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IN THIS ISSUE
PAGE 05Housing Managers ConferenceTogether We can
PAGE 10A Few Words with Jo FryUpdates on Workday
S C O T L A N D
THE MAGAZINE FOR MEARS GROUP PEOPLE
PAGE 15TradeswomenInspiring Women
MEARS MATTERS
WELCOME 03
FAMOUS FIVE 04
BUSINESS NEWS 05 - 07
A FEW WORDS WITH JO FRY 08
5-A-SIDE FOOTBALL 09
MEARS ARTICLES 10 - 11
COMING SOON! 12
TERRAQUEST SCHEME 13
UPCOMING EVENTS 14
INSPIRING WOMEN 15
DOING THE RIGHT THING 16
MILITARY VETERANS GROUP 17
SAFETY ALERT 18
SOCIAL VALUE 18 - 19
MEARS FOUNDATION 20 - 21
COMPLIMENTS 22
LEARNING SPOTLIGHT 23
CONTENTS
Contents
MEARS MATTERSWELCOME
Welcome
to your Mears Matters
If you have a great story to share, or just want to highlight more news and features from your area please get in touch with our Internal Communications colleagues at [email protected]
Firstly, with the General Election last week, it was encouraging to see social care included as a key part of every party’s manifesto. We have long fought for a well-funded and sustainable social care system, with good pay and conditions for our hard-working care colleagues – we hope the election is the first step towards this.
We hope you have noticed that Mears has taken a national lead on this topic. We have been influencing all the major political parties to do much more to support social care. This has included several meetings in the Houses of Parliament with key Ministers and Shadow Ministers. It is not a coincidence that we are now seeing social care being talked about more than ever and there appears to be a real momentum now to improve investment.
Mears has been active on the BBC and other major media organisations to promote the real positive impact that good home care has on people’s lives. We have also been much more challenging with some Local Councils, including handing back contracts, where Councils have not been prepared to pay enough for Mears to even give the Living Wage to staff.
We will continue to do all we can to get more investment and we will of course ensure that care staff themselves do benefit from any additional investment that does happen. None of this will happen overnight but there are more reasons to be optimistic now than has been the case for many years.
A true testament to our care services was our success at the Scottish Care Awards.
Addressing the housing crisis is also a key election pledge across parties. New homes are urgently needed across the UK, and Mears is well placed to offer innovative solutions that can make a major impact on this area.
In the short-term, temporary accommodation is desperately needed as homelessness continues to be a pressing problem for local authorities to deal with. Our Housing Management team has a number of innovative solutions to provide quick, safe and comfortable accommodation for vulnerable people and families.
We also looking at changes internally, and with the implementation of Workday, we are embarking on the biggest transformation in HR, helping us to create a level playing field for all of Mears.
We hope you enjoy this issue of Mears Matters – which you can either read on the go, or in branch. If you have any comments, or you’d like to send us a story for a future edition, please contact [email protected]
In this edition, we cover some of the biggest stories and topics currently happening across our business.
MEARS MATTERS
Five amazing care colleagues in Scotland...
Famous FiveFive amazing care colleagues in Scotland made it to the grand final in multiple categories at the prestigious Scottish Care Annual Care at Home and Housing Support Awards.
We even had one winner – Leona Hollywood – who emerged as the outright winner across Scotland in the Care Services Co-ordinator or Administrator category.
Leona, an HR Administrator at our Alva office, said: “I never expected to win! I just do my job as best can every day, but it’s really nice to be recognised.
“I’ve had lots of congratulations and kind words from colleagues. I’m in the middle of moving house, but I’ll find a special place for the award in my new home!”
Leona was nominated by manager Susan McCormack, who said Leona was an invaluable member of the team, thinks ‘outside the box’ and is brimming with ideas.
Susan said: “Leona’s achievements over the past year have been remarkable – as well as exceeding expectations and leading on some employee engagement strategies, she also completed her CIPD [Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development] qualification. As a team, we have nothing but admiration for Leona.”
Bernadette Walsh, Chief Operating Officer, Mears Care, said, “The Scottish team have excelled themselves in 2017 in every aspect of quality and outstanding customer service. It was such a privilege and extremely rewarding to be part of the evening of celebration in recognition and reward of these achievements. It epitomises what can be achieved through teamwork.”
THE FINALISTS WERE:
• Leona Hollywood – Winner of HR Administrator of the year
• Michelle Wilson – Finalist in Administration and coordinators role
• Kaye McEwan- Finalist in Manager of the year
• Heather Gilluley - Finalist in Carer of the year
• Sarah Burr - Finalist in Carer of the Year.
Three of our service users were also winners, one of whom was 95-year-old David Breingan, who was very much the star of the show:
Susan McCormack, who made the nomination, said: “David is an absolute gentleman and an inspiration to us all.
“Despite encountering health problems recently, he has made a unique contribution to our service, participating in workshops and training to help our staff understand more about what it is like to be in receipt of care and support.”
OUR SERVICE USER WINNERS WERE:
• Craig Ireland – Joint Winner Service user of the year
• David Breingan - Joint Winner Service User of the year
• Steven Brody - Joint Winner Service user of the year.
FAMOUS FIVE
As part of the Excellence Matters initiative, Mears Housing General Managers, Senior Management and representatives from Support Services met to explore how we can further improve our services. Over two days, delegates heard from colleagues on a range of areas including:
• Our Journey so far, and our priorities for 2017, from Colin Middlemass
• Updates on Workday – the game changing HR software solution, from Jo Fry and Adam Hunt
• Interactive workshops which included topics on:
o Developing Our Housing Maintenance Strategy – delegates had an opportunity to shape our strategy and prioritise key actions. The final strategy will be implemented from July 2017
o Innovation & Best Practice Exchange – nearly 100 best practice ideas and suggestions shared to contribute to our Business Efficiency Drive
o IT: Current Projects and Future Developments – suggestions for improvements to IT services, systems and business intelligence were identified
o Group Challenge: Reducing Costs and Driving Efficiency – over 100 cost reduction and efficiency ideas identified to contribute to our Business Efficiency Drive
The sessions also focused on innovation and increasing productivity, as well as hearing interesting developments from Health and Safety, Procurement and Fleet, Communications and Marketing, Business Intelligence, Bids & Business Development and Mears 24/7.
Feedback from the event has been very positive with 100% of respondents rating the event as excellent or good overall.
Colin Middlemass, who leads our Housing team, said:
“A really big thank you for two great days of packed agenda. There were some brilliant overviews of our developments from across the business. The engagement and participation across the workshop themes is a testament to everyone working together and looking at ways to improve the way we operate.
“We need to keep our promises, do the basics brilliantly, and continue to drive service excellence throughout every area of the business. Events such as these help us identify, share and expand on these so that excellence benefits us all.”
Presentations, feedback and regular future updates can be found on the General Managers community on Mears Connect.
Housing Managers Conference Together we can!
