1956 that our name was changed to Leeds and District Society for Mentally Handicapped Children and, in later years, became known as Leeds Mencap.  Meetings were then being held in St. John The Evangelist Church school room, behind what was Lewis’s in Leeds City Centre near the St. John’s Centre.

Mencap House in Chapeltown Road

In 1963 we were working towards having our own headquarters.  Members and friends held many fundraising events, including jumble sales, coffee mornings and raffles.

The Local Authority offered the lease of 142 Chapeltown Road, Leeds 7 and all efforts were then focussed into turning Mencap House, as it was named, into a thriving and successful centre for people with learning disabilities and their parents/carers.  The official opening took place on April 23^rd, 1964.

In addition to being a centre for those with learning disabilities, parents aimed also to improve facilities for them generally and particularly regarding education. 

Youth Club

One of the first ventures following the opening was to start the Youth Club on Monday and Friday nights, whilst parents met and the youngsters enjoyed themselves.  It is still popular today but now we have paid Youth Club Leaders in addition to volunteers.

Nursery

At Easter 1965 we acquired the lease of the house next door, doubling the space and we built a connecting bridge between the two.  The same year a Nursery was established for parents/carers of newly diagnosed children with learning disabilities.  Initially it was staffed by volunteer parents/carers of older children with special needs but later we had a salaried staff and it soon opened five days weekly.  Whilst parents chatted and supported each other in another room, the children would play and be helped with their development and progress in the Nursery. 

Exclusion and education

Until 1970 the education of mentally handicapped children (which they were then called) was the responsibility of the Department of Health.  Parents of children with an IQ below a certain level were served with an ‘order’.  A Welfare Worker from Mental Health would appear at the home of the parent/carer to deliver an official document, which would be read aloud, stating that the five year old child could not attend school.  Many parents found this a humiliating and distressing experience.

These children could attend places called Junior Training Centres.  They were the responsibility of the Department of Health and cared for by untrained staff.  There was some physiotherapy for those with physical problems and people working there were usually pleasant and kindly, but lacked the knowledge and expertise to help the children. 

Leeds Mencap wanted to change the situation.  Parents formed committees which lobbied City Councillors and other influential people, including MP’s.  On occasions members led delegations to Parliament.  They worked tirelessly over years, some inviting senior officials to their homes, talking to them, to convince them that educating children with learning difficulties was the way forward.  Many could be taught, they could improve but it was gradual and they needed skilled, professional help.

President Kennedy

Interest was aroused within the teaching profession following the publication of research into ‘excluded children’.  There was also a certain curiosity stirring.  In the USA President Kennedy had a sister, Rosemary, with learning difficulties.  Slowly, there was more awareness, more openness on both sides of the Atlantic, about a subject which had previously only been discussed behind closed doors.   In the past there had been shame and embarrassment linked with mental handicap, which was considered a stigma.

The Scott Committee

During the early 1960’s at national level, a group of people were commissioned to investigate aspects of teaching the mentally handicapped.  The team was call The Scott Committee, named after one of its leading members.  Nevertheless, it took until the late 1960s for the outcome, which was the first Special Education Course for teachers in the UK.  Two or three years more were to pass before the famous Act, entitling our children to education, was to go through Parliament in 1970.

Training Centres

Health Authorities throughout the UK were now attempting to build mini-education systems into the Training Centres, but with qualified staff.  At the same time Leeds Mencap was determined to get the newly trained specialist teachers into the Centres as soon as possible.  They succeeded and Leeds can claim to be the first to have qualified teachers working with its children.  Initially it was within the framework of the Department of Health, before the official takeover by Education!  Quite an extraordinary situation!

Respite

There has always been little respite care available for parents/carers and even today the situation is difficult.  In the 1960s should the family with a son or daughter with  learning disabilities  have an emergency, there was nowhere for them to stay, if aged 16+, other than Meanwood Park Hospital.  There would be little chance of finding a bed in Yorkshire, never mind Leeds!

In 1967 plans were made by Leeds Mencap to establish a hostel.

The Rookery

When the opportunity came along for us to lease The Rookery from the Corporation we were delighted to have the chance to fulfil yet another of our ambitions.  The house, originally a private residence, was bought by the Corporation, for preservation as a feature in the redevelopment of the old village of Chapel Allerton.  The modification to convert the house to hostel use was very extensive indeed.  A local architect was appointed to design and organise the necessary alterations and in 1968 the hostel was completed.  The Rookery offered places for thirteen people with learning disabilities.  The following year we were able to purchase the site.

