Nancy and Louise holding a plate of soda bread rolls from the baking session.

Hi, we’re Nancy and Louise!

We’re occupational therapy students from Brighton University, who’ve spent the past six weeks on placement with Amazing Futures. We’ve been helping support and run groups for young people with special educational needs and disabilities in Eastbourne, Bexhill and Heathfield.

Read on to learn what occupational therapy is, what we’ve been up to over the past six weeks, and what our favourite bits have been.

Young woman painting a pictureWhat is occupational therapy?

Occupational therapists support people to take part in meaningful everyday activities — the things that give our lives structure, purpose, and identity.

It’s called “occupational therapy” because we use occupation (doing activities or tasks) to support with therapy.

You might see occupational therapists in the hospital, in schools or supporting people in the community.

What we’ve been doing at Amazing Futures

We’ve focused on supporting you to try new activities, build confidence and self-advocacy skills, and become more aware of opportunities available in your local community.

We’ve run pottery, baking and walking sessions. These helped you to learn and develop your skills, whilst providing a fun opportunity to socialise with friends.

For example, in our baking session, we made soda bread rolls and enjoyed them together as a group. This was a fun and practical way to develop everyday life skills like problem-solving, resilience, communication, and asking for help when needed. It was especially great to see some young people who don’t usually take part in structured activities choosing to get involved.

“I enjoyed making things with clay today”

"I loved it and tried it - scary but yummy"

"Fun open-ended activity"

"Enjoyed it, would likely do it again"

"It was very therapeutic"

"I enjoyed making bread because I've never done it before and it was something new to make and try"

Table with soda bread dough on baking sheets, mixing bowls and wooden spoons, and instruction sheets with lots of photos. A young person is sat at the table, their hands are visible.Nancy’s favourite bits:

💚 Baking sessions – It was brilliant to see the young people getting involved and trying something new – despite it getting a little messy! The reward of the lovely soda bread and jam after the baking was also a nice treat.

💚 Bowling trip – It was a fun evening with lots of chatting, bowling, and some exciting arcade games. It was good to see everyone enjoying themselves.

💚 Youth groups – It’s such a welcoming and friendly environment. It’s been great getting to know all the young people and seeing some of the incredible creations they have made from clay during the pottery sessions.

Two young people stood next to a costume display in the V&A Museum, featuring Elphaba's costume from Wicked.Louise’s favourite bits:

💚 Museum trip – The trip encouraged social interaction, independence, and confidence when navigating transport and community spaces. I saw some young people overcome significant anxieties, to be rewarded with an experience that clearly meant a lot to them.

💚 Youth voice day – It was great seeing young people share their thoughts and ideas about Amaze and the wider community. The activities were fun and interactive, and young people were made to feel safe and valued. This highlighted the importance of involving young people in decisions about the opportunities available to them – a key learning point I will take with me.

💚 Personal development – Overall, my placement helped me to grow in confidence and develop my professional identity, whilst seeing first-hand the positive impact that meaningful activities can have. It also showed how occupational therapy can work alongside youth services to support young people to take part in activities that matter to them, by helping to build confidence, develop practical skills, and feel a sense of belonging as they transition into adulthood.

heartsThank you so much to the Amazing Futures team and all the young people for being so kind and welcoming during our time with you!

Baking, pottery and walkingTry the activities yourself

Nancy and Louise left ⬇️ step by step instructions [pdf 4mb] for the activities they ran, so you can do them yourself at home!

  • make a coaster from clay
  • bake your own soda bread rolls
  • go for a walk along Bexhill seafront

They also put together a handout with some ideas for ⬇️ activities to do in Heathfield and Bexhill [pdf 1mb]

Are you interested in youth work and working with young people? Do you have a disability or additional needs that would make you a great role model for our young people?

Amaze is offering two paid internships in our Amazing Futures youth team, one in Brighton & Hove and one in Eastbourne.

Amazing Futures paid internships

  • two roles available – one in Brighton & Hove, one in Eastbourne
  • 12 hours a week for 12 months until end of March 2027
  • £13.57 per hour (based on living wage guidelines)
  • starting mid-April 2026

Young people sat around a long table doing a creative activity with newspapers. One is wearing a Santa hat.About the role

If you are enthusiastic and committed to improving the lives of young people with additional needs through youth work, this is an opportunity to develop your skills and get work experience in a supportive, friendly team. The role involves helping to run our service for young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) aged 14 to 25.

