The Paralympic Roadshow.

This week I have been visiting Primary schools in Harlow as part of 'The Paralympic Road Show',  an initiative that has been launched by Essex County Council to build on the enthusiasm generated by the Paralympic Games this summer. I am working alongside Howard Nicholls,  who is the Essex Carrying the Flame Coordinator, and we are both promoting the Olympic/Paralympic values of, friendship, respect, excellence, equality, courage, determination and inspiration.

I have really enjoyed talking to children and teachers at Longwood Primary School, Church Langley Primary school, and Holy Cross Catholic Primary Academy, all in Harlow. I believe it is very important that we teach children respect, particularly for those people who have different abilities. I have made a conscious decision NOT to use the word 'disability' during my visits and instead I have replaced it with 'differently able'. I want the children to learn that life is about ability v ability and that we all have the ability to do our best to achieve our goals in life. All the activities we do with the children are designed to get them working in teams and to inspire self confidence and self respect.

I have to say I was totally overwhelmed during my visit to Church Langley when I saw a display the kids had produced about me! It was very humbling and it made my day, so thank you. I am looking forward to visiting more schools in the coming weeks.