Watch as family of autistic boy get on their bikes to raise money for the nursery which transformed his life

Finley Lawson, four, was diagnosed with autism and struggled to settle in previous nurseries.

However this all changed when Finley started to attend Boldon Nursery School.

Dad Brian Lawson, 33, said: “Finley was struggling at other nurseries but after starting at Boldon 18 months ago he has been a different little boy.

“After everything they have done for Finley I wanted to do something to help the nursery.”

Grandfather Ian Smith, 67, added: “The change we have seen in Finley is tremendous. The nursery has done wonders for my grandson and my motivation for doing this ride is to give something back to support them.”

The nursery is primarily focused around outdoor play and learning and are currently in the process of developing an additional outdoor learning space which can facilitate additional provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Headteacher Lisa Walton said: “We are an inclusive nursery and so this space will be for all the children. However it will also provide a space for additional provision and intervention for our SEND children.

“This will include sensory resources, space for language groups and an area where children can meet with our therapy dog.

“The development will cost around £25,000 in total, which we simply can’t afford do out of the school’s own budget alone.”

Hearing of the school’s plight, Brian and Ian decided to ride a 100 mile route from Sunderland to York to raise money to help the nursery school meet the costs of the new facility.

They will be joined by Finley’s great uncle Graeme Smith, and 12 other riders as well as a support team including Brian’s mother Mandy Lawson.

The riders are due to set-off from the Gunners Club in Sunderland at 7am on Saturday September 28 with all the riders hoping to be in York by 5pm.

Mrs Walton said: “We are immensely grateful to the riders and in particular Finley’s family who are going above and beyond to support this nursery.

“This will have a massive impact on the provision we can provide.”

After 33 years of fundraising challenges, this is set to be the last for Finley’s grandfather Ian.

He said: “We are looking forward to it. I’ve done fundraising bike rides and challenges for many years but this means more to me because of the impact this nursery has had on my grandson.”

The team have targeted raising an initial £15,000 but would like to raise all of the £25,000 required for the development.

People can donate to the cause via the the group’s JustGiving page.

There are currently threes spaces still available for anyone who would like to take part with any willing participants asked to commit to raising sponsorship or to make a donation to the cause.

If you would like to take part then contact Ian on 07939954965.

Other riders taking part are Beth Hodgson, Craig Smith, Damian Clark, Matthew Douglas, Dean Hodgson, Niall Jones, Tony Hill, Graeme Mersh, Tom Burns, Dave Sanderson, Mark Daniels, Jordan Taylor and Tom Turner.