NEWSBUSINESS
MEARS MATTERSBUSINESS NEWS
A New Digital ExperienceMears is about to embark on an ambitious new project to completely transform the way the company does business digitally. The Communication and Marketing Team is working closely with colleagues in IT to deliver a brand new Mears Group website, quite unlike anything the Group has ever seen before.
The new site will be a hub and spoke model with a central hub containing all the corporate information, investor information and latest news from Mears across the group. That will then act as a gateway for a series of “spoke” websites covering our various business offerings, such as Mears Housing Management, Mears New Homes, Mears Learning, Mears Student Life, Recruitment, Care and Housing.
The new platform, provided by IBM, is called DX and has major new functionality that will change from the current website being a digital brochure, to an effective digital business tool for the whole group.
How do we benefit from this new model?
• We will have the capability to build and deliver compelling, socially aware, digital experiences for their customers, partners and employees on any device – more quickly and with lower costs.
• Each business area will be fully engaged having more control over content creation with training provided for nominated content authors and site admins
• We will have a robust, scalable platform with scope for growth making sure Mears can move forward digitally keeping up with the latest trends and technologies.
According to Deputy Group Head of Communications and Marketing, Ryan Devlin, “At Mears, we aim to be at the forefront of technology in the areas we work, and are always looking at ways to improve contact with stakeholders.
“We recognised that our existing website was effectively just an online brochure for the company but was not interactive, and not very attractive.
“Working towards a hub and spoke model digital offering, will give each individual business unit the opportunity to have their own ‘shop window’ to help them connect and transact directly with their target market. This will aim to create a solid pipeline of leads, increasing our digital output in the market place and showcasing everything that is great about Mears and all of the various services and solutions we offer.”
If you would like to know more about the project, please contact Ryan Devlin at, [email protected] or Matthew Packer at [email protected]
Business Continuity
The ever changing world of data protection!
MEARS MATTERSBUSINESS NEWS
Next year, a new European-wide data protection law known as the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) will come into force. It is set to transform the face of data protection, privacy and security for businesses and people.
The current Data Protection Act will be 20 years old when the GDPR comes into force, and came at a time before the smartphone; before Cloud; before social media. Technology companies have stretched the boundaries of what is possible during this period and changed the way in which data is used.
While revolutionising the way we shop; the way we work and the way we interact, these advances have brought into question the privacy and security of people and their data, and this new law is being introduced to control this.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR MEARS?
• There are a wealth of changes that will impact how organisations such as Mears do things, and this is why it is seen as a business risk, and for the whole business.
• There will be more stringent procedural requirements to consider privacy and security in everything we do, and make sure risks are managed from the outset.
• People will have more rights to access their data, or challenge how we use it – for example the right to be forgotten.
• But the biggest change is set to be breaches and fines, with mandatory reporting and notification of breaches, and significant fines rising from the current maximum of £500,000 to £16.7m or 4% of turnover – whichever is the highest. For Mears this could be as high as £40m.
Key departments across Mears including IT, Legal and Internal Audit and Risk Management are preparing the business for this impending legislation.
Part of this journey took place yesterday where 50 staff from across the Group took part in a GDPR Seminar organised by Mears Legal.
In readiness for the impending legal changes, it was good to hear legal and industry experts talk through the changes we will see, which was then brought together by Business Transformation and Technology Director Adam Hunt, who highlighted what Mears has already done and what is planned to be completed in the coming months to make sure Mears complies come 25 May 2018 (if not well before this deadline).
This plan will be filtered out across the business over the next year, and to help Mears on its path to compliance, teams can start thinking about what can be done to keep information secure in order to protect our staff, our customers, and ultimately, our reputation.
If you have any questions please contact: [email protected]
For more information on protecting your privacy online, visit the UKs official source of Online Safety guidance www.getsafeonline.org
Cyber attacks and data breaches have proven to be two of the greatest concerns for business continuity professionals for several years running. Recently, the NHS in England was hit by a massive cyber attack that left its systems in shutdown, proving that no organisation is immune.
Hence, the importance of good business continuity, incident management and emergency planning procedures has never been greater and many of you will have been affected by local events in your branch.
It was Business Continuity Awareness Week in May, which was supported by the UK’s Business Continuity Institute.
The Information Security team are using this week to highlight the need for all branches to have completed, reviewed and tested their Business Continuity Plan, Emergency Preparedness Plan and related documents annually to ensure we are all as prepared as we can be.
• The Business Continuity policy (BCP) highlights the need to have a robust and considered Business Continuity Plan that ties in with Health & Safety and Emergency Planning procedures, Media Management and Communication approaches and client requirements. The BCP templates – for Care and Housing – are available with other relevant documents on the intranet, in Mears Connect (here) and there is also a Business Continuity Community which has guides to help you complete these and some scenarios to help you test your plans locally.
• The policy requires all branches to have an up to date BCP stored locally and available in Sites and Mobiles to ensure it is backed up and made available when needed. Central Services functions monitor and report on the status of BCPs in Sites and Mobiles so to help ensure your branch is compliant, we have made available a brief guide to uploading and editing BCPs in the tool.
• There is now an international standard – ISO22301 - covering Business Continuity in its wider context of Incident Management and Emergency Planning. The information security team are forming a working group to work with key stakeholder forums and groups to look at how our current procedures and policies work together to support this and are keen to hear from you and your teams if you would like to take part or have any feedback on the current plans and their operation.
If you are interested in feeding into our approach – or have any queries regarding BCPs – do let the team know at their dedicated business continuity mailbox: [email protected]
DID YOU KNOW
SAVE THE DATE 25TH MAY 2018!
NEWSBUSINESS
CUP FINAL DREAM...
MEARS FUNDAYSaturday 2nd September
The Highland Council and Mears, in conjunction with Alpha Schools (Highlands), have concluded negotiations to agree cost and risk reduction measures on the PPP Highland Schools Project, that are set to deliver million pound savings to the Council over the life of the contract.
Mears has worked in partnership with Alpha Schools (Highlands) and The Highland Council since the 10 new schools were opened in 2007, and are contracted to deliver the services for 30 years. With 20 years remaining on the project, the targeted cost reduction measures deliver substantial savings to the Council, without compromising the quality of the Total Facilities Management services being delivered by Mears.
Highland is the largest local authority area in the UK and the wide geographical spread of the schools requires Mears to implement innovative methods of planning and service delivery. Mears uses local sub-contractors to assist in the delivery of the works. Many schools also have facilities which are open to the public and act as community hubs – such as libraries, swimming pools, leisure centres, arts centres, adult education centres and offices.
The agreement ensures the continued satisfactory operation and maintenance of each site with a set of additional agreements that safeguards The Highland Council’s financial risk in any given year.
Tony Smith, Mears Managing Director of Facilities Management, said: “We are delighted that our excellent working relationship with The Highland Council has enabled us to identify improvements and deliver further savings for the partnership.
We understand the financial pressures local authorities are under and we work hard to deliver innovative services.
