About us

Shaftesbury is the disability charity that enables each child, young person and adult to live a life that adds up for them.

About us

Shaftesbury is the disability charity that enables each child, young person and adult to live a life that adds up for them.

What makes life add up is different for everyone. It’s the sum of many things and many people - from friendship to fun; from companionship to community; from a great chat to a challenge overcome.

‘All together better for disability’ means working with the people we support, promoting inclusion, independence and opportunity.

All together we are better; it’s why we work to see people take part, contribute and be valued. We do this through our wide range of disability care, special education and rehabilitation services across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Our vision

To improve the quality of life for people with disabilities and create a life that adds up for them.

What we do

Through our services, we enable people with disabilities to thrive. We work to put the things in place that all add up to living well. We provide a wide range of care, education, vocation and rehabilitation services. In all we do, we help people become more confident and independent and to grow community connections that improve wellbeing.

We work to change what’s unlivable – we help people tackle and overcome the barriers in their lives, including any that prevent them participating fully in society, because this negatively affect people’s wellbeing and life expectancy. Our services strive to transform how people with disabilities connect with the communities they choose to be part of.

It all adds up

What makes life add up is different for everyone. It’s the sum of many things and many people – from friendship to fun; from companionship to community; from a great chat to a challenge overcome.

How we work

Shaftesbury supports a wide range of people through our range of services. Our charity community is diverse and includes staff, volunteers, supporters, donors and health partners.

Working together

We know that care and inclusion work involves a wide circle of people and we’re proud to work with everyone who uses our services. This includes: people with disabilities; their families and carers; our staff; churches; community partners; commissioners; volunteers and donors. Together we develop creative responses that all add up to better life outcomes and support for people with disabilities.

Who we support

We run an extensive choice of services across the UK for people with disabilities. Every day, we deliver direct services to over 1,000 people, who are at the centre of everything we do.

The people we support access our services by local authority referral, NHS referral or self-referral. We work closely with individuals and their families, brokerage teams and other professionals to find the best placement for them. We also work with churches and community projects to reach out to the needs of people in their locality.

We'd love to send you our free resources and news updates