Horticap – Visit the website here – Location: Harrogate

Description: To provide horticultural training, supported employment and training for people with learning difficulties. Sells products, garden plants, hanging baskets. Undertakes garden maintenance. Uses volunteers to work alongside students and to assist with transport.

Henshaws Arts and Crafts Centre – Visit the website here – Location: Harrogate

Description: The Arts & Crafts Centre provides training for people with disabilities. Real work experience through social enterprise. Every week, over 150 Art Makers take part in a range of workshops, including employability training, health and wellbeing, arts and crafts and multi-sensory.

Henshaws is one of the oldest charities in the UK and in 2022 we celebrated our 185th anniversary. During out 180th year in 2017 we had a special exhibition space in Manchester’s Central Library – find out about our history and how it all started.

The legacy

In 1810, Oldham businessman Thomas Henshaw left £20,000 in his will to establish an ‘Asylum for the Indigent Blind’ in Manchester. In 1837, the original ‘blind asylum’ finally opened its doors in Old Trafford. By 1930, the school had 273 pupils, 194 workshop employees, 64 residents and 19 blind instructors.

Now approaching almost 200 years old, Henshaws is still growing today! We employ around 360 members of staff and 232 volunteers who support individuals, families and their carers who are living with sight loss as well as a range of other disabilities.

We have a full archive of Henshaws Annual Reviews from across our 180-year history if you are interested in reading any of these contact kat.parry@henshaws.org.uk or call 0300 222 5555. Please be aware requests can take a few weeks to be responded to.

180th Anniversary Exhibition

Throughout September and October last year, we celebrated our 180th anniversary with an exhibition space in Manchester’s Central Library. Discover how the communities of Greater Manchester have worked alongside Henshaws to improve the lives of people with sight loss; you can even see a number of famous Manchester images through the eyes of someone with a common visual impairment!

You can download audio descriptions of all six panels from the 180th Anniversary Exhibition below. Or click the button further down to download the full exhibition design

We are a specialist charity providing expert support, advice and training to anyone affected by sight loss and other disabilities. Last year alone, we supported over 6,000 visually impaired people in the North of England.

Having a visual impairment or disability can mean people lose confidence in their future and find themselves isolated. We strive to support people to ensure that they do not feel alone, and that they have the skills and confidence to lead a live that is full of choice and opportunity.

We rely on your generous help to ensure we can continue this life-changing work, and we truly appreciate any way that you can support us.

Henshaws Arts and Crafts Centre

Harrogate Skills 4 Living Centre – Visit the website here – Location: Harrogate

Description: Providing information, activities and education in an informal setting for people with a wide range of needs. This includes both specific adult literacy groups and leisure library resource base with the aim to empower people with the skills and confidence to lead a full life. Formerly known as The Junction.

About us

Originally formed back in 1994 as The Junction, Harrogate Skills 4 Living became established as a charity in 2010 with the ‘day-skills’ centre-hub on North Park road in central Harrogate. During the past decade, our needs-led approach has resulted in lots of diversification and we’re proud to offer a wide range of care and support services for people with learning difficulties and autism in the locality.

From housing to employment and health to skills development we have a broad range of programmes available: we’ve even recently started two exciting new social enterprises – the Harrogate Chocolate Factory and the Harrogate Chocolate Factory Café both run with and by our trainees.

We’re not content to stop there though as we believe that there are still many other types of care and support services that are needed. That’s why in 2022 we’re starting our ENGAGE22 project which aims to find out what’s working well and what’s not working so well in our local community of people with learning difficulties and autism (including families and carers). This will be your chance to have a say about the future of social care and support services here in Harrogate – please watch out for further information coming soon about how you can get involved.

Day Services

Our approach to education, training and learning for our students and service users is completely tailored to their individual needs and aspirations. At HS4L we deliver both accredited and non-accredited courses. Learning may be delivered in a number of locations and either on a one to one basis or in small groups.

Below are some of the areas that students and service users can follow:

Maintaining independence and living independently

Developing new skills and interests

Participating more in community life

Transitioning into adulthood

Developing skills and competencies that support the journey to employment

Day services

HS4L skill – centre courses are designed to be fun and engaging and aim to help develop independence skills and contribute towards a fulfilled life. A full list of what’s on offer is available in our prospectus.

Students can attend for full or half days up to five days a week and choose from a variety of courses.

Creative Crafts

Food & Catering

Music Courses

Allotment Group

Computer Skills

Health & Well-being

Friday Fun & Friendship

Out & About

Skills for Independence

Gym & Fitness sessions

We sometimes have the flexibility to run additional courses at our day centre and in the wider community. If there is something you would like HS4L to run that isn’t in our current prospectus, please contact us to see how we can best meet your needs.

HS4L is an accredited learning provider. Learners will be informed of any opportunities to work towards a qualification during their studies.

If you’re interested in joining any of HS4L sessions but you’re not sure, why not come and meet some of the staff and have a look around before making a decision.