“Our Highland Schools contract challenges our team to deliver a comprehensive service, incorporating highly specialist works, in an environment which demands the highest safety and compliance standards.
“To put into perspective how comprehensive our service is, Mears maintains and is responsible for everything within each of the 10 school buildings apart from the actual teaching of students and academic support services. We think of it as providing facilities which allow education to excel.”
Brian Porter, Head of Resources for Care and Learning within The Highland Council, said: “The improvements and cost savings in this new deal are significant and are the results of our close working partnership with Mears and Alpha Schools (Highlands). To date, Mears has delivered excellent services for us that are both safe and innovative – we view them not as a contractor, but as a long-term business partner and stakeholder.”
Significant savings in Highlands schools deal
NEWSBUSINESS
Our colleague Thomas Gilchrist, Contract Manager from Mears Coatbridge was selected to referee at the RJM Scottish Amateur Cup finals!
On his selection, Thomas said, “It is such an honour to be appointed to the national cup final. I am delighted to end the season on such a high!
“The Scottish amateur cup final is definitely the highlight of my refereeing career. I am lucky to have refereed both national finals, after officiating in the Sunday amateur trophy 3 years ago. I am delighted at this opportunity, and relishing the opportunity to run out at the national stadium!”
MEARS MATTERSBUSINESS NEWS
The RJM Scottish Amateur cup finals was held at Hampden park (The National Stadium) on 28th May with a 3pm kick off
Hi Jo, why do we need to know about Workday? Workday is the first step in the biggest transformation in HR we have ever embarked on.
Fundamentally, Workday helps us to pull together as One Mears, with one system of record for HR; with consistent HR processes that create greater consistency and transparency for all of us. Whilst we have had pockets of brilliance when it comes to our approach to proactively managing and maximising individual and team performance, this hasn’t been true for everyone; making these improvements to our HR delivery, helps us to create a level playing field for all of Mears.
Workday is a lot more user-friendly than what we’ve had before and puts you in charge of your personal data. For example, you’ll be able to change your address and telephone number instantly, as well as book your annual leave.
What else can it do? Line managers will be able to start HR processes, such as pay increases, job changes, when they are ready rather than having to be reliant on someone else to raise the paperwork.
They’ll be in control of approvals for the teams they manage, meaning they can manage requests such as hiring requisitions on the go. They’ll also get access to improved reporting and analytics – for example, organisation charts will be online so a manager will be able to drill down to the details of their team members much more quickly and easily than ever before.
How will it work? Workday is online, so can be accessed via Mears Connect anytime, anywhere and on any platform – desktop, tablet or mobile.
It gives you control over your own personal data 24/7.
What other changes are coming? Workday is the first step in a journey to transform the way we manage our people processes in Mears. We will also be working to clean-up our data and people documents, making sure the information we hold is accurate and up-to-date.
When does Workday launch? Workday goes live in July this year – there will be lots more information on how to get started, so look out for it or ask your manager.
Look out for more updates in our Workday Community blog and check out our latest list of FAQS for more information.
2 MINUTES WITH JO FRY
A few words with...
Jo Fry
MEARS MATTERS
Jo, Group HR Director, tells us about Workday – and how it will change the way we work.
FIVE-A-SIDE FOOTBALL MEARS MATTERS
The dates and locations for our annual Five-A- Side football matches have been announced, and we are calling on all footballers to compete in our annual tournaments!
The Southern and Central event will be hosted at St George’s Park, training camp of the England national team, and the Northern game will be held at the Manchester City Football Academy.
MEARS FIVE-A-SIDE FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT (NORTH) Saturday 8th July 2017 Manchester City Football Academy
MEARS FIVE-A-SIDE FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT (CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN) Saturday 12th August 2017 St Georges Park, FA’s National Football Centre
If you are interested, please contact Events Manager, Paddy Grace here, to register your team.
Mears Group Five-A-Side Football Tournaments
Star Carer from Strathaven Heather Gilluley
MEARS ARTICLES
ARTICLESMEARS
Strathaven-based Heather Gilluley was nominated in the ‘Carer of the Year’ category after success against thousands of applicants.
Heather has been working in care for more than a decade, and Mears Care branch manager Mary Oakes put her forward for the Scottish Care at Home award to highlight how Heather had gone the extra mile for one local woman.
Heather supports people within their own homes to live as independently as possible. She helped one of her service users when the lady’s health deteriorated.
As she only has one relative – who does not live locally – Heather dealt with health professionals and social work with regards to the woman’s safety, health and wellbeing.
On being nominated, Heather said,
“I just want to treat people like we would want our parents treated in care. It’s about doing that bit more and going the extra mile.
“I would do these things for anybody – so when I was first told about the award I was really embarrassed. “The more I thought about it I realised how nice a thing it really is.
“There always seems to be bad stories about carers out there. From personal experience I think for every one bad carer there are at least 10 excellent ones.
“I’m proud to have been picked from hundreds for this award. It really means a lot that I have been recognised.
“People say that they were put on earth to do a job – so I guess this is mine!”
MEARS MATTERS
Mears Student Life is pleased to announce that it officially opened for business, and since then has made significant progress in sales and team performance.
Mears Student Life provides high quality, purpose built student accommodation, and as a brand new player in the student accommodation market, it faces challenges when competing against fully established student accommodation companies.
Over recent months the Mears Student Life team has been busy delivering active brand promotion by meeting students and university representatives from all three of our locations – Salford, Plymouth and Dundee.
Here are Matt Zamiska, Daniel Drabik & Stacey Doyle leafletting in and around Plymouth University...
Our student accommodation in Dundee has 388 separate study rooms – from one-bedroom to modern, cluster flats comprising 4, 5 or 6 bedrooms with shared kitchen/lounge facilities, shower rooms and toilets.
The Old mill is perfect for students as it is ideally located within a 5 minute walk of Dundee University and Abertay University and to enjoy the best of the nightlife that Dundee has to offer. Pubs, clubs and live music venues are within walking distance. Further afield, St Andrew’s University is just a short 25-minute bus journey!
For further details please refer to the new website: www.mearsstudentlife.co.uk
To celebrate our new and expanding Mears Student Life department, we would also like to offer all friends and family of Mears Group employees a £250 discount with a free bedding and kitchen pack - if anyone books a room within our 3 schemes for the 2017/18 academic year. Just make sure you quote ref MSL2017 when you or your friends book.
‘Like’, ‘Follow’ and share information about Mears Student Life with your friends and family on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
For further details please refer to the new website www.mearsstudentlife.co.uk
STUDENT LIFE STUDENT LIFE DUNDEE
SPECIAL OFFER - FOR MEARS COLLEAGUES
A fitting legacy from a dear colleague…
MEARS ARTICLES
ARTICLESMEARS
Two new Rotherham Council Bungalows at Redscope Crescent were officially opened in Kimberworth recently.
The Project was the vision of John Brayshaw, the Contract and Service Development Manager and initially entitled the Legacy Project which won the 2017 ‘Excellence in Contractor Engagement’ at the Northern TPAS Awards in Manchester.
