The first contract will be to continue delivering services to children 0-8 and the second covers children from 8-13 and 14-19. We are busy putting together ideas for services and look forwards to being able to contact children, young people and their families from the older age groups. We are working closely with Action for Children to ensure a smooth transition for those already receiving support.

Press Release…

WEST Cumbrian charity West House is setting up four new
youth groups for children with disabilities.

The charity currently runs one group for children aged up to
eight years old but are now introducing four new ones for children aged eight to 10, 11 to 13, 14 to 16 and 17 to 19.

The groups will run in Workington, Cockermouth and
Whitehaven and include holidays and activity days through the year.

They will also provide activities such as bakery, pottery,
arts and crafts, games and ten pin bowling all tailored to the particular age groups and individuals making use of West House resource centres and community
based activities.

Katy Holliday, 32, senior support worker for children’s
services at West House said: “These new groups will allow the children to build up new skills and make new friends.

“It will also give the parents time to themselves to go and
do things that we take for granted such as going shopping.

“A lot of parents need some time off and these groups will
allow children to build up skills in a group which will make them feel accepted and part of their community.

The service provided for children up to 8 years old has been
extremely successful offering families up to 4 hours support each week.

The groups receive funding from Cumbria County Council’s
Short Breaks programme and the charity will be taking referrals for the new youth groups from February 1.

Press Release….

Families in Cumbria with disabled children will continue to benefit from Short Break services.

Cumbria County Council has secured the continued provision of these services for another 14 months from the start of February.

Short Breaks provide positive activities for disabled children and young people while enabling their main carers to have a break from their caring responsibilities.

As part of the process to secure Short Break services, the
county council tendered contracts for providing the care. Group and individual short services have now been recommissioned to the following providers:

Carlisle & Eden - Carlisle Mencap

Barrow & South Lakeland - Oaklea Trust

Allerdale & Copeland - West Cumbria Care and Support (West House) replacing Action for Children who are continuing with their provision of children’s centre services including the provision of services to younger (0-8 years) disabled children.

Between now and March 2013 a full evaluation of short break services for children with disabilities will be undertaken before further contracts are placed.

Despite being very busy, Santa managed to visit children at Wild West to hear what they would like for Christmas.

The children were there for a Christmas party together with their families. As well as Santa, there was a bouncy castle and lots of party food and games.

We think that Santa will be able to come next year as well as he really enjoyed himself.

Follow this link to Watch a video of the party…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-d2ifDsTjL8

Tony Cunningham MP performed the official opening ceremony and we would like to thank Tony and his family for their on-going support of this and all our projects.

We would also like to thank everyone who joined us on the day for their support and enthusiasm.

Grow West is a busy 12 acre market garden, open to the public at Allerby Community Gardens.

At Grow West we grow a wide selection of quality seasonal fruit and vegetables that are sold to customers at very reasonable prices via the popular “Veggie Box Scheme”, Farmers Markets and from on our own on site shop.

A delicious range of home- made jams, marmalades; pickles and relishes are available made from the high quality fruit and vegetables grown at Grow West.

We have an extensive range of reasonable priced plants ranging from the exotic to the hardy to enhance any garden.

Fresh Free Range Eggs are also available.

As an environmentally aware business we apply a responsible approach to all our activities, with extensive composting of plant and paper waste.

Opening Hours

October – April

Monday – Saturday 9.00am – 4.oopm

We look forward to seeing you soon

Cafe West are trying out a recipe for a healthy Christmas cake that is not only tasty, but positively good for you!

Harry and his team are putting it together as we speak, so please have a go & let us know how you get on- either by calling into Cafe West, or emailing via this website.

If you have any healthy tips, ideas or recipes let us know; who knows- we could get Harry to try it out and report back on this site.

If, like me, you are hopeless at baking, give the recipe a go and before you know it you could be the new Nigella (or Harry!)

