Captain Fantastic Teams Up with Award-Winning Charity SPACE Hertfordshire to Develop Parties for Children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

Captain Fantastic, the UK’s premier children’s entertainment franchise company, has teamed up with Award-winning charity SPACE Herts for their support in developing parties for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).  

The Captain Fantastic franchise was set up more than ten years ago by actor Tommy Balaam as an entertainment company to create journeys of fun and safe adventure for children across the country, organising more than 2000 parties and events for 60,000 children every year.   

Tommy Balaam, founder and director of fun at Captain Fantastic explains: ‘Inspiration to set up our SEND parties came from our office manager Ali Warren who has an autistic son, Zac Our Autism Journey – Captain Fantastic (captain-fantastic.co.uk).

‘We are on a mission to spread happiness and make memories. We’d like to ensure that every child like Zac who is on the spectrum or who has sensory issues can enjoy their own birthday party or special event. Sometimes children with special needs can miss out and so we can bring the fun and excitement to them with our tailored parties so that everyone is included. Our Captain Fantastic entertainers will make their special day the best day of the year!’

Captain Fantastic is working with SPACE Hertfordshire https://spaceherts.org.uk/ who are passionate about supporting families of children and young people who are neurodivergent (Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Dyscalculia, Tourette’s and other neurodiverse conditions) to help design and tailor the SEND parties.  

Nicky Chaperlin Volunteer and Community Engagement confirmed: ‘It’s all about creating environments to build confidence, and social opportunities where children and families can be themselves. We have been pleased to work with the team at Captain Fantastic to help develop these inclusive events which support the needs of children with neurodiverse conditions so they can enjoy the party they deserve and that families hosting parties feel confident that their events can cater for the ‘whole class’. We will be running a pilot day in September to trial the events with our families before Captain Fantastic launches them to a wider market.’

Tommy Balaam was diagnosed with Dyslexia at acting school. Along with his team of professional entertainers across the UK, Tommy now draws on his unique insight and creativity to engage children at all abilities and levels of development and has created a 360 degree world of entertainment which includes parties, a Youtube Channel called Captain Fantastic Adventures enjoyed by more than 3 million viewers, plus a series of illustrated children’s story books.

Captain Fantastic has been voted the UK’s Number One children’s entertainment company by the trusted reviewing site FreeIndex.

For further information about Captain Fantastic’s parties and events including SEND parties please see:  https://captain-fantastic.co.uk/

For the Captain Fantastic Adventures YouTube channel please see:  Captain Fantastic Adventures – YouTube

For actors and professional entertainers interested in exploring Captain Fantastic’s flexible franchise opportunities please see:  https://captain-fantastic.co.uk/jointheteam/childrens-party-franchise/

About SPACE Hertfordshire
For more information please see https://spaceherts.org.uk/