In late 2018 The Daily Mail highlighted the Helpforce campaign and ‘the healing power of helping hands’ that referred to the value of volunteers supporting NHS services. In Somerset the NHS Trust has benefitted from that power for many years, especially within their twelve community hospitals. Across these hospitals there are currently 155 registered and…
A blog by Ed Whitefield, Investor in Careers Lead Consultant, a Licensed Awarding Body for the Quality in Careers Standard. It’s almost impossible to read about careers education without the Gatsby Benchmarks, Compass and increasingly the Quality in Careers Standard cropping up. In this blog I want to look at what’s behind this push, not because…
On two Monday evenings in November 2018, two members of the CSW Group Plymouth team –Sherri Bushen and Katie Cable facilitated an event for a group of parents of students with EHC Plans in the city. The events were held at City College Plymouth and the Plymouth Creative School of Arts. The purpose of the…
Did you know that on average it can cost the local Councils and Housing Associations £12,000 if they serve a Notice of Seeking Possession (NOSP) to a household? Often, this is because there are significant rent arrears, although it can be because of Anti-Social Behaviour or that the home has not been looked after and…
Successful first year of #Focus5! We have had a busy first year on the #Focus5 project, helping young people develop the skills to progress into employment, education or training. Our team of key workers is growing and we are excited about delivering the next phase of the project across Devon, Somerset, Plymouth and Torbay. We need more young people!…
CSW Group hosted the launch event of the new Ambitions project at Heartlands, Pool on Tuesday 20th November. The project is funded by the European Social Fund and will be delivered in partnership with a number of organisations who are all committed to improving outcomes for unemployed and economically inactive 15-24 year olds in Cornwall…
Our practical study support for students with a mental health condition, autism-spectrum disorder or specific learning difficulty is expanding into new areas. We have recently conducted a very successful recruitment exercise to bring some excellent new Mentors into our Specialist Support Team. This team of Mentors work with students who face barriers to achieving their…
A range of local, national and global Exeter based employers including Lidl, Flybe, Jurys Inn and South West Highways benefited from free Disability Awareness training on Wednesday 28th November. The training hosted by CSW Group and funded by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) aimed to raise awareness of different types of disabilities including…
We are looking for volunteers to support families in Hampshire. Could this be you? Our Positive Living Volunteers support families in Hampshire who are experiencing challenging or difficult things in their lives to achieve goals together and move forwards from those difficult times as a stronger family unit. Volunteers work both alongside Family Support Workers…
Adam had been unemployed for almost a year when he first came to Brockenhurst College to take part in the CSCS course having been referred by his Work Coach at the local Job Centre. Adam had a varied work history and was always keen and willing to work but because of a health condition,…
Over recent years there has been an increased focus on the Gatsby Benchmarks relating to good careers guidance to young people, with the new statutory guidance advising that schools/colleges should use them to develop and improve their careers provision. One of the more interesting Benchmarks is number 6 – Experiences of the workplace. Every pupil…
When planning and working towards meeting the Gatsby Benchmarks, Benchmark 1 is where you are likely to start and it’s also where you will likely return to. Benchmark 1 focuses on the structure and organisation you must have in place to support the delivery of your Careers Education Information Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) programme and…
On 2nd October 2018, two members of the CSW Group Cornwall team – Angela Nelson-Shepherd and Fran Dolan attended the Aim Higher Conference held at the Pavilion Centre, Royal Cornwall Showground, Wadebridge. The purpose of the event was for young people and their families to come along and join in with workshops and discussions regarding…
As the name suggests, the objective of #Focus5 is to support young people in developing the top five skills identified as crucial to getting into education, employment or training. We employ experienced key workers across Devon, Somerset, Plymouth and Torbay to work closely with young people between the age of 15-18 years old, who are…
