A charity of parent carers from a Worcester school has booked Dear Santa just for SEND families on 11 December, with Santa and a present for every child.

Parent carers behind a charity at a Worcester primary school have arranged their own Christmas theatre show for children with special educational needs and disabilities, after deciding there were too few their families could get to. Dear Santa, the stage production of the Rod Campbell children’s book, will play to an audience made up only of SEND families at Stourbridge Town Hall on Friday 11 December 2026. Tickets are £9 for children and £11 for adults, plus a £1.55 booking fee on each.

The organiser is Friends of Fort Royal PTA, an independent registered charity run by parent carers, which supports Fort Royal Community Primary School in Worcester. It runs the show through its SEND Events Worcestershire programme, working with the team at the town hall. The charity says it is not a school-organised event, and that it is open to SEND families across Worcestershire, Dudley and the wider West Midlands.

“You have to create them yourself”

Nicole Scully, who is a parent carer to two children with severe learning disabilities and a volunteer with the charity, said an ordinary trip to a Christmas show is anything but:

“When you have children with complex needs, you quickly realise how many ordinary childhood experiences aren’t designed with your family in mind. Something as simple as a Christmas show becomes incredibly stressful. You’re worrying whether your child will sit still, make too much noise or need to leave halfway through and, most of all, whether other people will understand.”

“There are some fantastic organisations out there, but there simply aren’t enough opportunities, particularly for children with more complex needs. If the opportunities aren’t there, sometimes you have to create them yourself.”

“We’re not a big organisation, we’re just parents who live these challenges every day. We’re incredibly grateful to Rupert and the team at Stourbridge Town Hall for helping us make it happen. We want children to have a wonderful time, parents to relax a little, and families to leave with some lovely Christmas memories.”

Kate Bishop, also a parent carer and a volunteer with SEND Events Worcestershire, said:

“There’s definitely strength in numbers. When you bring SEND families together in an environment where everyone understands, or at least appreciates, the challenges that can come with having a child with additional needs, it makes such a difference.”

“It’s about being able to enjoy these experiences without the worry of judgement, without feeling the need to explain or apologise and just being able to relax and enjoy the moment with your child. And really, that’s all we can ask for. If we can put a smile on a few children’s faces and make life feel that little bit easier for their parents, then we’ve achieved exactly what we set out to do.”

What “relaxed” means here

The relaxed part is the audience, not the show. The charity says the production itself has not been adapted. What changes is who is in the room: with only SEND families in the seats, parents and carers should have less reason to worry about how other people might react to a child who struggles to sit still, makes noise or needs to move around.

That is worth knowing if your child is sensitive to sound or lighting, and it is a question to ask before you book. The SEND Events Worcestershire site invites families to get in touch first about access, parking or what to bring, and says it shares details of noise, crowds and the general environment before each event.

What it costs, and why the first 250 tickets matter

The volunteers secured £1,250 from Platform Housing’s Community Chest fund, which takes £5 off each of the first 250 tickets. The £9 and £11 prices already include that subsidy.

Once the booking fee is added, a child’s ticket comes to £10.55 and an adult’s to £12.55, so two adults and two children would pay £46.20. That covers the performance, the chance to meet Santa afterwards and a present for every child.

What it means for you

  • When: Friday 11 December 2026. Doors open at 5.30pm and the show starts at 6.30pm.
  • Where: Stourbridge Town Hall. Wheelchair-accessible seating is available.
  • How long: the show runs for 45 minutes, and meeting Santa follows it.
  • Who can come: SEND families, including siblings, family members and carers. Adults with learning disabilities are welcome too.
  • What to wear: “Christmas pyjamas are very welcome,” the organisers say.
  • Booking: through sendeventsworcestershire.co.uk. Questions go to friendsoffr@fortroyal.worcs.sch.uk.

More dates from the same group

The charity hopes the show will demonstrate the demand for dedicated SEND events and encourage more venues to consider putting them on. Its own programme continues closer to Worcester, with pools and lanes hired for SEND families alone.

The SEND Christmas Splash at Malvern Splash is on Saturday 19 December from 5pm to 6pm, with tickets from £3 when we checked on 4 November. Siblings are welcome, and at least one adult must be in the water for every two children. SEND Bowling at Discobowl Worcester follows on 17 February 2027 at 6pm, with funding from the William A Cadbury Trust.

Other Christmas options with quieter sessions locally include the relaxed Robin Hood panto at the Swan Theatre on 19 December and the relaxed sessions in the house at Croome. For Santa visits in the city itself, see our Santa’s grotto guide.