Trustmatters

REGISTERED CHARITY 285543 surreycaretrust.org.uk

Like most teenagers, Beth just wanted to fit in at school but a problem with her sight meant she was behind at school and assisted by a tutor.

The tutor bought unwanted attention from the other students and Beth found it difficult to cope, which affected her behaviour.

Beth explains: “Everyone would just take the mick out of me because I had extra help, so I would just walk out of class.”

Beth’s mum Laura adds: “Even getting her to school was a challenge. She got behind with everything and then of course, with the tutor beside her in the class, it became

A BRIGHTER FUTURE BECKONS BETH

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The Surrey Care Trust Newsletter Winter 2019 / Spring 2020

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We are grateful to the following for their recent donations and support in all kinds of ways

The Working Together for Work and Local Perspectives projects are funded by the European Social Fund and the National Lottery through the National Lottery Community Fund.

FOR GENERAL SUPPORTThe Alchemy FoundationThe Coleman Charitable TrustLoseley & Guildway Charitable TrustRestore Records ManagementWoodford FoundationFOR MENTORINGCommunity Foundation for SurreyThe Ingram TrustFOR STEPS TO 16The AG Manly TrustThe Co-op Community FundGarfield Weston FoundationWaitrose, Goldsworth ParkFOR EVENTSBroanmain PlasticsHaroon Ashraf & colleagues from the Royal Mail (Heathrow Worldwide Distribution Centre)Urban TriFOR OUR ALLOTMENTConnick Tree CareStaff at Fidelity InternationalRaven HousingReigate & Banstead CouncilSorbus LearningThe Wisley FoundationWoodfield School

FOR COUNSELLINGBBC Children in NeedCorner House WokingWomen’s Centre WokingFOR SWINGBRIDGECartbridge Basin MarinaCP TrustGuildford Flooring CompanyGuildford Poyle CharitiesING Wholesale Banking fundraising teamThe NCS Challenge TeamThe Noel Buxton TrustThames Heritage TrustFOR HOSTING MEETINGSAsda SheerwaterBrewers & Son LtdCap Gemini, WokingCanon UKImber CourtMorrisons SolicitorsNational TrustSheerwater Youth CentreVirgin Money Guildford

to everyone who took part in our Surrey 5 Peaks hikeathon and raised an amazing £9,000 – every penny of which will go to support our work thanks to sponsors

THANK YOU!

To all our trustees, volunteers and individual supporters for their generous gifts of time and money

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continued from front page9very obvious to all the other students that she needed one to one support. She began to develop really bad anxiety and experienced panic attacks every day – it was becoming a choice between her mental health and her education.”

An altercation with another pupil led her school to look into other options, including the Surrey Care Trust’s alternative education programme, STEPS to 16, which gives a second chance to 14 to 16 year-olds who have been struggling in mainstream school.

As STEPS to 16 operates in the setting of a small centre with a limited number of young people,

it has a real family feel which made Beth more comfortable. The high teacher to student ratio allows learners to go at their own pace which was also a great benefit for Beth.

Just nine months after joining the programme Beth exceeded expectations in her City and Guild qualifications, achieving a level one in Maths and a level two in English, which will allow her to pursue a higher level course in health and social care at college.

Laura says: “There’s a lot of support and understanding at STEPS and I’m just so thankful that this is here. At her mainstream school she would

have had to continue to study 9 or 10 GCSEs but she was so behind she would have struggled to cope with that. Instead she’s been able to focus on doing really well in the core subjects she needs to continue with her education.”

Beth says: “Just being able to buckle down in a smaller space really helped me. And because the work is mainly coursework, I could go at my own pace. The more I succeeded, the more confident I felt. I began passing everything and I was so surprised. If I had stayed at my old school I wouldn’t have done so well – now I’m thinking about doing a degree course after college.”

Find out more aboutSTEPS to 16 by visiting www.surreycaretrust.org.uk

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NEW FOCUS FOR STANWELL FAMILY CENTRE

In January 2019, Surrey County Council’s cabinet members agreed to remodel some Children’s Centres to create Family Centres, as part of a

wider Family Service. The Family Service will support the most vulnerable families with children aged 0-11 by helping them to become more resilient and self-reliant.

