1. Hi everybody!
I’m {NAME} here from a charity called the Cleft Lip and Palate Association.
[Can ask here if anyone can put their hand up and say what a charity is (i.e an organisation that helps people and raises money for people in need)]
CLAPA is a charity that helps people in the UK who were born with a cleft lip and palate. I’d like to talk to you about exactly what a cleft lip and palate is and the work that CLAPA does, but before I do, I want to introduce you to some very special young people. They were all born with a cleft, and are now a part of CLAPA’s Young People’s Council.

2. Registered Charity England & Wales (1108160) and Scotland (SC041034)
[If possible, play this video to children to introduce cleft lip and palate. Click on the video image or the link to play.
You can download it ahead of time from Vimeo here:
Registered Charity England & Wales ( ) and Scotland (SC041034)

3. What is cleft lip & palate?
‘Cleft’ means ‘gap’
A ‘cleft lip’ is a gap in the upper lip.
A ‘cleft palate’ is a gap in the top of the inside of the mouth.
CLAPA is a charity that helps to support people born with a cleft lip and palate. But what exactly is a cleft?
It’s a gap in the top lip, or the roof of your mouth, or both.
A baby with a cleft lip can look very different to other babies, but having a cleft doesn’t hurt.
A cleft palate is a gap in the roof of your mouth. [Get the children to push their tongues on the roof of their mouth – this is their palate. It’s harder towards their teeth, and softer towards the back.]
[Explain that a baby can be born with both a cleft lip AND palate.]
A cleft happens before a baby is born, when they are still growing in their mother’s tummy.
Most of the time, we’re not sure why it’s happened, but it’s no one’s fault.

4. How many babies have a cleft?
Ask the children to guess how many babies are born with a cleft in the United Kingdom each year.
[E.G. Hands up if you think it’s over 200, over 500, etc.]
1,200 babies are born with a cleft each year. [Relate it to the size of the school or assembly, e.g. that’s five times as many children as in this school]
For every 700 babies born, one will have a cleft lip and/or palate.
Registered Charity England & Wales ( ) and Scotland (SC041034)

5. Registered Charity England & Wales (1108160) and Scotland (SC041034)
Like every baby, every cleft is unique.
This is a cleft lip on one side of the mouth.
Registered Charity England & Wales ( ) and Scotland (SC041034)

6. Registered Charity England & Wales (1108160) and Scotland (SC041034)
This is a cleft on two sides of the mouth.
Registered Charity England & Wales ( ) and Scotland (SC041034)

7. Registered Charity England & Wales (1108160) and Scotland (SC041034)
This baby has a wide cleft lip and a cleft palate.
[If you haven’t already, get children to feel the roof of their mouth and how it’s softer at the back and harder at the front.
Get them to imagine what it would be like if there was a gap here which went right into their nose.
What might be difficult for them to do? E.G. eating, speaking, holding your breath, etc.]
Registered Charity England & Wales ( ) and Scotland (SC041034)

8. Registered Charity England & Wales (1108160) and Scotland (SC041034)
Feeding time!
[Talk about how it is when a baby is born and they aren’t able to feed properly.]
Most babies with a cleft palate can’t drink from normal bottles. When they try, too much air gets into their mouths and they can’t make the milk come out of the bottle. One of the most important things CLAPA does is provide special bottles so parents can squeeze the milk into the baby’s mouth.
[If you have bottles with you, encourage 1 or 2 children to come out to the front (assembly) and describe the hard bottle and then the soft bottle, describe the differences.  Ask them to hold it and squeeze it and describe it to the other children.]
Registered Charity England & Wales ( ) and Scotland (SC041034)

9. Time for an experiment! Time for the straws!
Firstly get the students to try and drink water with the straw with the holes. Can they do it?
It’s easy without a hole, you don’t even need to think about it. But with a hole in the straw, it’s very difficult!
This is what it’s like for a baby with a cleft trying to get the milk out of a regular bottle. That’s why they need special bottles.