Amaze will be offering training and support. This is an opportunity to get experience in youth work and build workplace skills such as teamwork, office administration, planning and promoting events and training, finding and producing accessible information.

The full role description can be found at the bottom of this page.

questions and answersOnline Q&A session

To find out more about the role and meet the team, we are holding an online Q&A session on Wednesday 11 February 2 to 3 pm. Please email Sally B at SallyB@AmazeSussex.org.uk to get the link to join. If you can’t make that date, we can send you the recording afterwards.

About you

We are looking for two people who understand special educational needs and disability (SEND) through their personal experience. This is not a supported internship, so you will need to be able to work independently in an office and youth work environment. You will also need to able to travel independently to different areas in Brighton and East Sussex by public transport or your own car. We will make adaptations to make the internship inclusive and adapt to your needs.

You will need to be good at communicating with lots of different people, one-to-one and in groups. You will be working with young people with SEND who are facing challenges in their lives, so you need to be warm and non-judgemental. We need someone with writing skills who is confident about using computers and social media.

You are welcome to apply if you currently come to our Amazing Futures groups, but if you were successful in getting the role you wouldn’t be able to come to groups as a participant because you will be working for us and need to keep professional boundaries.

Equality and diversity

Amaze particularly welcomes applications from young people with SEND who are under-represented in our organisation. At the moment young men and people from the global majority are an identified gap in our team so are encouraged to apply.

How to apply

The closing date for applications is 11.59pm on Wednesday 25 February 2026

Please upload your CV and cover letter, or a document with a link to your video application here:

You are welcome to apply for both roles, and if so, you can use the same cover letter and CV but you will need to upload it twice.

Interviews for the Brighton post will be on Thursday 5 March in Brighton, and interviews for the Eastbourne post will be on Wednesday 11 March in Eastbourne

Learn more

To support your application, please read:

If you have other queries about the role, please get in touch:

Brighton: Call or text Sally Bourner, Amazing Futures Brighton Lead, on 07485 349 659 or email Sally (Brighton Lead) at SallyB@AmazeSussex.org.uk

Eastbourne: Call or text Charlie Ayres, Amazing Futures East Sussex Lead, on 07494 121 322 or email Charlie (East Sussex Lead) at Charlie@AmazeSussex.org.uk

Find out about Charlie and Hannah’s recent visit to Peacehaven Community School to tell the students about Amazing Futures

Last month, Charlie and Hannah from the Amazing Futures team visited Peacehaven Community School. They ran a badge making session for young people with special educational needs and disabilities in Year 9 and above. The session was a great chance for the students to meet up and chat. They also got to hear about our new Peacehaven Youth Group. The group takes place every other Wednesday at The Joff, opposite the school.

Charlie Ayres, our East Sussex lead, explains:

“Doing an activity is a fun and relaxed way of getting to know each other. The students made badges that expressed who they were or celebrated their interests. We had flag badges for dyslexia, ADHD and LGBTQ+ identities and badges for Formula One!

“It was great to start to build relationships with some of the young people in Peacehaven – better than just handing them a flyer. We told them about our Peacehaven group and we hope that some of them will come along on a Wednesday soon.”

The Peacehaven school session went so well that we hope to run more sessions in future, at this or other schools. The next one will be in Uckfield.

If your school would like to get a visit from Amazing Futures, please contact AFEastSussex@amazesussex.org.uk or AFBrighton@amazesussex.org.uk and we will contact you to discuss options.

Read more about our regular youth groups.

badges
school student in white polo top covered in badges
school blazer with badges
badge making session on tables
student in white polo shirt with badges holding small lizard figure
Charlie from Amazing Futures making badges

Lydia went to the University of Surrey and studied physics. She now studies at the University of Kent for an MSC in research. She is autistic, dyslexic, and has anxiety. Here are her tips for neurodivergent or disabled students who are planning to go to university:

Before starting

➡️ Research the university

Look at the support on offer at the university.

➡️ Go to open days

Talk to the disability team and ask what support they provide.

