A4U wish to thank STACS officially here for organizing the Light Parade.
John Woodvine (STACS Deputy Chair) is transferring from a STACS volunteer who works in the hub every week to an A4U volunteer doing the same thing.
ALL A4U staff are undertaking a substantial distance learning course called Understanding Autism. This is a government scheme overseen by Learning Curve which will see each one of them personally accredited rather than the organisation as a whole. These are sizeable and comprehensive modules involving each member of staff in many hours of study in their own time which underlines A4U’s commitment to providing an excellent service for ASC.
One A4U worker is half-way through their City and Guilds Advocacy qualification.
Mary Walker, an existing A4U caseworker, is now a fully qualified SEND worker.
The hub is developing some commercial streams like attractively decorated plant pots and small wooden items that will be for sale in the foyer. To support this initiative, a lockable glass cabinet to display these works has been bought out of the Innovation capital fund of £18.5K issued to each local authority.
Louise House café will be re-opening on 10th May. A free taster session was held on 5th May, and if this food is a sign of things to come the café is sure to be a success.
A4U and Ignition are embarking on a 3-year strategy to provide 2 after school clubs for young people on the spectrum – one for 11-14 year olds and one for the 14-18’s. These will share the adult hub’s ethos and Ignition will be delivering key messages through their theatre work in a similar way to the very successful recent production ‘How Fish Climb Trees’. This project is expected to cost around £300k with funding coming from a number of sources including the Arts Council.
Marion Youens will be retiring in August. Part of her role will be taken up by Ann Wyatt, who is already employed by A4U, and the remainder split across other staff.
A4U will shortly be releasing a new policy defining the split between hub space and STACS space, and the reasoning behind it.
This is the first report arising from the hub facilitators’ monthly case meetings. STACS has always been excluded from these as it is deemed inappropriate for parents to be present when the progress or issues of their own or other’s children is discussed.
Due to time constraints, it has been decided that these meetings will now be bi-monthly.
Marilyn Jones (Chair STACS).