Big Lottery Fund

PASTEL in Suffolk was awarded £39,180 in 2007 to run a programme of free Saturday morning activities/training for young people with learning difficulties to help develop self-expression, self-esteem, and social and life skills through the use of drama, dance and music.

One recent project the young people who attend PASTEL Community Interest Company have taken part in was a puppet show. The group spent eight weeks learning their parts, rehearsing and preparing props before performing in front of an audience.

One of the fathers who proudly cheered their son on at the magical puppet show was Don Tricker, who also compèred the show and is the CEO and founder of PASTEL. Don explains how the show came about. “I’m a parent carer for my youngest son Dominic who has Down’s syndrome, and when we moved here to rural Suffolk we realised the need within the area to provide training for young people with learning difficulties and disabilities. A group of other parent carers and I decided to set up PASTEL to see if we could provide this missing support service for our children, and the show is one of the fruits of our labour.”

Centre stage

Behind the scenes, work for the puppet show has been taking place every other Saturday at workshops provided by professional trainers working with PASTEL, currently for a group of 13 young people from 13 to 23.

“We hold a range of different workshops such as drama, media studies and catering, which as well as developing their actual knowledge, helps to develop other skills such as self-esteem, confidence, decision-making, communication skills and teamwork," explains Don. "The young people are then able to transfer these skills to other areas of their lives. Most importantly, it helps prepare them for employment and becoming an active member of their communities. But one of the main things about the workshops is that they are fun – if they enjoy it, they learn more!”

Setting up PASTEL has been a family affair for Don, whose elder son Adam also gets involved and has been providing the sound and lighting for the puppet show. “Everyone has worked so hard on the show and you can tell that all the young people are pleased with themselves for accomplishing what would’ve seemed impossible a few months ago.”

And what does the future hold for PASTEL, the young people and Don? “We have since set up a lunch-time Italian restaurant run by our young people," he says. "We have also created and performed a hip hop theatre production and made a short comedy-horror film.

"Eleven participants have also gained national accreditations (including CEEH certificates) in personal development from the Open College Network. So good results all round!"

• You can find out more at the PASTEL website
• Find out more about the Young People's Fund programme
• Find out more about our grants programmes