➡️ Apply for Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA)

This gave me access to assistive technology and a specialist autism mentor.

Learn more: Disabled Students’ Allowance | UCAS

➡️ Plan your accommodation

The disability team can support you to get preferred accommodation if you need a certain accommodation type because of your disability. They may decrease the cost for you.

Person using laptop
Young person in a library

When you start

➡️ Get familiar with the campus

➡️ Get to know the disability team, their location, and how to contact them

➡️ Set up your supports

➡️ Find safe spaces on campus

➡️ Join societies, they are a great place to get to know new people with similar interests

Other tips

Learn more:

We’re thrilled to announce we officially launched the Amazing Futures website on Saturday 20 September 2025 at our Youth Voice Day in Eastbourne!

phone showing Amazing Futures website, with large dark text on pale green background.Our Comms and Editorial Assistant, Rose, ran sessions showing what you can find and do on the website, and how to use it. She also ran activities supporting young people to make art and blog posts to share on the website.

Rose led the project to create the website over the past year and a half. She worked with young people at our groups in East Sussex and Brighton, who shared what they wanted and needed from the website, provided feedback as it was developed, and took part in decisions.

Learn more: How your choices and feedback shaped this website

Rose says, “Thank you so much to all the young people who took part in this process, sharing your opinions, ideas, and feedback. I hope enjoy using the website, and find it useful! I loved getting to work with you all.”

Many thanks to East Sussex School Health and Children’s Integrated Therapies Services and the Masonic Charitable Foundation for funding the website!

We made this website with young people’s help

Here are some things you told us you wanted, that we did:

Lots of accessibility features, including Easy Read, relaxed colour mode, and large text.
A simple, colourful design with muted, pastel shades
Lots of photos and pictures
Less text than on the Amaze website
Advice and information on topics like mental health and housing
Fun things like games, recipes, and art by young people
A simple contact form
A calendar of upcoming groups and events
Information about staff and volunteers
Information about the places where we hold our groups

Here are some things you wanted that we couldn’t do:

Buttons to read out text
We couldn’t do this because they don’t work well with screen readers that are used by people who are blind or have low vision
Infographics
We couldn’t make these work well on both mobiles and PCs
An online shop
This would have been expensive, and there are other websites we could sell things on if we want to.
A space to chat and make friends
This would have been expensive and hard to keep safe for young people

Here are some changes we made after doing “user testing” with young people:

We changed the menu to make the advice and information section easier to find
We removed the “related pages” section at the bottom of pages as it was confusing people
We changed it so pages load with the full text and a big button saying “Switch to Easy Read” to make it clearer.
We made the contact form simpler
We improved the search function so you get more relevant results

If you have any more feedback you want to share, contact us.

Over the past year and a half we have been working with you to create this Amazing Futures website, which has now officially launched! Read on to learn how your feedback has guided our decisions.

Disabled and neurodivergent young people have been involved the whole way through this process:

  • speech bubblesYou told us what you wanted and needed from the website to help us plan it
  • You gave us feedback on designs for different pages
  • You voted on decisions like which design and colour scheme to use
  • You helped us “user test” the website once it was built, to get it ready for the official launch

Here’s what you told us, and what we did as a result:

Click to show more information down arrow

Accessibility

You told us you wanted the website to have lots of accessibility features.

A page on website, shown on a phone as the full page, and as the easy read version. The full version has a large blue button reading "Switch to Easy Read".The website has:

✔️ ability to view most pages as Easy Read

✔️ relaxed colour mode

✔️ dark mode

✔️ large text

✔️ text size controls

We also are planning to create more videos over the next year.

