Skylarks Charity

Who we are

About Skylarks

At Skylarks, our vision is to help create a world where children with additional needs can thrive. 

Our Story

Skylarks provide a supportive and active community. We care for the whole family, providing opportunities to join in, develop and feel empowered. We want to remove the isolation that can be felt by families and their children who have a disability or additional needs. We are based in Richmond upon Thames but have an open-door policy. Anyone, from anywhere, is welcome! 

The charity was originally founded as Me too & Co by a group of parent volunteers in 2006 to fill a gap in the local community where there was a lack of support. You can read more about our founder and beginnings here. In April 2019, we rebranded and officially changed our name to Skylarks Charity (or Skylarks for short) with the support of our corporate partner Haymarket Media Group.

Most recently we have been awarded the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service in recognition of the wonderful team of dedicated volunteers we have supporting our cause and won best Community Organisation at the National Diversity Awards 2020.

Over 3000 families have now registered to use our services and the list is growing! Over the past 16 years, the organisation has continued to grow. We have expanded from first providing inclusive play sessions to now offering a wide range of therapies, activities and services that are often otherwise inaccessible to families. These include services such as hydrotherapy, counselling, inclusive activities like drama and karate and free advice for Special Educational Needs (SEN). 

Our independence as a charity means we are able to develop our programme in line with the needs of our families; something that has always been and remains important to us. We do not apply for or receive any statutory funding from the government or local authorities.

Why Join Skylarks?

It’s an exciting time to join our team as we look to spread our wings, expanding to deliver to more families across the surrounding boroughs.

Skylarks has continued to grow significantly over the last few years, with a 30% year on year increase in the number of services we deliver to families. Skylarks believe in innovating and adapting its services depending on the needs of the families we support. We have a small but dedicated team and we are always looking to add exciting new members to our inclusive team.