Organisation: NeuroDiverse Community CIC
Location: Windsor
Focus: Community support, SEND and Armed Forces families
The challenge
NeuroDiverse Community CIC identified a lack of consistent, structured community support in Windsor for Armed Forces families who were also navigating SEND.
Families were often managing multiple pressures at once, including transitions, stress, financial strain and additional needs. Without consistent support in the community, families could either go without or have to seek help individually, neither of which was sustainable.
The organisation recognised that families needed more than signposting. They needed practical support that they could access when life was difficult and a community base they could return to.
The response
NeuroDiverse Community CIC refurbished the Poppies Children’s Centre to create a safe, familiar and accessible base for the support.
From there, the organisation developed a consistent programme that families could rely on, including:
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Weekly SEND sessions for Service children
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Casework support for SEND families
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Monthly food donations alongside wider poverty relief support
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Weekly eco sessions
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Seasonal community events creating belonging and connection, including Christmas, Valentine’s and Easter
The organisation also worked with local partners to provide practical support. Working with Driven Forward Community Fridge in Windsor, NeuroDiverse Community CIC provides free food and grocery items directly to families, including fruit and vegetables, baked goods, bread and pasta. Nappies and formula are also provided when parents need them.
Any leftover food is donated onwards to Windsor Horse Rangers, creating a local circular economy that supports more people and reduces waste within the community.
What changed
15+ Armed Forces families supported
Weekly SEND sessions for Service children
Monthly Food donations alongside wider poverty relief support
The organisation reports that engagement has increased as the offer has become more consistent and visible.
The impact is also reflected in what the community now has that it did not have before: a refurbished, functioning community space and an ongoing programme of support that families recognise and return to.
The organisation describes this as early-stage impact, grounded in delivery rather than intention.
What the experience shows
NeuroDiverse Community CIC’s experience highlights the importance of building support around the realities of families’ lives.
The organisation’s approach has centred on listening to families and shaping the offer around what they say they need, working with local partners so support is joined up rather than duplicated and keeping provision practical rather than performative.
Consistency has also been central. Predictable support can help children and families feel safe enough to show up, while volunteers play a vital role in building trust through relationships.
The organisation also identifies funding as crucial to maintaining continuity, recognising that reliable support needs to be sustained rather than delivered as a one-time intervention.
What happens next
The work is continuing to grow in response to the ongoing need.
As NeuroDiverse Community CIC develops its work, it is focused on protecting the elements that have made the approach effective: listening to families, building with partners, delivering practical support and keeping it consistent.
The organisation sees reliable support as more than a one-time intervention. It can become a foundation that gives families something steadier on which to build their lives.
