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About Birmingham Rathbone continued Print
It is estimated that there are 28,000 people in Birmingham with a learning difficulty. Birmingham Rathbone aims to enable those people with mild to moderate learning difficulties, to achieve their full potential and to participate fully within the local community.

In order to assist our service users to meet these needs, the charity provides several different services:
• Birmingham Rathbone’s education and training provision (Learning, Skills and Employment) offers a variety of programmes, training facilities and further education courses. These include: Train to Gain programmes, apprenticeships and an Independent School, offering a vocationally-based alternative curriculum for 14 to 16 year olds.

• Birmingham Rathbone’s supported living, tenancy support and domiciliary care provision (Housing and Supported Living) offers varying levels of support to suit the individual needs of service users living in social rented housing.

• Target Supported Employment is committed to securing suitable paid employment for job seekers with mild to moderate learning difficulties and supporting them in that employment, as they come off benefits and earn their own wages.

• Birmingham Rathbone’s Garden Centre and Horticultural Training Centre, based in Selly Oak, provides a training venue where learners are taught both practical and theoretical aspects of horticulture. It also sells a wide range of gardening products, many of which have been produced by the learners.

Birmingham Rathbone is one of the five largest charities in Birmingham, supporting some 1,000 service users each year. The holistic nature of Birmingham Rathbone’s provision means that we are able to support service users in most of their daily needs. Service users who live in our supported living accommodation may also attend training provision or they may be in employment, while being supported by Target Supported Employment, having previously accessed training or education through Birmingham Rathbone.