Home » FAQs

Frequently asked questions

Families

The Yard is a Scottish charity with one simple aim; to create thrivng communities of support for disabled children, young people and their families. We provide a range of services through our centres in Edinburgh, Dundee, and Fife, including adventure play sessions, school services, family support and respite.

To become a member, start by booking a free taster session to see if The Yard is right for your family. Once you’ve decided to join, choose your membership package and sign up online. Membership is open to all children and young people with additional support needs.

Membership is just £8 per month per family, giving you access to all The Yard locations in Scotland. We also offer a visiting membership costing £20 for 5 visits or £30 for 10. If cost is a barrier, we offer a membership assistance programme to ensure every family who needs us can join.

Yes, we support many children who are still on the path to a diagnosis. We don’t require any paperwork as evidence of your child’s disability, and you don’t need a referral to access The Yard.

We welcome children from birth to age 18 through our family sessions. Our activities are child-led and adapted to your child’s interests and needs. We understand that each day is different and tailor our approach accordingly.

Each membership covers all siblings and up to two parents or carers per visit.

No, we require a parent or carer to stay on the premises and support their child at all times. While our trained playworkers are there to facilitate play, parents and carers remain responsible for their child’s supervision during sessions.

If you’re finding it difficult to afford a membership, please reach out to us. We offer a limited number of membership assistance packages for families facing financial challenges. For more information, visit our membership assistance page.

Fundraising / Support

Thank you for considering fundraising for The Yard. We’re so pleased you want to support us and we want to give you the best support we can.

  • For an event like a run or cycle, you’ll automatically be registered when you sign up with us on the event page. You can find our fundraising events here. 
  • If you already have a place for an event, you can still fundraise for us, simply contact our fundraising team.
  • If you would like to raise money for The Yard by organising your own fundraising event or if you want to fundraise in other ways, please, contact us at [email protected] . We will be more than happy to help you!

There are lots ways to support us.

We offer all of our fundraisers –

  • A Yard t-shirt or running vest
  • Support and tips from an experienced Fundraising Officer
  • Any other materials you need, like collection boxes, banners, posters or leaflets

If you’re using a third party platform such as JustGiving or Enthuse, your donations will come straight to us so there’s nothing you need to do. 

Otherwise, please contact our fundraising team.

You must not use The Yards logo or branding on any products or packaging being sold in aid of The Yard. You also can’t use our logo on any social media channels, digital platforms or websites without permission.

We have a range of branded materials that you are free to download and use, you can find these here.

If you’d like to use our logo on any non-Yard materials or communications, please contact us for approval – [email protected]

Unfortunately, we don’t post individual fundraising on our main social media. However, if you tag us on Facebook, Instagram, X or LinkedIn we’ll try our best to interact with you.

If you’d like to, we can can help you write a case story about your fundraising, we’ll put this on our website and share it on social media. For more information, get in touch with us at [email protected]

Schools

We provide weekly sessions during term time with a variety of activities for pupils from special schools, speech and language units, support bases, and mainstream schools from our centres in Edinburgh and Dundee. For more information visit our schools page.

Sessions are scheduled before each term starts. To book a visit for your school, please contact us at [email protected].

Contact

For more information or to discuss how we can support your family, get in touch with us:

Email:
[email protected]

Call us: 
0131 476 4506

To speak directly with our Service Managers please contact:
Head of Services (Edinburgh, Dundee, Fife, Glasgow) Rachel Keenan: [email protected]
Edinburgh Service Manager, Aneta Olposka: [email protected]
Dundee and Fife Service Manger, Gill Thomson: [email protected]

We value your feedback. If you have a complaint, we aim to resolve it quickly and effectively. Please contact us at [email protected].