Mark Sutcliffe, father of Prior's Court alumni Jenny , starred in 'The Long Road: Stories of love, hope and autistic young people with complex needs'. These are some of his extended thoughts about Jenny, thoughts that shone through during the filming but are explored in greater depth here:

A difficult but necessary decision

Sending Jenny to board at Prior’s Court School at the age of seven was heart wrenching and left me full of guilt over the years. However, she was impossible to control at home or at her specialist autism day school, where she had been expelled. My family was in crisis, Jenny's siblings were being held back a year at school and there seemed no choice.

We were asked what we would like the school to achieve and all we could focus on was toilet training. We visited Jenny to go out for walks and cake every Sunday, and over the 20 years she attended Prior's Court, we gradually saw changes in her, most importantly a new happiness, sense of self-esteem, and acceptance of the world and how to cope with it.

Moving on from Prior’s Court

Jenny made transitioning from Prior’s Court easy as she loved having her own flat, a secure peaceful haven when not taking part in activities. She keeps it very clean and tidy and loves helping in her back garden and displaying her art and crafts.

Family and activities are vital for Jenny. This was shown most vividly during Covid lockdowns when as a non-verbal person, she could not understand why she was prevented from accessing these, and became self-abusive, angry and anxious, much as she was all those years ago at the age of seven.

Discovering meaningful activities

Finding wonderful activities has been key to Jenny’s success. Artventure in Guildford was the first. So loving and patient with learning difficulties adults, we gradually saw Jenny working initially for only 10 minutes to now creating complex art, two days a week for hours at a time and selling some of her pictures!

Jubylee Bakes, a community of wonderful people, at a commercial bakery, creating amazing award-winning cakes for sale at a local cafe, events and markets. Jenny works alongside Peter and Jeremy, with parents, carers and volunteers in an atmosphere which is second to none in its love, humour and acceptance, but also ambition for our young people.

Not long after Covid, I decided we needed another activity for the adults at Jenny's residence, many of whom found it difficult to access even Jubylee Bakes or Artventure.

I set up an allotment, local to their home, so they could walk, or be driven to work. Initially, some young people were very anxious and could not / would not work, but gradually, over years of kind prompting, praise, small rewards, routine, ambition and understanding, all of them enjoy coming. We use machinery, create art, grow and harvest food, and take away produce to cook at home. The smiles and pleasure on the faces of all the young people who come is hugely rewarding to me.

Having seen the delight, Jenny takes in achieving all these activities and the pleasure Peter and all the other gardeners get from their success ,it has been well worth the time and fundraising.

A shared effort for us all

I am lucky, as I have retired and can give my time. All these activities rely on parents, volunteers and willing support from carers and care companies. Some of the activities are paid for through the PiP benefits young adults receive. All of these things take up considerable time, effort and persistence. As does working with local governments, care providers and the Court of Protection.

Young people such as Jenny can be, and should be empowered to be, a delight! 

But only through hard work from their families, building on the foundation that Prior’s Court created.

Mark Sutcliffe, father of Prior's Court alumni Jenny

Watch The Long Road on YouTube