Sadly John Brayshaw passed away during the build, never seeing his vision come to fruition.
Working with the Rotherham Branch, the build was funded through the Contract and delivered locally by our team in Rotherham. Each of the three-bedroom bungalows will soon become home to two Kimberworth families which include a disabled person. The families are already housed by the Local Authority, but their current homes are unsuitable for their needs.
Opened by Councillor Dominic Beck, the Cabinet Member for Housing, the event was widely attended by John’s former colleagues, both from the Authority and from Mears.
All were delighted that John’s wife and daughter, Barbara and Frances, were able to attend the opening to cut the ribbon. The family also planted a tree in the garden.
The Bungalows have been named Brayshaw Bungalows in dedication to John’s memory.
Well done to all who have brought John’s project to completion.
MEARS MATTERS
Mears Care awarded national Customer Service ExcellenceMears Care, which provides personal care to over 30,000 elderly and disabled people in their own homes every day, has achieved national accreditation for Customer Service Excellence.
The Government-backed award follows three years of assessments, measuring: customer insight, the culture of the organisation, information and access, delivery and timeliness, and quality of service.
Customer Service Excellence assessors were impressed with Mears’ commitment to:
• Delivering a quality, customer-centric service
• Helping people to live independently for longer
• Challenging central and local government to address serious issues in social care
• Championing issues within the care sector, such as better pay and conditions for care workers
• Tackling social issues, such as loneliness, through our social value projects.
National accreditation for Mears Care means the whole of Mears Group has achieved Customer Service Excellence.
Gillian Yeoman, Mears Care Lead for Customer and Community Success, said: “Customer Service Excellence accreditation is confirmation that as a Group we are on the right path when it comes to putting our customers at the heart of everything we do.
“This accreditation really brings home how hard our Care colleagues work to deliver a safe, quality service. They are at the forefront of trying out new technologies and innovative methods to improve the standard of independent life for our customers.”
Fleet Manager of the Year Jo HammondsJo Hammonds from Mears Group has been named ‘Fleet Manager of Year’ at the prestigious Fleet News Awards.
Jo is in charge of Mears’ 5,000 plus-strong fleet, which includes 3,600 light commercial vehicles and around 750 company cars. Light commercial vehicles are essential to our business, as the leading social housing repairs and maintenance provider in the UK and a major presence in the homecare and support market.
On receiving his award, Jo said: “I am surprised and delighted to have won this prestigious award. We have a great team that works very hard to ensure that our vehicles are compliant and road-worthy. This award is a testament to my team’s hard work, and I am very happy that our efforts have been recognised.”
Stephen Briers, Fleet News editor -in-chief, said: “We were delighted to welcome the transport minister John Hayes to present some awards, an acknowledgment of the importance of the fleet sector to Government.
“The event is the highlight of the year in the fleet calendar and a wonderful way for us to recognise and honour all the dedication and innovation that makes fleet such an inspiring place to work.”
COMING SOON!
Going Green with TRIPL
TRIPL is a Danish designed electric vehicle which clearly proves that innovative design and functionality can indeed go hand in hand. As a highly robust vehicle with a unique design, TRIPL also offers uncompromising functionality.
It has a range of 100km and a max speed of 45km!! There are no fuel charges or congestion charges and you can use it in the London bus lanes.
Charge it with a 3 pin socket and it has a payload of 300 kilos including the rider!
We had a fun tryout of Tripl Urban Cargo drive at the General Managers Conference, and we will be organising a trial in Canterbury and London.
#WatchThisSpace for more!
MEARS MATTERSCOMING SOON!
MEARS MATTERSTERRAQUEST SCHEME
During the last twelve months, TerraQuest has been focused on training unemployed young people with the skills and confidence they need, to find work through the ‘Movement to Work’ scheme.
This scheme is a voluntary collaboration of UK employers, committed to tackling youth unemployment by providing high quality training and work experience.
Working in partnership with the Job Centre and Birmingham Metropolitan College, TerraQuest offers candidates a pre-employment course consisting of:
• Level 1 employability City and Guilds
• Level 1 Customer Service City and Guilds
• Level 1 Business Administration. This is followed by a 100 hours unpaid on-the-job experience within the business, and a guaranteed interview once the course has been completed. Successful interviewees be offered a paid apprenticeship within a suitable department.
TerraQuest has already successfully implemented the first round of placements and apprenticeships have been arranged. Our Birmingham branch has commenced the second group of placements, and Terraquest aims to roll out the scheme nationally to five other branches with the UK in the next 12 months.
Also working in partnership with Birmingham Metropolitan College, and South and City College Birmingham, they are able to provide further apprenticeships and training to existing employees.
Currently, there are two employees completing Level 2 Business Administration apprenticeships with Birmingham Metropolitan College, and one employee completing a Level 3 Social Media and Digital Marketing apprenticeship with South and City Birmingham College.
On the completion of these courses, they will be offered with permanent contract of employment and further development and training to help pursue their careers!
TerraQuest‘Movement to Work’ Scheme
We have a major presence at the leading housing event of the year - at the heart of the debate at Housing 2017.
We will be talking about key issues in the sector! How is the sector dealing with technology, housing crisis – and what does the future hold?
How can organisations build a culture of change? How do we improve the ‘housing’ brand?
We are going to explore the biggest questions our industry is facing and identify the solutions that can help make a difference.
14:00-15:00 Rethinking repairs & maintenance delivery: realising efficiency savings and enhancing stock value Traditional repairs delivery models will not match the value and economy thresholds now expected
Mears and fifteen other housing organisations have been working collaboratively with CIH Consultancy to rethink the sector’s approach to repairs and maintenance. This interactive session will profile how the CIH Working Together to Rethink Repairs project is delivering insight on powerful approaches that equip Repairs and Maintenance practitioners to radically shrink the cost of service and focus resources on achieving sustainable outcomes in partnership with residents and the wider landlord team. Mears and two housing providers will showcase how they have been redesigning their own approaches to meet the challenges they face.
Richard Medley, Director, CIH Consultancy
Ian Gregg, Executive director, asset services, Riverside
Lucas Critchley, Managing director, Mears Group
Thursday 29th June 10:00-11:00 Manchester housng and devolution impact
Robin will explain the collaborative work undertaken by GM Housing Providers’ Group which culminated in signing a Memorandum of Understanding with GM Combined authority in May 2016. He will outline the opportunities & challenges of the GMCA’s twin priorities of growth & public service reform. Mears have recently been picked by Manchester city council ALMO Northwards Housing for a 10-year repairs and maintenance contract to carry out the repairs, empty property and servicing work to 13,500 homes in the north of the city.
Robin Lawler, Chief executive, Northwards Housing
Des Morris, Managing director, Manchester working, Mears Group
TUESDAY 27TH JUNE 14:30-15:30 Fact or Feeling? Foresight or Afterthought?
