Arsène Wenger at the TreeHouse National Centre launch
Arsenal manager has a ball at TreeHouse
Arsène Wenger joined Secretary of State for the Department of Children, Schools and Families Ed Balls at TreeHouse this week to officially open its new National Centre in Muswell Hill, north London.
The Arsenal Manager attended the celebrations at TreeHouse which was the Club’s Charity of the Season in 2007/08, as Arsenal raised over £500,000 for the charity which funded a brand new sports hall, the secondary common room, a secondary classroom and a therapy room within the state-of-the-art building.
Upon arrival, Arsène and Ed Balls were met by the charity’s local MP Lynne Featherstone, TreeHouse Chair of Trustees Nick Baldwin and major donor Trevor Pears of The Pears Foundation. After a tour of the facility, and speeches from VIPs including both Arsène and Ed Balls, items were added to a time capsule that will mark the opening of the National Centre; Arsenal’s contribution was a shirt from 2007/08 signed by the first team at that time.
The Manager then made his way to the Arsenal-funded sports hall where Arsenal in the Community coach Dinesh Patel showed Arsène and other VIPs how the Club has been working with pupils with autism, using football to teach the children ball control and elements of healthy sporting competition, combined with regular exercise. Dinesh holds weekly sessions in the school as part of Arsenal in the Community’s Disability Sports Programme.
Speaking at the Centre, Arsène said: “It has been a real pleasure coming to TreeHouse School. To see the massive difference that this new building makes to the pupils, parents and staff who are involved with the charity just makes me so proud that Arsenal Football Club has been involved with this great project.
“It was great to see the pupils enjoying the sports facilities too, as this was the area funded by Arsenal and our supporters. I hope the fans enjoy seeing the result of their fantastic support for TreeHouse and I wish all those involved with the charity the very best in their new home for years to come.”
The building, which took eighteen months and £11.5 million to complete houses over 76 pupils who suffer with autism and TreeHouse aims to transform, through education, the lives of those children as well as the lives of their families.
Ed Balls said: “TreeHouse does excellent work providing for children with autism and I am proud to open its new national centre today. I hope the Centre will allow TreeHouse to develop its work in promoting better autism provision nationally, supporting parents and helping to unlock the potential of children with autism.
“I want to see the best services for children with autism in all areas of the country and improving provision for children with autism is an important priority. That’s why we have increased funding for the Autism Education Trust to work with local authorities and Primary Care Trusts to improve the commissioning of local services for children with autism. We are also improving the provision of short breaks provision which is very important for children with autism and their families.”
Lynne Featherstone MP said: “TreeHouse is a bright beacon in autism education and, after years of hard graft, they now have a bright, state of the art building in which they can continue carrying out their amazing work.
“I’m proud to have TreeHouse in my constituency, not only for the dedicated work they do for the fortunate students who go here, but also for the special work they do with the community, especially through local schools, to help increase the understanding of autism here in Haringey. I look forward to seeing TreeHouse school go from strength to strength in this fantastic new home.”
Nick Baldwin, TreeHouse Chair of Trustees, said: “There are too many to name here individually but the Official Opening of TreeHouse’s National Centre was an opportunity to thank all those who supported this very ambitious project so generously.
“It was also an opportunity to look towards the future and the work that lies ahead. One in 100 children in the UK has autism. In our experience, the key to unlocking the potential of these children is the right education. But the vast majority of these children aren’t getting the education and support that meets their needs. Through our national work, TreeHouse is working to close the gap between the lucky few who have access to appropriate education and the majority who still do not.”
[Thursday, October 08, 2009]
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