We weren’t able to include:

❌ buttons to read out text – we trialled this but it wasn’t accessible for screen readers, and it made the website look cluttered and overwhelming

❌ infographics – couldn’t get them to work well on both mobile and PC, and they also aren’t very accessible to screen reader users

Look and feel

colour wheel showing the website's colour scheme of pale purple, lilac, and a light and dark sage green.You told us you wanted:

  • a simple, bold and colourful design, in muted shades
  • lots of photos and graphics, including lots of diversity
  • lots of art by young people
  • less text
  • an empowering tone aimed at young people not parents
  • less stock images

What we did:

✔️ created different designs and colour schemes and invited young people to vote on their favourite

✔️ used lots of images, including as much diversity as possible in gender, ethnicity, disability, LGBTQIA+ and subculture – although in some cases we have been limited by what’s available

✔️ created a gallery for your art

✔️ used much less text than on the Amaze parent website, and provided Easy Read versions of pages that have even less text

✔️ checked with young people that they were happy with the tone

✔️ paid a photographer to take photos at our youth groups, and used these as well as graphics instead of stock photos wherever possible

What's on the website

Phone screen showing website menu, listing Groups, advice, fun stuff, about us, what's on, contact us. There are also accessibility tools at the top of the page.You told us you wanted:

✔️ SEND advice and information (the most popular topics were mental health and housing)

✔️ information about Amazing Futures groups and services

✔️ fun things like quizzes, recipes, reviews and art by young people

✔️ information about staff and volunteers, and group venues

✔️ a calendar of events

✔️ a simple contact form

✔️ news posts

The website has all these things.

You also asked for:

❌ buttons to register interest in possible groups and workshops – we considered this but decided Instagram polls and polls at groups would be a better way to do this

❌ an online shop – we researched this, and it would have been expensive and difficult to do, and it would be better to use other websites like Redbubble or Etsy if we decide to sell things in the future

❌ a space to chat and make friends – this would have been expensive to develop, hard to keep safe for young people, and there are other ways to do this better, eg WhatsApp

User testing

Young man using laptopWe got your help to test how easy you found the website to use, and then made changes based on what we learned:

  • we changed the menu to make it easier to find the SEND advice and information
  • we removed the “related pages” section at the bottom of pages as it was confusing people
  • we changed it so pages load as the full version with a button saying “Switch to Easy Read” with the Easy Read icon, rather than loading as Easy Read first with a toggle, as people found this confusing
  • we made the contact form simpler and all one page
  • we improved the search function so you get more relevant results

We hope you’re happy with how it’s turned out!

This is your website, created with your help and guidance, for you to use.

If you have any feedback, or want to send us something to share on the site (your art, recipes, blog posts, quizzes…), please fill out the contact form.

Do you like musicals? Leah, from our Amazing Futures Brighton groups, has written about her favourite musical, SIX, and shared some fantastic photos she took of the show:

SIX is a musical about the wives of Henry VIII, who was the King of England a long time ago.  

The six wives are called Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Catherine Parr.  Each wife has a different colour dress. The colours are gold, green, silver, red, pink and blue.  

I have seen SIX in the theatre 30 times!

My favourite show was in London at the Vaudeville theatre. My favourite SIX actor is Thảo Therese Nguyễn who plays Anne Boleyn.  

My favourite song from SIX is called Don’t Lose your Head. 

If you like history and good songs then you should go and see it!  

Close up on an actor kneeling on the stage with her arms spread and grinning widely. She is in a green outfit with a crop top and a short petticoated skirt, and tights with a large fishnet pattern. An electric guitarist is visible behind her. There is a lot of vivid purple lighting.
Actress holding a microphone and pointing directly at the camera. She has a spiked headdress and a corseted short dress that's a modern take on Tudor dress.
The actress in the green outfit singing into a microphone, stage lights behind her showing the letters I and X from SIX.
Actress in the corseted dress singing into a microphone. She is wearing a leotard under her dress, which is visible where her skirt is open at the front.
Actress wearing a black and white corseted dress, with her arms open in a sassy pose.
Actress in the green dress singing and making a peace sign.
Actress with hot pink long hair, wearing a pink outfit with a bustier.
Actress in the black and white corset singing.
Serena, a smiling young Black woman with a shaved head.

Hi! I’m Serena and I’m the Amazing Futures intern in East Sussex. 

That means I get to help at lots of exciting groups across Eastbourne, Peacehaven, and sometimes Brighton. It also includes some emails, some writing, and a lot of working on my own development as someone interested in youth work. 

My favourite things that I’ve done as an intern have been:  

💚 The discos we get to do! In Eastbourne we do lots of dancing, eat lots of food, and everyone is always happy by the end of it.  

