Hello, I am Julie Skinner the founder and CEO of Special People.
Back in 1998 when Special People was established, services and attitudes towards children with disabilities were limited. As the mother of a child with additional needs; I was frustrated by the lack of provision and availability of support tailored to meet both the child’s needs and that of the family. I realised that with all the other difficulties parents faced, finding appropriate childcare shouldn’t be one of them and decided a new perspective was needed.
As a teacher, parent and school governor with experience in social and youth work; I felt I was well equipped to look at all aspects of support for a diverse range of people. We set up a policy of treating all clients as individuals which was, amazingly, innovative at the time.
Special People became a popular service very promptly. Parents asked for our services via social services, and primary care trusts in addition to accessing our care privately. I am proud to say we now work in over 14 different Local Authorities and NHS trusts, and also have a branch in Manchester.
I am lucky enough to have a fantastic team behind me in our office in Finsbury Park which allows me to have some free time occasionally. This is when I can indulge myself in my interests which include travel, animal welfare (especially dogs) reading and social history. This isn’t an exhaustive list!
As someone who is passionate about any unfairness and disability rights I do hope you will find our services useful. We have a policy of “if we can help we will”, and this is reinforced by our dedicated staff who really are Special People.