Using technology and data to inform better decision making - Intelligent use of data is essential to make informed decisions across all businesses and sectors - housing is no exception. This interactive session will highlight examples of technology available to analyse data and predict future trends. YourMK and Mears will also discuss how data is being turned into business intelligence to better inform asset management decision making.
Dave Pearce, IT business manager, Mears Group
David Gleeson, Managing director, YourMK
Kathryn Eames, Head of Regeneration, YourMK
Peter Baldwin, Executive director, Mears Group
WEDNESDAY 28TH JUNE 12:00-13:00 The Homeless Reduction Bill: addressing the financial implications of demand and supply
Mears is the largest provider of homeless accommodation in the UK providing emergency, temporary and prevention housing portfolios to over 50 Councils. The session will set out the implications of the Act, what local authorities and partners need to do to prepare with less than 10 months to the new Act coming in. We will also look at how Mears is seeking to provide solutions to managing demand and supply with Councils.
Andy Gale, Housing consultant
John Taylor, Managing director, housing management services, Mears Group
TBC Amber Christou CIHCM, Head of Resident Services, Swale Borough Council
Upcoming EventsIt’s going to be a huge year for housing!
CIH MANCHESTER – THINK TANKS
MEARS MATTERSUPCOMING EVENTS
We want to do better than that at Mears and we want to support the social housing sector to do better, too. We believe that it is important to build a diverse workforce which represents the communities we serve.
Mears’ Tradeswomen into Maintenance Project is a CITB supported project which aims to increase the number of female trade operatives and apprentices in Mears and throughout the Social Housing Building Maintenance sector.
On 19th May, 15 women from London attended a free ‘trade’ taster workshop focused on Repairs & Maintenance and organised by Mears, working in partnership with Construction Youth Trust.
After the success of the first five workshops in Nottingham, Cardiff, London, Canterbury, and Manchester, a second London Taster Day was held at the Construction Youth Trust Training Centre in Bermondsey.
The series of workshops around the UK aims to provide a practical and inspiring learning experience for women who wish to ‘have a go’ at a trade before deciding on whether to pursue a career in building maintenance.
The taster session consisted of practical training work in several trade skills including tiling, joinery, and painting and decorating led by a qualified trades trainer. The women were also informed of career opportunities in the Repairs & Maintenance sector and the progression and support systems open to them.
All in all, the day was a huge success with 14 of the participants stating that they would now consider a career working in the building repairs and maintenance sector. Having met all the women on the day, Women into Construction are already working hard to source progression routes for the women.
One of the participants commented: “The activities were great. I would like to develop my skills with more activities. It was fun, the teachers were excellent and gave me the motivation to further my career in repairs.”
Gainor Keeton, Mears Project Manager, said, “Only 1% of construction trade operatives in the construction sector are female. We are determined to do better than this and to increase the number of tradeswomen across the social housing building maintenance sector.
We also support other organisations to get the message out that there are good careers for women to be had in social housing maintenance. This is not only the right thing to do but we know that the best workforce is one which reflects the communities in which we serve.”
Wendy Heller, Training, Development and Curriculum Manager at Construction Youth Trust, said,
“15 women came through the door today with very little or no previous knowledge or experience of the building repairs and maintenance sector. After participating in various tasks and workshops, 14 confirmed they would now happily consider a career in the sector. Clearly, knowledge is the key here; knowledge of the industry itself, knowledge of potential opportunities, skills knowledge and the assurance that given these opportunities, women can enjoy a long, productive and successful career in the building repairs and maintenance sector.”
If you would like to know more about the projects or the school toolkit, contact Gainor Keeton [email protected]
Inspiring more
women into the
trades
MEARS MATTERSINSPIRING WOMEN
Only 1% of the construction trade workforce in the UK are women. Less than 2% of trade
apprentices are female.
Gary Jackson, Director of Customer & Community Success at Mears Group
As I put the final touches to our latest social value report, it really brought home to me what an impact our social projects can have.
We work in some of the most socially deprived areas of Britain, and feel a strong sense of responsibility to find ways of improving the long-term prospects of the people who live in these communities.
We aim to deliver lasting and meaningful outcomes community, and do this by ensuring that every project we work on creates a greater value and wider benefits from an integrated social value approach.
We believe that strong partnerships are the key to any successful venture, and we continue to work with our clients on their existing employability and regeneration schemes, which also encourages a focus on resident and customer involvement.
We are proud to say we recruit between 85% and 100% of our staff from the local community. By committing to local employment, we are not only able to add value to the local contract, support economic and social regeneration, but also have our workforce reflect the community it serves.
Measuring social impact is vital, to help us really understand the difference we make with our work. We no longer rely on just thinking we are doing the right thing, so we worked with a number of organisations to develop a range of tools to help evaluate the impact of our projects, measured against our strategic social value priorities.
We are immensely proud of the achievements, and last year we delivered 678 social value projects, volunteering 58,650 hours, with a net social impact calculated at £7,659,727.
We won’t stop there. We want to continually inspire – and be inspired – to deliver more initiatives and projects that help build strong and vibrant communities.
Together, we can make a real POSITIVE difference in the communities we serve and make #betterbusiness.
“ We aim to deliver lasting and meaningful outcomes ” Gary Jackson
Doing the
right thing #betterbusiness
MEARS MATTERSDOING THE RIGHT THING
In the peaceful Malvern Hills, there’s a change underway – and it’s one that will lead to even bigger changes in the lives of former soldiers.
Adelaide House, a former nursing home, has been bought by Rooftops Housing Association. Once the Victorian building has been renovated it will become a treatment and recovery centre for former soldiers living with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The relaxing environment will help them to adjust to civilian life. Eventually, we hope to offer the residents jobs, adult apprenticeships and careers advice.
Mears have joined forces with building materials provider Travis Perkins, to transform the building... and engaged volunteers from across the Group to give their time to work on the site.
Jon Ludlow has been managing the Adelaide House site since May. He’s already seen huge changes: “When I got here there was a lot of rubbish to shift. We had to replace the old windows and fix the leaking roof. We took down ceilings and unwanted walls. We wanted to expose the timbers to make sure there was no damage.”
Creating a peaceful home for former Soldiers
The covenant pledges support to those who are serving or have served in the Armed Forces and their families, and includes:
• Promoting the fact that we are an armed forces-friendly organisation;
• Seeking to support the employment of veterans young and old:
• Striving to support the employment of service spouses and partners;
• Endeavouring to offer a degree of flexibility in granting leave for service spouses and partners, during and after a partners deployment;
• Seeking to support our employees who choose to be members of the Reserve Forces, including by accommodating their training and deployment where possible;
• Offering support to our local cadet units, either in our local community or in local schools where possible;
• Aiming to actively participate in Armed Forces Day.
Since signing the Armed Forces Covenant, we launched the Military Veterans Working Group, who had their first meeting in Milton Keynes recently. During the meeting the team discussed ways of actively helping ex-services personnel find apprenticeships, work experience in both housing and care, along with attending job/recruitment fairs.