This means our Children’s Centre in Stanwell, which the Trust manages on behalf of Surrey County Council, is now Stanwell Family Centre. The team at the Centre is working with families to help them keep their children

safe and give them a good parenting experience through specialist advice and support, parenting programmes, health services and children’s activities.

The Centre also provides one-to- one support for families where challenging circumstances are having a significant impact on the health, development or wellbeing of the child/children living in the home.

John Downing took up his new position in November following the retirement, after 20 years of dedicated service, of the previous Chief Executive, Elaine Tisdall earlier this year.

A Surrey resident, John joins the Trust with experience of leading in the third sector and of support services for families as he was previously the director responsible for fostering, adoption and schools with Action for Children. During his time at Action for Children, John established a new U.K wide approach to supporting

children in care placed with the charity.

John said: “Having worked in Surrey, I was aware of the Trust’s excellent reputation and the difference it makes to so many people’s lives. The charity is passionate about providing brighter futures for Surrey’s most vulnerable families and I look forward to working with staff, trustees and volunteers to grow and develop our services further.”

Sir Denis O’Connor, Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Surrey Care Trust, added:

“The Board was impressed by John’s professional experience, his understanding of the value of our work and commitment to our mission. We’re delighted that John has joined our great team to develop our strategic intention to improve the lives of more families in Surrey.”

TRUST WELCOMES NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE

For more information visit www.stanwellfamilycentre.org.uk

Photo posed by models

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Kausar’s* house is peaceful. There’s curry cooking on the stove, laundry in the washing machine and Kausar has tidied all the toys away. But soon Kausar’s children will be home; her 3, 10 and 13 year old sons and her 12 year old daughter. Then things will become more chaotic, which Kausar finds hard to deal with as a single mum. That’s why she is being supported by one of the Surrey Care Trust’s volunteer mentors.

The Trust provides mentoring to people of all ages who value the support of someone independent to help them in gaining confidence and making positive changes. It may be because they are out of work and looking for a new job, wanting to improve their skills or are feeling isolated and lonely, but uncertain about how to get involved in community life.

Kausar was referred to the Trust by her support worker who was helping Kausar to recover from domestic abuse – she is still suffering physically from the violent assaults. Kausar was feeling very vulnerable and overwhelmed at the thought of coping on her own with four

children. In particular, Kausar was finding it difficult to deal with the anger of her daughter following her parents’ separation, which also made her worry about the transition from primary to secondary school. The stress in the house was having an effect on Kausar’s toddler son too, who was very angry and at times exhibited difficult behaviour – he had lost trust that his mum wouldn’t also disappear.

“I wanted to cry because of the way the children were behaving. I was scared of the teenage years and I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. So my support worker told me about the Surrey Care Trust and how they could help me. The Trust asked Heather to come to see me and she has been so wonderful for me” Kausar says.

Heather adds: “Leaving her husband to lead a new life was a big decision for Kausar but she was afraid that her sons would follow in their father’s footsteps. She is a strong woman because she made the decision to protect herself and her children, but suddenly she was on her own, with a limited amount of English and just feeling completely

distraught at the thought of coping by herself.”

Heather encourages Kausar to think about solutions that will work for the whole family and has also encouraged her to find some time for herself. She has shown Kausar ways to distract her toddler son to calm him down and has encouraged her to set firm boundaries with her older children to command their respect. Heather has also helped Kausar with budgeting and completing the forms Kausar needed to submit to make sure she received all of the benefits to which she was entitled.

Over the year that they have been meeting, Kausar has grown more confident – both in herself and with her children - and her English is improving too. Kausar says: “Before, I was too stressed! But Heather came to talk to me every week and made me confident and made me happy. When she comes and we talk, I feel nice inside. I feel good about everything.”