St. Margaret’s Holiday Home

We had been working towards another major project and this was a holiday home.

During 1968 Leeds Mencap bought St. Margaret’s in Bridlington and it proved to be a boon.  It was a large, detached three bedroomed house, situated behind the Spa and two minutes from the sea.  It was always fully booked and provided excellent facilities for families with a special needs child/person.  Over the years additional facilities, furnishings and renovations were added costing thousands of pounds, providing maximum comfort and convenience.  However, eventually St. Margaret’s was sold.  

Challenge Anneka

By 1992 we realised that the Chapeltown Road building had become unsuitable and did not comply with The Children’s Act.  This meant that the Nursery faced closure, so we had to search for new premises, which eventually we found, but £400,000 was required to purchase it.  However, miracles do happen and ours came about thanks to ‘Challenge Anneka’ a TV show which had been contacted with our dilemma.  We never expected to be selected for the ‘Challenge’ but this made it possible for us to move from Chapeltown Road to a Victorian School building in East End Park in 1991.

On Thursday, 16^th September, 1992 Anneka Rice came to our East End Park site and entered the old Special School, then a dilapidated fire-damaged building.  She read out the ‘Challenge’.  “At 5pm on Saturday exhibit the winning entry of the Mencap Christmas Card Competition at a new Leeds Mencap Nursery.  Print 25,000 copies in time for the exhibition”.  A simple task, you may think, for someone with her talents.  There was a p.s., Anneka was standing in our new nursery!  She had three days to complete the task and present it to the country! 

The vandalised school was in a terrible state of repair.  Anneka immediately sprang into action and with the help of some 170 volunteers from 70 local firms it was being transformed into our new headquarters and nursery.  Once they all had begun their work, Anneka turned her attention to the Christmas cards.  The competition was launched on the ‘Look North’ TV programme.  The winner was Ben Bland with his drawing of Father Christmas and he was a former Hawthorn Nursery Child.  (The official name of our Nursery).

By 5pm on Saturday 18^th September Anneka had completed her Challenge and the party began.  Words could not express our gratitude to Anneka, her team and all the local organisations for all they did for us.

Portage

Amongst other successes we have Portage.  A home visiting educational service which we provide to guide parents in how to teach their special needs child.

Playschemes

In the early 1970s Leeds Mencap approached Leeds Educational Authority asking it to fund a Summer Holiday Play Scheme within the framework of the Special Schools.  Mainstream schools had held theirs for some years and we felt it was time for some provision for our special children and it would also give parents a little respite during that long summer break.  We were instrumental in the first Special Schools’ holiday project taking place.  It is now an annual event and, of course, we also have our own Leeds Mencap Summer Holiday Scheme. 

Speak out - you get the service you deserve!

Many years have gone by since the start of Mencap here and there have been countless hurdles to overcome along the way; finance and fundraising have remained a major and on-going concern to the Executive.  Staff salaries need to be paid and buildings maintained.

Also unchanged since our beginning is the joy felt about a child’s progress in our Nursery and the realisation that confidence and encouragement have been given to a new mother who was confused and despairing.

There are still many gaps in services offered.  It is patchy and varies around the country and there is insufficient care and support for parents providing exhausting round-the-clock care for children with disabilities.  A phrase often repeated by some of our Founder Members (now passed away) was ‘You get the service you deserve’.

They constantly stressed that if you want to improve a situation connected with your learning disabilities child, speak up and say so.  Persevere, be persistent and do as part of a group, like Leeds Mencap, as did our Founder Members.  It adds strength to campaign. 

Thanks to…

Before concluding this brief history, mention must be made of some of the Founder Members and again we express our thanks to them.

Reg Baker, Harry Bowden, Joyce Fieldhouse (St. Margaret’s Holiday Home, Bridlington), George Hume (Former Principal, Park Lane College), Margaret Littlewood (Volunteer Welfare Officer for Leeds Mencap), Harry Myerson, Dorothy Nicholson (Leeds Mencap’s Secretary for many years), Ted O’Grady, Cora Pape.

Some of those mentioned were Chairmen of the Executive Committee and worked tirelessly in that role.  Joyce Fieldhouse was dedicated to our Holiday Home at Bridlington, arranging breaks for families and the upkeep of the house.  Margaret Littlewood helped and supported families, often visiting them, guiding them at crucial stages of their lives.  She was eventually        co-opted onto Leeds Social Services Committee.

Apologies for any errors or omissions, Valerie Cohen

Many thanks also to Valerie for putting this history together and for her years of support.  If you have any more information you can give us regarding the history of Leeds Mencap or any pictures then please contact us.