Please contact Paddy Allum, with a list of any ex-service personnel, service spouses, partners and reservists who are currently employed in your departments, along with their service/trade, former rank and regiment.
As part of our commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant, we are looking for Mears colleagues who have served in the armed forces, to help us recruit more ex-service personnel.
Military Veterans Working Group
WE NEED YOU!
MEARS MATTERSMILITARY VETERANS’ GROUP
MEARS MATTERSMEARS SAFETY ALERT MEARS MATTERSSOCIAL VALUE
Social ValueMears Home Improvement Huddersfield operatives Dean Elgie and Paul Mayers volunteered to help refurbish a local boxing club.
The aim of the boxing club was to help support the local community, especially to offer the local children a place to come and do their homework, meet new friends and get fit with boxing exercise.
As the club had no funding and the person in charge asked the community to help with the renovations.
Our colleagues at Huddersfield supplied a free handrail for the outside by using the Hardship fund. The operatives being qualified joiners were able to fix the plaster boards, repair floors, fit staircases and ceilings.
We also helped support their fundraising events by the staff donating raffle prizes!
The club were very grateful, as they did not think they would be able to open in time and were unable to get funding themselves.
Our Peterlee team dug in at a tree planting event organised by Shotton Residents earlier this month.
The event was a great success, with planted a total of 400 tree whips in a grassed area on Shotton Front Street. The team effort was supported by Shotton Primary School, along with colleagues from County Durham
Housing Group and Durham County Council.
Joyce Lovack who leads the local residents’ group, organised the tree planting, reminding the community that planting trees is one of the easiest and most sustainable ways to have a good effect on our environment. She added that a new tree should be planted for every one cut down, as they help to maintain a healthy environment.
Zoe McGrath, our Customer and Community Officer in Peterlee said, “The tree planting was a huge success. The children were keen to get involved and they understood the importance of planting trees and looking after the environment. This event has supported one of our social value priorities by making a positive contribution to our planet.”
HUDDERSFIELD REFURBISHES THE LOCAL BOXING CLUB
PETERLEE TEAM DIGS IN!
Accidents have occurred involving a range of knives including those that have their blade fixed and permanently exposed during use, those that have manually retractable blades and those that have a “Lock Knife” design as shown below. These incidents can often result in serious injuries!
The accidents have been caused by a combination of the knife being used unsafely
“I was cutting towards myself and the knife slipped” being used for the wrong job “I was opening a silicone tube and cut through onto my leg” and complacency “the knife was in my toolbox with the blade exposed and I put my hand on it”
Therefore with immediate effect knives with permanently exposed blades (like those shown in the picture above), are NOT to be used. Only those that have a way of retracting or closing the blade when not in use are acceptable.
The safest types of craft knife are those with a blade that automatically retracts when cutting pressure is removed, including if the knife slips.
These are available from most good tool suppliers and we would recommend them to all operatives who have to use a craft knife.
The following safe methods are also to be followed when using knives:
• Never cut towards yourself, always cut away and never cut next to someone who could be injured if the knife slipped!
• Do not use knives for opening silicone tubes, use a cartridge cutter!
• Always use the correct type of blade for the job and dispose of used blades safely.
• Always retract / cover blades when not in use and store safely
• Always wear cut level 5 gloves when using craft knives
REMEMBER: TO BE SAFE ALWAYS CHECK TWICE BEFORE CUTTING ONCE!
If you require any further advice or information please contact your local SHE manager.
This alert is to be posted on branch / site Health & Safety notice boards.
Mears Safety Alert
All operatives should be aware of the risk accidents involving the use of Craft Knives. Although they are often referred to generically as “Stanley Knives”, this alert applies to all makes and types of knives.
Stanley Knives
AND I WOULD WALK FIVE HUNDRED MILES...
SOCIAL VALUE
Social Value
Davy Holt (IT Support Engineer) and Lynsey Young (Homecare manager for Argyle & Bute) decided to try and raise as much as possible for Cancer Support Scotland as Davy’s partner had used their services while recovering from breast cancer.
They provide one-to-one counselling and complimentary therapies for anyone affected by cancer. All the money raised will go to help funding the service they provide.
Both Lynsey and Davy are keen walkers and had decided to do some big walks this year to try and raise funds for the charity, the original plan was to do the Three Lochs Way (34 miles), The Cowal Way (57 miles) and the West Highland way (94 miles).
Unfortunately Lynsey injured her knee early on in the year so they had to adapt the challenge to suit and came up with the idea of the 1000 miles over the year, which would include the same big walks but more importantly it didn’t tie them down to specific dates for the walks. The plan was to only count proper walks specifically for this challenge and not just any miles covered during the year.
They broke the 500 mile mark and had the Three Lochs Way (done in 11 hrs) and a 35 mile section of the West
Highland way under their belts,with the plan still being to do the Cowal and full West Highland Way later in the year.
They faced challenges and suffered two major setbacks. Lynsey managed to somehow get multiple stress fractures in her left ankle and a day later Davy’s walking boots were stolen from outside his flat!
With Lynsey out for the rest of the challenge and Davy having to break in a new pair of boots it took over a month to get back into the walking. After a few walks Davy recruited one of his dogs as a new walking buddy and got back on track.
Davy has now got just over 135 miles left to do and plans to continue adding on the miles even once the 1000 mile mark has been reached. Their longest walk was the first 35 miles of the West Highland Way which they did in 10 hrs 35 min.
The average length of the walks is working out at 12.9 miles and he has already raised more than his target of £1000.
WELL DONE DAVY!
MEARS MATTERS
Mears Belhaven Day Centre in Prestwick had a great week of fun dressing up, eating and touching the most revolting things imagined! The team braved it all to raise funds for Comic Relief!
A big thank you to everyone for being great sports, and taking part whether it was wearing a silly hat or wig or sticking your hands into the unknown!
The team raised an amazing £210 in total!
When Surrey-based domestic abuse charity Your Sanctuary needed somewhere to store household items and baby equipment for families and individuals fleeing domestic violence, New Vision Homes in Woking were quick to offer space.
The charity’s Operations Manager, Denyse, takes up the story of how New Vision Homes helped them in their mission:
“We desperately needed storage space which we could use for the donations of equipment and things which we are given. The space we had been using previously was becoming very expensive and we had to let itgo because when, as we do, a charity is run on very limited finances it is really important to make every penny count. Our storage requirement was for things which we know will be needed by someone we are helping but had no room to keep.
“New Vision Homes came straight back to us and offered us a garage to use. This has made a huge difference to the families we support.”
The charity takes families and individuals into refuge who have made the brave decision to leave a difficult and often dangerous situation. They arrive and are collected from the station with a few documents and very little else, often whatever they could find to put in a suitcase before leaving. The charity relies on donations of things like good quality buggies, car seats, cots and household items to equip the people and families they help for onward transition to their new life.