Reduced Fat Christmas Cake

450gr Mixed Dried Fruit

100gr Glace Cherries

100gr Dried Dates

190 ml Very Strong Tea

50gr Chopped Walnuts

170gr Soft Brown Sugar

1 Egg Whisked

260gr Self Raising Flour

1 Teasoon of mixed spice

Large pinch of nutmeg

• Wet all the dried fruit overnight in the tea
• Egg is the next to add then the sugar and walnuts
• Sift the flour with the spices onto the wet mix then fold the mix until it is evenly mixed.
• Heap the mix into a deep 16cm/6 inch tin and bake in the oven for1hr @ 165c in a fan oven or 175c in conventional.
• Upturn when cool to remove from tin place on cling film.
• Soak the cake with Rum, Brandy or Sherry/Port then wrap.
• Enjoy after two weeks decorated or not.

Will keep for 6/8 weeks or more if kept in a dark dry cool place.

Jupiter Quality Limited Report on West House Community Activities

‘I wish this had been available to me when I was younger, I would have loved it’ – Jupiter consultant on Café West

This is our second audit from JQL. This time they reviewed our community activity buildings, services and staff.

JQL are an independent organisation made up of consultants, many of whom are experts by experience.

JQL produced a report based on their findings during a series of visits using a tool designed by them to measure individual experiences of services.

We thought you might like to read about the following recommendations that were made:

Social Enterprise

We believe West House social enterprises have the
potential to really move into the future and develop new styles of services. By developing your businesses you can secure your future and involve your clients/service users in much more meaningful activity.  Café west, Allerby Gardens and Westfield are all included in the ideas for social enterprises below.

We therefore recommend:-

• Develop the business of social enterprises
• Become more commercial or increase capacity
  for profits  – so as to be able to plough
  back into businesses
• Offer real employment opportunities to people with the label of a learning disability with the monies created from increased commerce
• ‘West House ‘ branded goods, should be sold
  in current (and future) retail outlets
• Invest in the business/enterprise skills needed to drive through the above
• Develop a marketing strategy and budget for
  products
• Enterprise workshops and training – not just for staff, but for all of the service users who could engage with the project.*
• Build on and encourage enterprising behaviours

Allerby Gardens

• Improve retail space at Allerby Gardens, so visitors are more aware of what is available/on offer
• Maximise the range and season of grown
  products at Allerby Gardens.
• Develop the range of and processing of the
  cooked products (jams, relishes etc) that could be produced from the garden.
• Develop a branding/marketing strategy  for products, which links with*above
• More signage and information on Allerby offer for public
• Maintain the therapeutic use of gardens for clients

Café West

• Develop and replicate the Café West model, both as an enterprise and training facility
• Utilise those enterprising ideas that come from staff, develop some sort of suggestions scheme with rewards
• Add to the offer where possible, eg create
  a bakery- as was described to us by staff
• Review opening times

Employment Project

• Have a robust and clear map of pathways through the Employment Project with certified outcomes were ever possible.
• Develop more transitions into paid employment and/or
• Rename project to reflect a more realistic interpretation of expected outcome
• Keep developing and strengthening the independence skills part of the employment programme,
• Make – ‘to travel independently’ and ‘social time out alone’ (eg, meeting up with friends at a social event) a target for all participants, for this to be included in the overall training programme and with a positive outcome that can be recognised.
• Develop the ‘soft target’ outcomes for users on the Employment programme and use for review
  with clients.
• Have accessible maps/routes of progression
  through scheme
• Define and monitor hard target outcomes
  from the Employment project, both for yourselves, for client reviews and for marketing purposes.
• Practical Risk Assessments should be shared
  with clients, and involve them as part of their personal development and used as a marker within the review process
• Use volunteering as a pathway within employment project, to access a variety of community possibilities

Westfiled

• Alter the layout of spaces, office/workshop areas at Westfield to increase flow of building and facilitate better environments
• Refresh décor of centre, fix floor in pottery workshop
• Build on the enterprising activities* (as previously recommended) that take place there
• Certify and share with clients the social skills outcomes that are developed on a  Friday (as previously suggested)

Westlea

There is and will remain need for therapeutic activities for people who have no desire or are unable to take part in skill development activities. Other, mainly older, people will continue to require stimulating or pleasurable day and
evening activities. A service for the future to meet the needs and (one would hope) growing demands of this group of people will have to be as well thought out and resourced as other areas of service provision.