💚 A DJing workshop with some of the people in Eastbourne, which allowed me to share some of my skills and see the young people in Eastbourne enjoy themselves. We have quite a few musicians in our groups, and it was lovely to see so many of them having a new experience.  

A young person dancing at the Amazing Futures Christmas disco in Eastbourne

💚 I helped at the Easter holiday scheme at the Portslade Village Centre this April. It was nerve-wracking at first, because I knew I was going to meet a lot of young people at once. I didn’t know what to expect either, as I hadn’t been to the venue before. I felt a lot more settled by the middle of the day though, and was glad to have taken the opportunity. I’m excited to see some familiar faces this summer for another round of the holiday club!

Serena DJing. She is a young Black woman with a shaved head, wearing a shirt with a monochrome psychedelic pattern, and has headphones on. She is looking at someone off camera and laughing.

My favourite things I do outside of Amaze:  

💜 Being a radio presenter on Platform B, which means I get to put together music and broadcast my own radio show.  

💜 I love going to gigs and concerts because it’s a great way for me to regulate my own emotions. Sometimes they can be quite loud or stressful, but generally I find it exciting. The best concert I ever went to was Gorillaz at All Points East, a day festival in London. 

The internship is a year long and I’m over halfway through now!

I’ve had a great experience working with all the incredible young people who access Amaze services, and I’m excited to see what the next few months hold.  

You can learn more about Amazing Futures paid internships here:

Volunteering and paid internships

Are you passionate about creating opportunities for young people to thrive and have a voice? 

We’re looking for a coordinator to lead our small but wonderful Brighton youth team, running activities with young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to have fun, try new things, make friends, express their views and prepare for adulthood. 

Youth Project Coordinator

  • 2 year fixed-term contract with the possibility of extension 
  • 24 hours per week
  • £18.65-19.14 per hour, equates to £33,945-34,834 FTE 
  • Working out of Amaze’s Brighton office and at different venues across the city and into East Sussex 
  • + 5% pension, pro-rata 26 days annual leave a year, + extra 3 days at Christmas + Public Holidays 
  • Other staff benefits include flexible, family and carer-friendly working, support for staff health and wellbeing, learning and development, and access to discounts schemes 

About the role:

You will manage and develop a youth-led project, empowering young people to have a place where their voices are heard and valued, where they can be themselves. The role will lead a team delivering a programme of youth groups and activities for young people with SEND aged 14 to 25, that enables young people to be more involved in their community, to build their confidence and wellbeing, and to develop their life skills.  

Staff member playing retro console games with a young man.

About you:

You will have experience of managing people and activities, but still enjoy hands-on work with young people. You will know how to strike a balance between safety and adventure for disabled young people. You must be a natural at connecting with young people and supporting youth-led participation. You will be driven by a true passion for making a difference in young people’s lives through youth work. 

Equality, diversity and inclusion:

We are committed to supporting and promoting equality and diversity and to creating an inclusive working environment. We believe having a diverse workforce at all levels allows us to represent the communities we serve.

  • We want to employ staff who have lived experience of disability themselves or as a parent/carer of a child, young person or adult with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND), and have an excellent understanding of the issues faced by SEND families
  • We particularly welcome applicants from Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic communities

Interested?

To support your application, please read:

How to apply

You are warmly encouraged to contact us for an information discussion about the role – call 01273 234020 or email Ros at Ros@AmazeSussex.org.uk to arrange.

Check out the bug boxes we made at our Creative Club for young people with disabilities or additional needs in Eastbourne

We were inspired by Victorian bug boxes, but we decided to use paper insects rather than real ones! We used templates and magazines to make our bug boxes:

A shallow box with a large paper bee, and a smaller butterfly and typewriter
Bug box with torn magazine text and a blue paper beetle
Bug box containing a collage of text and flowers from magazines and a blue paper butterfly on top
Bug box with magazines and pictures of plants and flowers, with a red paper beetle on top.
Bug box with a page from a magazine with a large photo of a small building surrounded by greenery, with a photo of a lily cut out of a magazine, and a paper bug with blue and red wings and curly antennae.
Young people sat at a table making their bug boxes. There are magazines and printed out pictures on the table, cut into pieces.

Want to make your own bug box? Download instructions and templates here: