Witham MP thanks local company for donation to Chatten Free School
Priti Patel, the Member of Parliament for Witham, joined a special visit to Chatten Free School, the specialist school for children and young people in Witham who are severely affected by autism and learning difficulties, with staff from local dental equipment firm SPS Dental.
The team at SPS Dental have kindly donated specialist dental equipment to the school, after being contacted by a concerned parent whose autistic child struggles with attending the dentist. Many children with special needs find it incredibly difficult to attend the dentist, and this generous donation provides a dedicated room to help the children feel at ease with dentistry surroundings and equipment, allowing them to have their check-ups and then use formal settings for future dental treatment.
During the visit Priti met with Sam Eastwood (SPS Operations Director), Chris Knight (SPS Managing Director), Callum Knight (SPS engineer) and thanked them for their generous support to the school and their understanding of the challenges pupils face in using dentistry services due their autism.
Priti said: “The kindness and generosity of SPS will make an enormous difference to the students of the school and give their parents the reassurance that their children will experience and receive dental check-ups in an environment which is second nature to them, their school. It is always a pleasure to return back to Chatten Free School, which is unique in the support and provision the wonderful staff provide to students of all ages.
I would like to thank the team at SPS Dental, which is an incredible Witham based business, who have provided the equipment for the room and continue to play a leading role in dentistry across the UK.”
Samantha Eastwood, Operations director at SPS said: “When we received a call from Chatten Free School, I could identify immediately with struggles special needs children have going to the dentist. Their vision to set up a dental surgery area to desensitise children going into a scary surgery is a situation I’ve had to overcome myself as I have a son with special needs.
We donated a dental chair with a light upgrade that was donated by our supplier Takara Belmont.
Our company goal is to help where we can, with the school being so local, we were delighted to help.”