10. Registered Charity England & Wales (1108160) and Scotland (SC041034)
What’s next?
3 months old = cleft lip operation 6-12 months old = cleft palate operation
The baby won’t know what’s happening – but it can be scary for everyone else!
Cleft repair surgery means a visit to the hospital for an operation to join the different parts of the baby’s face that did not join together before they were born.
This operation is to help the baby grow up being able to do important things like being able to eat and chew properly. If the baby was born with a cleft lip it will change how the baby looks as well.
Parents, siblings and children have to be very brave at this time, because having surgery is a scary thing!
[Ask the children to imagine how would they feel if they’d had to have an operation when they were small OR if their brother or sister had an operation]
Registered Charity England & Wales ( ) and Scotland (SC041034)

11. Registered Charity England & Wales (1108160) and Scotland (SC041034)
Will the baby be OK?
Yes!
The baby is put to sleep during the operation and is very well looked after. The operation is usually quite quick, and babies can go home not long afterwards.
They may be a bit swollen and sore for a while, but soon they’ll start to feel better.
Registered Charity England & Wales ( ) and Scotland (SC041034)

12. Before and after…
Babies will look different after the operation. They might also sound different.

13. Before and after…

14. Registered Charity England & Wales (1108160) and Scotland (SC041034)
Growing up with a cleft lip and/or palate
Children growing up with a cleft may need many different types of operations and help from doctors as they grow up.
[Explain that the child may grow up to have a scar, and their nose may also look different.]
They might need:
Hearing aids or grommets
Speech therapy to help them talk clearly
Lots of dentist visits to help teeth grow properly
More operations and hospital visits
Growing up with a cleft is not just about how you look. They might also sound different and it can be hard at first for other people to understand what they’re saying. This can make it hard to join in at school. Children will also need to have lots of visits to the hospital, and might miss out on things happening at school.
How do you think their mum’s and dad’s and family feel about this? How would you feel? (For younger children, may be better to list examples yourself)
Worrying about treatment and surgeries.
Not sure what will happen in the future.
Worries about how other people will react.
Not having anyone to talk to about it.
Registered Charity England & Wales ( ) and Scotland (SC041034)

15. What is ‘CLAPA’? That’s where CLAPA comes in!
The Cleft Lip and Palate Association (CLAPA) is a charity that helps people born with a cleft and their families to feel better.
CLAPA thinks that with the right help every baby born with a cleft can grow up healthy and happy.
CLAPA is made up of children, mums, dads and other adults who were born with a cleft themselves, as well as doctors and nurses who want to do even more to help.

16. Free weekend camps for kids Feeding equipment and info
What does CLAPA do?
Adult support & advice
Free weekend camps for kids
Family support
CLAPA PROVIDE:
Information so everything is less scary for families and people born with a cleft.
Support so people don’t have to deal with this by themselves.
A sense of community so people don’t feel lonely and can meet others who understand how they feel.
CLAPA do this through:
Family support
Adult support and advice
Free weekend camps and the Children and Young People’s Council
Feeding equipment and Information
Training volunteers – talk about your role!
Training volunteers
Feeding equipment and info

17. How Can You Help? Be kind to people who are different
There are two big things you can do to help people born with a cleft.
The first is very important – be kind to people who are different!
Everyone is different in some way – our differences make us special!
Some people look or sound different, and this might be because of something they were born with, like a cleft.
If there was something different about you, how would you feel if other people stared at you, or talked about you behind your back?
Whatever our differences, it’s always important to be kind and understanding, and to think about the feelings of others, just like we want others to think about our feelings.
For people born with a cleft, it can be hard going to lots of hospital appointments, and having operations can be scary. It helps if everyone can be kind and understanding, and to treat others like you’d want to be treated.
The second thing you can do is help CLAPA to be there for families in need by raising money.
CLAPA is a small charity which does a lot to help people born with a cleft. Every penny you can raise will help CLAPA do more for families that need our help.
What about a cake sale, a non-uniform day, or a sponsored silence?
[If it’s February, March or April] CLAPA have an Awareness Week in May, which is the perfect time to do something to raise money, and to find out more about cleft lip and palate.
Be kind to people who are different
Help CLAPA by raising money

18. Thank You! Any questions? [May want to do a recap here, e.g.
What is the roof of your mouth called? Palate.
How many babies are born with a cleft in the UK each year? 1,200.
How can you help people born with a cleft? Be kind, raise money]