Norfolk Work clubs continue to progress well in Thetford and Dereham
The Cambridge work clubs come to an end in March
The Recovery through art project launches at Easter
Aspire funding confirmed for 3 years
Breckland Council Participatory budget fund awarded
St Johns Community Centre in Mildenhall opens
Norfolk School Work Clubs
The three Norfolk School Work Clubs are progressing well, with thirty-nine students having registered and attended at least two sessions. Overall forty-nine sessions have now been delivered and the programme is moving into engaging with external providers. Guest speakers have been lined up for each of the three schools and Tom Gaskin the School Work Club Coordinator has organised for up to fifteen students to participate in National Citizen Service Activities. A number of work club students are also being supported to take part in The Tenner Challenge, a nationwide competition, run by Young Enterprise where young people are loaned £10 for one month and challenged to turn their enterprising ideas into a reality. Keystone Work Club students have been busy discussing ideas and creating products to sell at the Thetford Market on Saturday 14th March. To find out more visit:
http://keystoneschoolworkclubs.com/2015/03/09/work-club-students-turn-market-traders/#more-27
Contact: Tom Gaskin
Cambridgeshire School Work Clubs
The Cambridge School Work Club project is set to conclude at the end of March. In the final couple of months of the project, staff have continued to work hard to support those students who had yet to secure destinations. Seven (of the original 71) young people have received one to one support to access training opportunities, work experience placements and apprenticeships, including taking part in photography courses, FA refereeing courses and securing an apprenticeship at a local stables.
This project which was part of a pilot in partnership with Future Business has proved informative in terms of working with third party agencies beyond our normal remit.
Contact: Jonathan Walker
Breckland Advice Project
The Breckland Advice Project is now well into its second year and advice services to the migrant community firmly established in Thetford and Dereham. Work is ongoing around development of a new facility for the CAB in Watton, and once this is complete META staff will be able to deliver in Watton as well.
New Credit Union points have also recently been opened at Dereham and Thetford, following the training of META staff, and new clients have already been signed up.
Contact: Jonathan Walker
Stop Smoking Service
The continuation of the META stop smoking service has just been agreed by Norfolk’s Public Health department. The service operates five days a week and is staffed by NHS-trained advisors who are themselves migrant workers. The service is delivered in the Polish, Lithuanian and Russian languages. Within the last year of delivery the two smoking cessation advisors will have supported approximately eighty clients to successfully quit smoking.
Contact: Jonathan Walker
ESOL
The commencement of Pre- Entry and Entry Level ESOL delivery in Brandon will begin with the delivery of two classes per week after Easter. Classes will be held in the Library at the Brandon Centre.
Contact: Jonathan Walker
Recovery through Art Café
The new project co-ordinator, Holly Sandiford, is now in post and is making excellent progress towards getting the project ready to launch. She has undertaken several pieces of training including, Young People, Drugs & Alcohol What Should I Do and Alcohol Identification and Brief Advice, in order to complement the qualifications she already holds. Two volunteers have also been recruited to support the project.
It is anticipated that the project will open before Easter at the Abbey Neighbourhood Centre.
Contact: Holly Sandiford
A*spire
Children in Need have confirmed a further three years funding for delivery and development of the A*spire project. Staff will be holding a consultation lunch with young people at the end of March in order to get ideas for future sessions, before activity sessions and the project officially recommences from April. Over the next three years there will be a focus on practical life skills for younger members and support to pursue potential future career related opportunities for older members.
Contact: Sadie Harvey
Abbey Neighbourhood Centre
With the warmer weather the front of the Abbey Neighbourhood Centre can be freshened up with the outside courtyard being cleaned of the moss that has accumulated during the winter.
Regular ongoing bookings include: Slimming World, Seniors (Bingo) Club, ASD Youth Group, and Zumba and are soon to be joined by the Recovery Art Café and A*spire once again.
Contact: Ricky Aylott
Participatory Budget Fund
From December to March Keystone successfully administered the Thetford and surrounding parishes Participatory Budget Scheme on behalf of Breckland District Council.
At a public event on Wednesday 4th March local community groups, as well as town and parish councils, secured a share of £10,000 to get Thetford and surrounding Parishes more active. Over fifty people attended the event held at the Keystone Innovation Centre to have their say in deciding how the £10,000 Pride in Breckland Participatory Budget funding was allocated. Eleven community projects received funding after securing the most votes from the public. The event itself featured presentations from sixteen shortlisted projects, including a demonstration by young gymnasts from Thundercats and a video prepared by young people of E.P.I.C youth group.
Prior to the public event, community venues across Thetford hosted ballot boxes providing those unable to attend the event with a chance to still vote for their favourite projects in the town and rural categories. A combined total of 690 people voted through the ballot boxes and public event.