HAPPY TALK

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Not that long ago Dave was working in I.T. A secure position with a good income, but a stressful job too. Gradually the pressure built and Dave found it increasingly harder to cope. He found that a drink helped but then, after a while, alcohol became a problem too.In the depths of his alcoholism Dave only left his bed to buy more drink, but one day he felt ready to change and joined a support group to start his recovery. Then, no longer drinking, he tried a refresher course to try and get back into I.T. but technology had moved on so much that Dave no longer felt that career was right for him anymore.As it was still early days in his recovery, Dave wanted to keep busy so he decided to volunteer; he wanted to do something that was completely different from his previous role and so he joined the Surrey Care Trust’s community boat programme as a supported volunteer.Our two Swingbridge boats provide a wonderful environment for people to learn new skills and develop confidence. We encourage people who are unemployed, underskilled and poorly-qualified, those with mild learning difficulties, and people living

with mental health problems, or recovering from addictions, to get involved and work alongside our regular volunteer crew.Dave says: “I felt ready to creep back into the community but I was only just able to communicate to other people; I had been isolated for so long. I went on the Trust’s enviroboat, Swingbridge2, on my first day. The weather was absolutely foul and I spent the day sanding down a bridge in the rain but I found I was enjoying myself. The crew around me were so pleasant and calm and I knew straight away that this was going to be the right thing for me.I liked the routines; that the day had structure and that you’re so busy mentally and physically that the worries of life just seem to disappear. There are definitely therapeutic effects of being outside, of being on the river. The crew offered me extra support if I needed it and it was great to know that if things got tough I could turn to them.”Dave has now been a volunteer on Swingbridge2 for the last

three years. During that time he’s learnt how to helm a boat, to identify different flora and fauna and mastered conservation skills like pleaching. He’s found being outside so rewarding that he has retrained as a gardener and is slowly growing his own gardening business.He’s also gained his Certificate in Community Boat Management and is now a skipper. Dave says: “I’ve been in a position where I have needed support and now I’m supporting others. My experience means that I understand how vulnerable they may be feeling so I try to help them to relax and leave their problems behind. I sometimes share my story – I’m proud of what I’ve achieved and how far I have come.”

SOWING THE SEEDS OF CHANGE

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Find out more about joining our Swingbridgecrew as a volunteer – www.swingbridge.org.uk

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UPCOMING EVENTS INCLUDE:

For more information visit www.surreycaretrust.org.uk/events To book email events@surreycaretrust.org.uk or call Hannah on 07748 963617

DICKENS AND CHILDRENAN EVENING OF READINGS AND MUSICWHEN:WHERE: ST. NICOLAS CHURCH, BURY ST, GUILDFORD GU2 4AW

SAT 28 MARCH 2020 – PERFORMANCE STARTS 7.30PM

SHOPPING FOR CHRISTMAS GIFTS OR BAGGING BARGAINS IN THE SALES?

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or Amazon Smile - choose the Surrey

Care Trust as your cause and you can

raise free donations for us!

Charles Dickens is renowned for his child characters, for their vibrancy, pathos and often their surprising veracity.

For Dickens, childhood was a time when ‘everything was happy, when there was no distance and no time,’ it was a period of life which provided for him ‘the best link between this world and a better.’

But what led to this fascination with the world of the child? What of Dickens’s own childhood experiences and those of his own children? And, why did Dickens focus so heavily on the effects of social evil on children in his campaigning for a fairer, more humane society?

In this performance, Surrey Care Trust trustee and Dickens’ expert, Ron Searle will answer some of these questions and introduce Dickens the novelist, the child, the parent and the social reformer.There will also be a post performance reception – join us after for a glass of wine and nibbles, and the chance to see some rare Dickens editions and artefacts close up.

Tickets: £10 performance only or £15 for performance and post

performance reception. Email events@surreycaretrust.org.uk

Join us for a summer evening at the races and the perfect opportunity to entertain clients or get a group of friends together for a fun day out.

Enjoy drinks and dinner, racing and entertainment while helping us to raise much needed funds to support our work.

Sponsored by Restore Records Management

Thursday 9 July 2020

Registered charity 285543 | Company limited by guarantee under number 01658859 | The Crescent | Heathside Cresent | Woking | Surrey | GU22 7AG | Telephone: 01483 426990

Tickets cost £125 per ticket or £1200 for a table of 10 and include a Pimms reception, three course dinner with wine, access to all races, after racing music and entertainment.

Be first past the post by booking your tickets today: Email: events@surreycaretrust.org.uk or call 07748 963617

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