A little bit of History behind The Thomas Centre.
Thomas was our second child and progressed marvellously until around 15 months when he suddenly regressed beyond all recognition. At that point our lives changed.
"A big thank-you to Jan and Richard – The Thomas Centre allows our family to all have a break together – we could not do it without you – it really works here"
With a range of diagnosis including epilepsy, autism, LKS, chronic bowel disorder (to name but a few) we decided like so many other parents before us, that we had to do all in our power to maximise Thomas’s ability and well being.
We also came to realise that we were still people in our own right and that we wanted to continue to enjoy a few of the good things in life. Good things like holidays in first class facilities, in an environment that was non judgemental and where we could relax and re-charge our own batteries for all the work and all the battles ahead.
"Fantastic place, Sam loved it and swam on his own for the first time"
Slowly we came to realise that all our friends, our new friends with children with special needs, felt exactly the same as we did. We wanted to enjoy some of the normal things in life that were eluding us, including first class holiday facilities for our whole family.
So when we moved to Lincolnshire with Richard's work, we bought a very redundant small farm with some very derelict and dilapidated barns. Six years later in 2006, we took the big leap and we started to build The Thomas Centre. Jan took on a whole new role, managing our new business and now entering our fourth year we are proud to have received the responses from the many visitors and organisations that have enjoyed what we set out to do... to provide a five star holiday facility in a safe, secure and non-judgmental environment.
The Thomas Centre Team
Thomas - The Inspiration!
Now approaching 20, and a student at St Elizabeth’s College in Much Hadham, Herts. Thomas has become a very sociable member of the family and loves being included in a range of tasks around the site when he is at home. Our family experiences around Thomas are the motivation behind our project.
Jan - Owner and Manager
Mum, Operations Manager and Marketing Manager; like all women, multi-skilled, multi-talented and just wants to get the job done! In earlier years, Jan was Thomas’s home teacher for five years. A practitioner rather than a theorist, with lots of hands on experience especially in the field of Language through Reading.
Richard - Finance and Strategy
The man behind the scenes and working full time on other projects to help pay for the dream. Can be seen at weekends helping with DIY tasks and extending his social skills! Strongly believes that parent networks can often provide the best advice and support to families like ours.
Val - Assistant Boss
Jan’s sister who takes care of the day to day running to ensure all visitors have a real “Five Star” holiday. Last year, Val moved from Kent to help Jan with all the many aspects of running a busy family business.
Lizzie - Social Networking Developement
Thomas’s “big sister” who knows about the importance of good holidays for siblings too! In charge of Social Networking Developement and helps with the running of the business when at home. Lizzie is regularly around at week-ends and holiday times, and always available to help out “on line”.
