The vision and
mission of
Stepping Stones
“Stepping Stones has come to mean so much to us as Students. It is a place of safety where we can learn new skills in the company of good friends. Without this special place many of us would be isolated, with no way of accessing the community and no one to share our experiences with.” Written By Cara, a student who attends Stepping Stones 3 days a week.
Our vision is for a fairer, more equitable society where adults with learning disabilities receive the education, training and support they require to fulfill their potential.
Our mission is to increase our students’ knowledge and confidence, encouraging them to lead more independent and fulfilling lives within their community.
About us
Stepping Stones was founded in April 1989 in Norwich and the day after celebrating our 35th anniversary in 2024, we completed the purchase of our new base, at the former Heartsease Lane Methodist Church.
Our centre on Heartsease Lane provides support and training to our students in a relaxed, safe and friendly environment. We are fortunate to have such a fantastic space where we can incorporate all of our sessions; on site we have a commercial kitchen, a media, music and photography room, a kitchen garden, an art room, a full sized stage for performances, an I.T. area alongside other classrooms and of course, a former chapel which we use for events, coffee mornings and meetings.
All of our workshops incorporate life skills such as literacy, numeracy and communication. Students are also encouraged to engage with our local community by taking part in activities, events outside the centre.
Most students attend for two or three days per week, depending on their needs and budget, our rate is £9.93 per hour/ £59.58 per day.
Our students
We aim to be a student led organisation as much as possible. Students are encouraged to take an active role in shaping our activities and take responsibility for the running of the centre.
Each workshop and session has around 1- 4 students taking part, a tutor facilitating and often a volunteer supporting. For cooking sessions we normally have 1-2 students to make that experience as meaningful as possible.
Our small session sizes allow students’ individual needs to be met through tailored support. Students enjoy taking part in group activities but are also supported to pursue personal projects.
We hold bi-monthly student meetings where students can discuss any topic of the service from fundraising to new ideas; the meetings are chaired by the service Manager and Tania, a trustee, who then feed back meeting minutes to the board of trustees.