We therefore recommend:-

• Remodelling of Westlea built environment –
  ‘future proof’ it, or review where else service delivery could occur
• Remodelling of service for those who are vulnerable and with complex needs (modernise for future as older people will always require some form of day service activity)
• Determine purpose and direction of the offer, then focus on whatever that is, (you can’t be everything to everyone)
• Have the appropriate furniture for the purpose of  its required usage
• Re appraise what is person centred within the service offer and deliver to that
• Always be age and infirmity appropriate
• Westlea staff should work on its activities and make them accessible for all its users
• Be able to sell a proud brand to this particular client group

Catherine Mill

• Refresh the interior space of Catherine Mill
• Review that all of the support activities have purpose or therapeutic benefits for the client
• Give thought to it providing an in house service itself
• It could be a good space for ‘drop in’ community type activity
• It could provide evening classes

West House was represented by Mark Sykes, Kevin Twigg, James Cox and Cathy Parker.

The fundraising event was held at the Castle Green Hotel and was very posh!

Fortunately, we all scrubbed up well with the gentlemen looking incredibly smart in their ‘penguin suits’.

Cathy managed a dress and a tiara at the same time and even gave her hair a good brush.

Entertainment included a magician and a glee style choir from the local college.

The evening was a great success- Kevin said, ‘I am honoured to represent West House – and wait until the people in Cockermouth see me in this suit!’

Mark Sykes and Mike Rose-Troop

For many years it has been important to West House to involve the people we support in the running of the organisation.

The idea of co-chairs goes right back to the White Paper Putting People First and the National Forum set up in 2001.  In Cumbria the Learning Disability Partnership Board has had co-chairs since it was formed.  We made the decision in principle in 2010 but it was not until this year that the members of West House agreed new rules for the organisation that includes co-chairs for the new
management Board.

Mark Sykes and Mike Rose-Troup were elected co-chairs in September at the first meeting of the new Board after the 2011 AGM.

We asked Mike and Mark what they thought about their new roles and how their double act will work.

Mark says he is really happy: “It’s the first time for West House and I think Mike and I will make good co-chairs.  I was a member of the old Management Committee and presented reports there for the Service User Forum and I also have experience with People First where I am a Director.”

For Mike it has been good to steer the changes in the governance of West House over the past year and then to be asked to work with Mark:  “I’m really please for Mark, he is always the first to welcome me to our meetings, he is very good at speaking up for himself and other people and is a great MC at our AGM.”

“As I see it” says Mark, “it means we will share the chairing of Board meetings and the responsibility for making sure they run well.  Before meetings we will have to get together
to plan ahead.  Working alongside Mike and with someone to support me from People First will be good for me.  There will also be other events where the chair has to take a lead, which we will share.”

“We know each other pretty well and it was fine the first time” says Mike “and in the future we will get together before Board meetings to plan the agenda with James and help decide the priorities for the Board over the next year.”

“We are both excited by the challenges and opportunities facing West House and bringing on new members to build the board into a really effective governing body.”

Hunday Manor was the venue for West House to celebrate 25 years at the AGM on Wednesday 22^nd September 2011.

Over 200 people attended the event that saw members conducting business at the annual meeting, followed by a buffet and dancing until late. Mike Rose Troup, Chair of the Board welcomed everyone and watched Paul MacLauchlan, Chris Shaw and Sylvia Pennington cut the cake.

James Cox, Director of West House said; ‘The AGM is a real chance for people to come together. Every year we welcome those who have long associations with West House and are delighted to meet those who are new.”

As usual, the disco was fantastic (by Paul Clarke) and the new venue, Hunday Manor, was a roaring success.