Warm, supportive, encouraging environments built around friendship and trust.
Our two development centres near Salisbury, Wiltshire offer a warm welcome and a wide variety of activities and courses for adults who have a learning disability or mental health need. They are open all year around, with sessions available for you book if you are living in the community, in one of our Home and Community services or in another Supported Living home.
Our aim is that you have fun whilst exploring your current interests as well as new ones. We can help you work towards training or employment goals that you may have as well.
Barford Development Centre
Operating from converted farm buildings in the rural village setting of Barford St Martin, 6 miles west of Salisbury, our centre has a carpentry workshop, pottery studio and a training kitchen. In addition we have a teaching room from which we offer literacy training once a week and arts & crafts training. There is also an acre of land dedicated to horticulture, which provides much of the seasonal produce that we use in our training kitchen and for sale to the local community.
Email Barford DC Call 01722 742298
Old Sarum Development Centre
Set within five acres, our centre has large gardens set aside for horticulture, a shop and café, carpentry workshop and a commercial Grounds Maintenance Service. We have a fully equipped IT suite from which we can help you to develop your digital skills and master online basics. Our Old Sarum centre is located 2 miles north of Salisbury and accessible through local bus routes, however, we do also offer other accessible transport options as well.
Our Old Sarum Garden Centre is open for plant sales Monday – Friday from 1030-1530 hours and the café is open 1200-1530 hours. Our hours can change at short notice and seasonally so please do call ahead to check if you are travelling a distance to visit us.
Email Old Sarum DC Call 01722 337192
Support to help you achieve your goals
Our team of staff and volunteers will take time to understand your goals and the support that you would like in order to achieve them. Together we will create a training plan that is just for you and your aims and aspirations. It will also take into consideration the support that you need. Our team are all qualified tutors and also internal assessors for the courses that we deliver.
Overall we will help you:
- Overcome any barriers to learning and to help you achieve your personal goals, and increase your self-esteem, confidence and life skills.
- Support you to access other community based learning and education providers to take up employment, voluntary work or work experience opportunities should you wish to.
- Provide you with the opportunity and support to gain nationally recognised qualifications.
Booking placements
Working towards a qualification is not a requirement at either of our Development Centres. However, both our teams are fully accredited to deliver NOCN qualifications. These qualifications could help you gain the necessary skills to access other training or supported employment opportunities.
You can book placements directly by calling our centres or being referred through another agency, such as Community Mental Health or Community Learning Disabilities Teams. We accept payment either from personal budgets, private funds or from the local authority.
Sending your precious child somewhere and knowing you don’t have to worry and that you know they’re going to be having fun, is great. Plus, just the safety aspect above everything else while knowing it’s more than me just literally putting her somewhere, you know, it had to be more than that. At Alabaré, Jessica is stimulated, she’s not bored, she’s active, and she’s built friendships as well. It means the world to be able to see her happy and thriving in a safe, caring environment full of people who are passionate about what they do and who genuinely care about people. So, as a mom, it means I can rest easy.
Emma - Mother of Development Centre client
How you can help
Like to get more involved with our work? We can’t do what we do without our supporters and fundraisers, whether that is running a fundraising event or taking part in one of our public events, or whether it is by volunteering your time and working alongside our clients. Please get in touch to find out how to be involved.
Donate
We rely on donations to continue our life-changing work providing care and support to adults who are homless, young people, veterans and those with learning disabilities. Your generosity changes lives.
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Fundraising
Fundraising helps ensure we can keep providing life changing care and support. Our fantastic supporters put on all kinds of activities, from quiz nights to raffles, auctions to walks: the more creative the better!
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Leave a gift in your will
By leaving a gift to Alabaré in your Will, you can help us continue to be there for homeless and vulnerable people who have nowhere else to turn long into the future. Find out how a gift in your Will supports our work.
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