Today we launch Powering Possibilities CIC! Driven by parents, not by government, authorities or bureaucracy. Built for doing, not just talking.
Yet again my husband Malcolm and I find ourselves putting our heads above the parapet. We may have them chopped off. It’s a risk. But it’s a risk worth taking, given how much could be gained.
We have a reputation for thinking differently and acting differently, finding solutions when there appear to be none, turning life upside down. In doing so we have found our lives enriched beyond our wildest dreams by people with intellectual disabilities. We refused the ceilings others tried to place on our daughter from the day she was born. Forty-five years on, Jen – Dr (h.c.) Jen Blackwell BEM, multi-award-winning dance leader, born with Down Syndrome – lives a life that looks nothing like the one society had in mind for her.
Together with Jen, we co-founded DanceSyndrome 17 years ago. We started it out of frustration that the opportunities Jen needed didn’t exist. It goes from strength to strength, currently reaching over 10,000 people a year, with dance leaders with intellectual disabilities co-leading everything it does. They’re leaders from unexpected places, taking centre stage and living lives full of purpose and joy, and wanting everyone they meet to experience that too.
That is our normal. Many people would see it as a parallel universe.
What has changed since Valuing People 2001?
Twenty-five years on from Valuing People 2001, what has really changed for the 1.5 million people with intellectual (learning) disabilities in the UK? And it isn’t only them. Too many people are still being written off by a narrow view of who matters.
We believe every person matters. Every dream is a possibility. Every person has the right to a life of their choosing.
What is Powering Possibilities CIC?
Powering Possibilities is how we turn that belief into action. DanceSyndrome has proved what’s possible using dance as the connector. Powering Possibilities CIC takes what we’ve learnt off the dance floor to the families, professionals, organisations and communities who shape what’s possible for people every day. It’s a community interest company, meaning what it earns goes into its social purpose, impacting more people’s lives. For 45 years we’ve found solutions where there appeared to be none. Now we’re sharing what we’ve learnt through workshops, talks and conversations that help people and organisations stop waiting and start doing.
Whoever you are, believe in the power of possibilities
We help you see things differently and find solutions to the challenges in front of you.
If you’re a parent or carer, trust your instincts and ask for help.
If you work in social care, as a practitioner, commissioner or council leader, you have the power to change lives right now.
If you lead an organisation, ask yourself who you are missing from your community who could add value or a different view.
If you teach, you shape what young people believe is possible. Inspire them to dream big.
If you’re a neighbour, a friend, or simply someone who knows things could be better, be curious.
Join us on 3rd December for our first online workshop is an invitation to think differently. Together we’ll explore what’s possible when we stop doing what we’ve always done, including how direct payments can put choice and control back where they belong.
Our book, Beyond Extraordinary – Who Are You Missing?, is published in mid-November. It shows that extraordinary is possible when individuals and families get the right foundations for support and growth.
Social change happens one step at a time. Take yours today:
- Book your free place on Be the Catalyst: Start the Change December 3rd 12.30 – 1.50pm, online
- Sign the manifesto and join the Crusade for Social Change
- Ask us to speak or run a workshop for your team
Want the facts behind the question? Face the Truth. Then change it
Sue
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About Powering Possibilities CIC
Powering Possibilities CIC is a UK community interest company launched on 14 October 2026 by Sue and Malcolm Blackwell, supported by their daughter Jen. It runs workshops, talks and conversations that help families, carers, social care practitioners, commissioners, employers, educators and communities create social change for people on the margins of society. Their experience is with intellectual (learning) disabilities as Jen has Down Syndrome. Its first online workshop, Be the Catalyst: Start the Change, takes place on 3 December 2026. Sue Blackwell’s book Beyond Extraordinary – Who Are You Missing? is published in November 2026. Find out more about Powering Possibilities