Contact: Sadie Harvey
META Research
Keystone is currently undertaking research both for Norfolk Healthwatch and as part of the Breckland Advice Project. Both pieces of research are using META staff to consult with the migrant community, in the first instance around their experiences of health services and in the second around the provision of advice services. So far staff have spoken to nearly one hundred members of the migrant community and it is hoped this research will inform further work and the focus for funding applications.
Contact: Sadie Harvey
Innovation Centre
During January and February 121 conferences were held and attended by 1,556 delegates.
During this period 10 new companies booked meetings with us.
The Keystone Innovation Centre now offers a virtual office facility for businesses and also hot desk options from daily to monthly rentals where an office environment is required.
There are currently two offices unoccupied on the 1st Floor of the building and the current building occupancy is 95%.
The current tenants in the Keystone Innovation Centre are: Hilton Care, Manorcourt Care, F1 Training, Dalcour MacLaren, ABSA Environmental Waste Systems, EPS & Atmos Consulting, A4e, Anglia Healthcare, Catch Up, Catch 22 & Fosters Solicitors & Balfour Beatty.
Contact: Denise Petrie
Enterprise Factory
January and February the building occupancy stands at 79%.
Vacant offices are office 1 and 3 – 1st floor and office 2, 5 and 7 – ground floor which are still advertised for rental. All units are rented.
Our 12 Tenants at the moment are: Atkins Thetford, Freeze Creative Design,
Carl Cox, Craig Business Solutions, Giant Imaging, Green Ventures Bikes,
Keep Calm Network Ltd, Norfolk Fire Rescue Youth Development, O.C Training, Officeline Stationery, Property Masters, Youth offending team.
Contact: Maria Schepers
St John s Community Centre
January and February were busy months for the team working on the St John s Community Centre as the majority of the furniture and equipment was ordered and delivered during those months. Blinds have been put up in all the windows of the community centre, and carpets and cookers installed in the houses.
A Community Consultation event was held on Saturday 7th March where local people were invited to take a look around their new centre and share their thoughts as to what activities and events they would like to see take place there. Live Well Suffolk, Age UK and Realise Futures joined Keystone in talking with local people and listening to their ideas and concerns. Seventy-seven local people attended, with the two activities most requested being a parent and toddler group and a coffee morning for older people, while several people asked if they could book the main function room for a family party or wedding reception.
The Grand Opening of the Community Centre will take place on Tuesday 17th March between 11am and 1pm. Representatives from Orbit, Lovell and Forest Heath District Council will be attending the event along with members of the Keystone board and staff, plus members of local community groups and residents of the St John s Close area.
Room hire bookings are already being taken.
Contact: Leigh Driver
The Brandon Centre
The Brandon Centre has had a quiet start to the year. The Results of the Brandon Preschool Wrap Around Care Feasibility Study were reported as showing that the number of parents interested was too low to make provision of either an after school club or holiday play scheme viable. The Preschool intends to repeat this research at regular intervals to see if demand for these services grows.
The Brandon Centre has been provided with an Intelligent Public Access Defibrillator by the East of England Ambulance Service. Staff have been shown how to use this and the Centre will now be included as part of the EEAS annual training programme.
A suggestion that a series of decorative flint panels of historic interest currently embedded in the wall of the old Community Centre building should be re-located to the Brandon Centre has been raised by a local resident and passed on to Lisa Chambers at Suffolk County Council.
The Brandon Centre hosted a community consultation meeting for the Arts Council funded Creative People and Places: Market Place Project which will bring over £1million in funding to seven market towns (including Brandon) across Forest Heath and Fenland. Live Well Suffolk has booked the small meeting room to hold weekly health and fitness advice surgeries in Brandon from Easter onwards. Negotiations with Suffolk County Council regarding grant funding for a community offer from the centre are ongoing.
Contact: Leigh Driver
Green Ventures Bikes
Sales in the last two months have increased. 27 bikes have been received by public donations, and Saturday closing and longer opening hours in the week have made no significant difference in the weekly takings.
We have seen an increased presence on Facebook and twitter with more page likes and followers, the new shop layout continues to work well.
Discussions with Breckland Council in looking at them providing us with any bikes that they collect from roadside collections and other areas they collect from are progressing well.
The shop at 39 Brunel Way, IP24 1HP is open Monday to Friday 10.00am – 5.00pm
Contact: Jim Strutton
Local Food Group
New lines have been introduced into the Café to offer Gluten Free options and healthier snack alternatives. Café One will be opening up at 08:30 from Monday 2rd March to catch the early breakfast trade. Feedback in the Café continues to be positive and the homemade soups continue to be a success.
The Café based at the Innovation Centre on Croxton Road, IP24 1JD is open Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 2.30pm.
Contact: Nicola McKenzie
Open the PDF: Keystone Update March 2015