Friends, staff, supporters and family with an interest ....
PCC LTC P2P don't you just love acronyms ! Well to explain all - I'll use some more WWWWW (that's What, Why, When, Where, Who)
What.....PCC is of course Phoenix Community Care, a significant social response pioneered by Pauline and Adrian Hawkes in North London that provides a supported housing project, foster care agency etc; LTC is London Training Consortium (or the 'Open Doors College') which is our education and training sister company; P2P (we didn't choose this acronym !) is 'Pathways to Progression', and that's the title of our latest project that tasks us to support around 200 young people between 14-19 who are 'NEET' (Not in Education, Employment or Training) or at risk of being so.
We will be providing individualised programmes of support, following an accountable, robust and professional process of keyworking and tutoring that will be Quality Assured by the national 'MATRIX' standard for providing Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG).
These programmes will include skills development workshops and work experience as well as structured 'Positive Activities' (PAYP) aimed at equipping young people with better strategies for helping them progress towards the world of work.
On that note, thanks are extended to Margaret Wright and her team @ Debden House (London Borough of Newham Education Department) with whom we are partnering to present 'Project Paul'. This initiative will provide short 'positive activity' exposure for small groups of young people based around our own bespoke facility in the heart of Epping Forest. Expect a range of practical activities that will develop, challenge and explore personal and social skills involved in 'working with others' over an afternoon and over night residential in our 'tipi village' (Project Paul will be set-up during early April and operational by the end of that month expecting a small group of young people once every couple of weeks or so).
Why.....Well apparently there continue to be large numbers of young people who, for various reasons are struggling to engage with learning and work, particularly at this crucial transition age of 14-19 and the London Development Agency, using European Social Fund monies has set targets to address this accross the region. Along with some other partner projects, PCC/LTC has secured a 2 year contract to work with this vulnerable client group.
When....We are open for business NOW ! Referrals can be made by professionals, young people themselves, parents etc anytime to the LTC staff via the eBASE office.
Where....As mentioned, we are working from eBASE, home of PCC and The Phoenix Academy - and will be hosting our programmes there, at our Project Paul facility in Epping Forest and of course OUT THERE in the many and varied workplaces that we hope to support and progress many young people into.
Who .... The PCC/LTC P2P Project team is being managed by myself (I started last week !), and many of our workshops and IAG keyworking will be carried out by Gena. Ardit is providing some administrative support, and we hope to be joined by Richard (from Phoenix Academy) in a project worker role as part of the Project Paul team.
Also new to us is Naomi Durston who will be joining us in a weeks time as a project worker charged with establishing our employer networks that will be so crucial to us in progressing young people into work opportunities and providing work experience placements. Initially she will be shadowing the 'employer engagement' team from our project partners, The Shaw Trust in East London.
Anything else ? Well we've landed running (we had client number 1 enrolled last week !), and over the next week Gareth is helping develop a NEW website and put together some attractive marketing materials so we can start shouting about what we will be doing (so maybe the next edition of this newsletter/blog will be corporately themed to match !) and I will be developing a NEW web based system that will support our record keeping and help us collate the evidence required to submit to our funders !
I hope to post this newsletter/blog once a month or so, so if you remain interested in what we're doing - watch this space !
Mark Sutton
