Following last year’s summer fete at our tearoom, we are planning another blissful Blewbury Day at Savages, with games, entertainment, a BBQ and stalls.Look out for more details!
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Style Acre is committed to finding work opportunities for people with learning disabilities. Through the recent funding of a Job Coach, Style Acre has a small team who support people into the world of work. Many people supported by Style Acre are keen to work, but need a helping hand to gain the confidence and skills to do so.
Styel Acre is appealing to companies in Oxfordshire to consider providing some work experience for someone we support. Companies might at first find the idea daunting, but Style Acre ask companies to consider job carving – that is, thinking of bite size opportunities for people. For example, Dan goes to work for an hour every Friday to scan the bar-codes of direct mail returns, so that the details are supressed for future mailings – a job which no-one really had time to do, but one which has made Dan feel really valued. He never imagined being included in the world of work and the company have done so much for his self-esteem – they even give him a pay packet!
Our Job Coach supports and accompanies people supported to work, until they are confident enough to go to work alone. Some work experience opportunities have led to permanent jobs.
Hawkins Group in Banbury provide on-going work experience opportunities for people supported by Style Acre. They say: “Hawkins Group is delighted to support Style Acre. For us, it’s not just about writing cheques, it is about helping Glenn & Ollie learn and develop workplace skills by becoming part of our team and seeing their confidence and independence grow every week.”
Work development appeal featured in Round and About and Parklife (page 4)
Watch That’s Oxfordshire TV
John Craven OBE officially opened the Style Acre second-hand bookshop on Monday January 11th. The shop – called ‘The Little Bookshop’ – is a social enterprise set up by local charity Style Acre and provides work experience for people with learning disabilities.
Enabling people with learning disabilities to gain work experience is very important and Style Acre proactively seeks work development opportunities for people they support. One established Banbury company, Hawkins Group has committed to on-going work experience opportunities for people supported by Style Acre. They say: “Hawkins Group is delighted to support Style Acre. For us, it’s not just about writing cheques, it is about helping Glenn & Ollie learn and develop workplace skills by becoming part of our team and seeing their confidence and independence grow every week.”
The Style Acre Banbury Resource (SABRe) opened last May and is a much-needed community hub in central Banbury, supporting adults with learning disabilities. SABRe is managed by Hannah Wolstenholme, who has worked for Style Acre for 4 years. Hannah says:“Work experience is massively important to the people we support at SABRe. It has real value and gives the people we support not only the opportunity to develop work-based skills, but also essential skills including team work, time keeping and interpersonal skills. This in turn promotes a sense of achievement, self-confidence and self-worth among the people we support.”
Marianne who comes regularly to SABRe says:“I like being with people. Work experience makes me happy, I like the buzz of the workplace, it makes me feel warm inside. I get more confident as I learn new things.”
Listen to Hannah’s BBC Radio Oxford interview
Watch BBC South Today feature and That’s Oxfordshire TV
Read The Banbury Guardian and Oxford Times feature.
The Banbury Guardian reports.
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