MEARS CARE BELHAVEN DAY CENTRE COMIC RELIEF
MEARS WOKING MAKE ROOM FOR DOMESTIC ABUSE CHARITY
MEARS MATTERSMEARS FOUNDATION
TACKLING LONELINESS IN SCOTLAND
Mears Group, working with the Mears Foundation, has committed to supporting activities that seek to address isolation and loneliness. Mears is asking every Mears operation to take action in their community to help tackle this serious and growing social issue.
Branches are getting involved by holding social events with organisations such as Age UK who support isolated vulnerable people, volunteering at community cafes and lunch clubs etc.
LINKAGE
Is a Bristol organisation who do very important work in tackling loneliness through their befriending scheme. Last week they wrote to thank the Mears Foundation for their donation, saying, “It will help us to reach out and reconnect more lonely older people with their communities or to provide people with company. This funding will positively change the lives of local older people.”
Branches are getting involved by holding social events with organisations such as Age UK who support isolated vulnerable people, volunteering at community cafes and lunch clubs etc.
GL11 COMMUNITY HUB
Just over a decade ago, Fairmead families were facing the closure of their family centre – a local-authority owned building in the area. The potential loss of this much needed centre motivated families who, with the support of several local councillors, fought to have some form of service to be retained in the community… and so GL11 Community Hub was born.
SILVER LISTENERS OF TORBAY
Mears Care Torbay are involved in a local scheme called Silver Listeners where children from a local school read to isolated clients over the phone. This was in the local press recently where the school invited the clients to Christmas dinner, so that they could all meet.
The school has now had a budget cut for books, and branch manager Nikki Barnes approached Mears Foundation for help – and received a grant of £250!
The students and the school were over the moon!
MEN IN SHEDS PROJECT
This is an innovative scheme that supports older men who want to get together, share and learn new skills - all in the welcoming space of a shed.
Paulin Cahil, from AgeUK Bromley and Greenwich said: “We are delighted to receive this donation in recognition of the impact the project has in tackling the loneliness and isolation that older men often experience. “Men in Sheds gives them a space in which to socialise and get involved in a range of activities such as woodwork, gardening and bicycle repairs to name a few. The money will be extremely helpful in buying portable tools and equipment the shed needs to continue this work.
FARE SHARE SOUTH WEST
Fare Share work closely with the food industry, to minimise fit-for purpose fresh, frozen and long-life food going to waste. This food is then sent to organisations working with the most vulnerable people in communities across the UK.
NEW SLEEPING BAGS AT CHELTENHAM’S GARAGE HOMELESS SHELTER
MF was delighted to help the Cheltenham Homeless Shelter by donating new sleeping bags.
The sleeping bags were delivered by volunteers who are also arranging a Christmas food collection in the Mears Gloucester offices.
LINDSAY LEG CLUB
The foundation was created to relieve suffering from leg ulcers and associated conditions, thanks to the implementation of an award-winning model that motivates and empowers patients to take ownership of their care. This alleviates their suffering and reduces the stigma that is attached to their conditions. It also seeks to educate in all aspects of leg health among sufferers, carers, the general public, along with healthcare professionals.
Recently Mears Foundation has helped the Lindsay Leg Club Foundation, who provide a better quality of life for patients suffering with leg ulcers. Lindsay Leg Club say that gifts like this help them achieve a lot for the people they care for.
SALS SHOES
The team crosses continents to make sure that your used, loved (and barely worn) outgrown children’s shoes are delivered straight from to those in need. In their first year, they collected 4,805 pair of shoes, distributing them to eight countries, including the UK.
THE RAINBOW CENTRE
The Rainbow Centre inspires and supports children with Cerebral Palsy, as well as adults suffering from stroke, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s Syndrome, head injury, along and their families. Through a system of learning, called Conductive Education, the team encourage and teach participants to take an active role in their own development. They learn new ways to become active and happy individuals, who are proud of their own achievements, ready for life’s challenges. The Rainbow Centre focus on what you CAN DO, inspiring all children/participants reach their full potential.
BOLD BRISTOL EXTRA CARE SCHEME
Our Bristol Extra Care branch recently received a £250 donation from the foundation, which enabled the team to invite people from the local community to join in activities at the scheme.
Branch Manager, Sue Appoo, had this to say: “This has enhanced the lives of everyone involved, giving them the opportunity to make new friends, along with meeting up with people they had not seen for years. We hope this will provide lifelong friendships with regular meetings and outings as we make memories to share.”
With every branch making a yearly social value pledge to provide help and support to the communities served across the UK, the opportunities to collaborate with the MearsFoundation are plenty..
Please get in touch with any of the board members listed in this feature, if you think your next big social value project would benefit from some funding. You never know, we may well be able to help...
A few projects which have benefitted from the support of the Mears Foundation…
Mears Foundation Together We Can Make a Positive Difference!
MEARS MATTERSMEARS FOUNDATION
Mears Foundation Together We Can Make a Positive Difference!
PENNIES IN HEAVEN
Also, colleagues are encouraged to support The Foundation, by supporting the Pennies from Heaven scheme.
Did you know you can support our efforts to tackle loneliness and social isolation simply by donating the loose pennies in your monthly salary?
Our Pennies from Heaven campaign encourages colleagues to donate each month the pennies from their net pay to the Mears Foundation’s Tackling Loneliness Fund. The most you will pay per month is 99p, which will go to help branch events and projects across the Group. Every time you are paid, your net pay is rounded down to the nearest £, with the odd payslip pennies donated to The Mears Foundation.
Mears, along with the Foundation is committed to tackling this serious and growing social issue.
RAISING FUNDS WITH THE FOUNDATION WALKS Every year Mears colleagues are invited to volunteer to join our Chairman Bob Holt on one in the series of Foundation’s annual fundraising walks this year? You can raise money for the Mears Foundation or for a charity of your choice.
The walks, which are all between 10 and 12 miles long, are great fun and as well as raising money, it’s a good opportunity to get together with colleagues from other Mears operations in the area.
DOVESTONE WALKBy Ally Stavrianakos, Customer and Community Manager-Leeds
Along with our Chairman Bob Holt, we were geared up for the Dovestone walk on the 12th of May in cold, wet and rainy Manchester…
It wasn’t the best start to the walk, however spirits were raised when all remembered the cause of what’s brought us together (and obviously the free chocolate bar from Paula Law did the trick!).
The walk was a fascinating 10 mile circular route. Most of the route was along ancient footpaths and bridleways and the canal, which have been used for hundreds of years by local people and visitors alike.
There were people from numerous branches including Manchester Working, Mears Leeds, IT and many more.
I would love to tell you that the walk was easy and no-one broke a sweat, but that would be boring, right? One of the memorable parts of the day was when five members and I (who won’t be named and shamed) were far behind, and we went the wrong way, and to our despair - we actually walked further!
All in all it was great to meet new people from across Mears and share ideas and experiences with each other.
In total the Leeds branch alone raised £1206.00 which will be going to a local charity within Leeds!
