Please help Gloucestershire based charity, the National Star College, with its campaign against the withdrawal of Government funding by signing their on-line petition to the Prime Minister at http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/NationalStar/

National Star College (www.natstar.ac.uk) has provided opportunities for education and personal development for people with disabilities for over 40 years and is recognised as a leading specialist provider for young people and adults with severe and complex physical disabilities or acquired brain injuries, with associated learning, medical and therapy needs. It plays an important role in the region and within Gloucestershire through its residential, day student and other programmes.

In 2006, National Star College secured a pledge of 50% funding by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) towards a major (£15m+) development to enable it to better meet the needs of severely disabled students. Recent advances in medical care have meant an increase in the survival of premature babies, and more children survive major illnesses or accidents, but often with profound lifelong disabilities. The development project was to make significant improvements that would enable current and future students to access education and develop their life skills, thereby increasing their levels of independence.

Earlier this year, the charity was devastated to learn that, despite the first two phases of the five phase development having been successfully completed, the LSC had to withdraw their funding for the main construction phases that were about to start due to the national overspend of the LSC’s capital funding programme.

The National Star College now finds itself facing great uncertainties with significant investment to date potentially wasted and its approved development undermined and stalled by the withdrawal of 50% funding support from the LSC and government half way through the project.
The College is doing all it can to challenge the situation and to ask government to honour its pledge and support these seriously disadvantaged young people.

If you haven’t done so already we would ask you to sign the petition to the Prime Minister on-line at http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/NationalStar/ and please forward this information to colleagues, friends and family to do the same.

Many thanks