ROTHERHAMBy Paula Law, Business Support Manager, Manchester
We had a fabulous six churches circular walk, in Wath upon Dearne, Rotherham. The weather was glorious with 25 Mears employees participating and two dogs, Blinksy and Roxy.
After a nice lunch at the Rockingham Arms, the walk continued, taking in the views of the beautiful Wentworth House, a wood covered in lovely Blue Bells and across the fields to the home stretch.
HADRIAN’S WALL, WALLSEND, NORTHUMBERLANDBy Kevin Morrow, Executive Director Housing
It was a beautiful day for the walk with the sun shining. We had breakfast with David, the Vicar of St John’s and Chris Wilson (operative) to thank them for raising £469.17.
We had 16 walkers for the day and have raised over £400!
On Saturday morning, I went to St John’s church in Hebburn for the breakfast club, to talk about the work that we do at Foundation and received the cheque for the charity.
MEARS MATTERSCOMPLIMENTS
MICHAEL MEAD RIVERSIDE SE
Tenant phoned in to say she could not praise Michael or his work enough. He arrived promptly, was extremely courteous and helpful in the extreme. The work was made more difficult given the tiny space he had to manoeuvre himself into - but he did without complaint and a great deal of patience. Well done Riverside!
HARRY CHALMERS TASK TEAM
Harry was driving his van when he saw a lady and her grandson on the side of the road in their car with a flat tyre. Harry left his vehicle and offered to replace the tyre. Sally was extremely grateful for the help, Harry refused any money/ reward even though it was offered to him.
SAM CARTER STROUD
A tenant phoned in to say that she never had a job done as thorough as the one done by Mears. Sam was very methodical, checked everything and even offered her a place of where they could be. She would be very happy to have him back!
HAFIDA BOUTAHER-BENNIS, KENSINGTON & CHELSEA
Service user’s father emailed to ask if Hafida could be the carer as often as possible. He said that she was absolutely wonderful with him.
“You have a real gem there, and I can say it was an angel who had arrived to help them.”
TERESA GRIEVES AND SABRINA LAMB ISLINGTON
Tenant wrote in to say how happy he was with the work carried out to his property. Originally he was very dubious about the proposed works as he does not like change. Thanks to Teresa and Sabrina fully explaining the works and putting the resident at ease, what could have been a traumatic period for the resident was turned into a really positive one!
Compliments Scotland
Lifetime Training promote a collaborative approach to learning. Using a learn, share, apply, dig deeper method our goal is to support your learning and enable you to achieve a nationally recognised qualification whilst working at Mears.
We got in touch with some of the team at Mansfield to find out what they do to create a positive learning culture and ensure everyone plays their part in the learner journey.
Learning Spotlight on Mears Care
Mansfield
MEARS MATTERSLEARNING SPOTLIGHT
LOTTIE RICHARDS LIFETIME TRAINING REGIONAL TRAINER
“I have a great relationship with all learners and managers at Mears Mansfield and they are all so very welcoming. I book visits with the learners and book rooms with Natasha who works on Reception. The room booking works well and if there is ever any meetings going on, they will always accommodate me. Michelle and Lee are very supportive and I thoroughly enjoy my time working with the team.”
MICHELLE FORBES OPERATIONS MANAGER
“My experience with Lifetime since managing the Mansfield branch has been exceptional. We have a fantastic assessor Lottie Richards who has become part of our team in branch. After each visit Lottie ensures an individual review of her visit is emailed to me so I am kept up to date with the progress of each learner. Anyone struggling is discussed between myself and Lottie to find a resolution and act swiftly.”
MICHELLE STEAD LIFETIME TRAINING AREA MANAGER
“Working in partnership with our clients, mangers and learners is essential to deliver excellent training and quality care. Communication is paramount to ensure we have a rounded view on all our learners’ development and training. We work alongside managers to continuously stretch and challenge the learners to help make a positive impact on their lives and the community they work within.”
If you would like to discuss your options for gaining a qualification, please speak to your line manager who will advise you of the next steps.
If you are already studying with Lifetime and have any concerns or challenges, please speak to your Regional Trainer as soon as possible. Alternatively, you can send an email to: [email protected]
MEARS MATTERSLONG SERVICE AWARDS
Long service awards: Congratulations to our long service achievers!
40 YEARS:
Michael Kelly, Northwards
Brian Hill, Leeds
Joe Richardson, Sedgefield
Stephen Merrington, East Durham Homes
Gordon Chisholm, North Lanarkshire
30 YEARS:
Elaine Harper, IT
Paul Taylor, Manchester Working
Stuart Simpson, North Lanarkshire
20 YEARS:
Jane Marsh, Waterbeach
Lee Whittle, Wigan
Mick Goodin, Moat Housing
Lynne Pocock, Terraquest
Chris Steele, Brighton (MEA)
Steve Catterick, Leeds
Ged Whitehead, Leeds
Martyn Gaunt, Home Group
James Parkhill, Thurrock
Hugh Cullen, North Lanarkshire
Russell Barbour, North Lanarkshire
10 YEARS:
Olufunke Odubayo, Chiswick - Richmond
Deborah Thomas, Waterbeach
Kay O Donovan, Chiswick - Hammersmith
Flora Oseny, Chiswick - Hammersmith
Michelle Baker, Staple Hill (Warmley)
Susan Warner, Peterborough
Abdulrazak Haji, Chiswick London
Phyllis Joy House, Peterborough
Peter Carroll, Milton Keynes
Paul Healey, East Durham Homes
Ian O’Neill, Leeds
Karen Kane, JL Wardley
Brett Collins, Richmond
Damien Roache, JL Wardley
Kevan Smith, Milton Keynes
Ernie Francis, Homes for Islington
Luke Cater, Peterborough
Michael Vickerson, East Durham Homes
Bally Matharu, Notting Hill Housing
Amar Matharu, Notting Hill Housing
Tez Hammill, Leeds
Alex Muir, Milton Keynes
Joanna Thornton Pickering, Medway
Jayne Wakelin, 3C Mars
Michelle Bundy, Housing Management MOD
Stephen Matthews, Home Group NE
Gordon Thompson, Peterborough
Steve Wood, Peterborough
Leslie Hodder, Catalyst (MFS)
Tammy Rhynes, Eastbourne Homes
Kerri Maxwell, Terraquest - Northern Ireland
Irene Elder, East Kilbride
Elizabeth Duke, Edinburgh
Lorraine Mcquire, Edinburgh
Shelley Drummond, Edinburgh
Irene Rankine, West Lothian (PFI)
Michele Patrick, East Kilbride
Helen Harrison Reid, Clackmannanshire
Maggie Dunbar, West Lothian (PFI)
Joyce Paton, Edinburgh
Elizabeth Thorburn, Edinburgh
Moira Herriot, Edinburgh
Sandra Ann Ross, Aberdeen
Jaclyn Miller, East Kilbride
Geraldine Ann Cuthbert imrie, Alva MC
Paul Hier, United Welsh
