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intergenerational friendship between older care home residents and nursery children

Intergenerational friendship between the elderly and nursery children

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Every Friday a group of excited pre-school children from Bristol don their hi-vis waistcoats ready to take their walking bus down to see their friends at the Amerind Grove residential home for older people.

Last month, children from the Southville Centre nursery featured on the Channel 4 programme The Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds. Emma Morris, Lead Practitioner at the nursery, who also appeared on the programme, said that whilst the emphasis of the production team was on the beneficial outcomes for the older adults, she saw clear benefits for the children too. “After the filming finished I was keen to continue this ground-breaking community development and introduce more of our children to local older adults”.

The Southville Centre, managed by the Southville Community Development Association (SCDA), contacted Bupa Amerind Grove Care Home on Raleigh Road to discuss the idea. As a result of the really positive reaction from the staff at Amerind Grove, 12 children from the nursery now visit the care home every week. Aimee Francis, Early Years Practitioner who leads on the project along with Emma, says that the children’s social skills have definitely improved and they are becoming more confident in their interactions and more comfortable with a wider variety of sensory experiences.

The visiting project is a great example of SCDA’s ethos, as they are passionate about increasing the opportunities for interaction between all members of their community. Based on the latest research about building social confidence and self esteem in both young and older people, games and activities are co-ordinated by the Southville Centre and Amerind Grove staff.

Tim Clark, Head of Family Services at SCDA said: “At the Southville Centre we have always worked hard to ensure we provide support to local groups and the community in wide and diverse ways through running our older people’s clubs as well as our nursery provision.  This project demonstrates the incredible benefits of integrating different generations and the children and older adults alike really look forward to the weekly visits.”

SCDA currently operates the award-winning Southville Centre on Beauley Road in Southville and is developing a second site on Chessel Street in Bedminster, which is due to open this November.

SCDA launch local social bond offer for new community centre and nursery

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Social Enterprise Mark holder Southville Community Development Association (SCDA) and Triodos Bank have launched a bond offer to help raise £280,000 towards the cost of the Chessel Centre, a new £1.19m community hub and nursery in Bedminster, Bristol.

The centre, which will open in the autumn, will comprise a 54-place nursery, a meeting room for use by local community groups/activities such as after-school clubs for children and social clubs for older people, as well as large outdoor play spaces for the nursery.

Working in partnership with the corporate finance team at Triodos Bank, the SCDA bond is expected to pay 4% gross fixed annual interest for six years. The minimum investment is £500 and investors in the project may be eligible for Social Investment Tax Relief.* Payment of interest and repayment of capital are not guaranteed and are dependent on the continued success of the SCDA’s business model and the new nursery.

The SCDA’s core activity is the provision of high quality childcare and education for children under five, with around 180 local children using its nursery services at the Southville Centre. The OFSTED outstanding rated nursery has been such a success that it is currently at full capacity, with a waiting list of 250 children and families often waiting up to two years for a place. As an ethical organisation the charity also holds the Social Enterprise Mark and Gold Standard from the Green Business Tourism Scheme.

The opening of this second nursery will not only enable more families to have access to high quality local childcare and provide additional community facilities for the area but, by generating greater surplus, will enable the SCDA to increase its charitable activities and investment into the Bedminster community. Situated on the site of the former Boys Brigade building at the corner of Chessel and Garnet Streets, the new 476 sq m Chessel Centre will also support the local economy by providing new jobs and using local contractors for the building works.

The £1.19m total cost of transforming the site is being met through a combination of £196,000 from the charity’s reserves, capital grants and repayable finance. In addition to the funds raised through the £280,000 public bond offer, the SCDA has been awarded grants from Bristol City Council (£74,000) and the Power to Change Community Business Fund (£300,000). Furthermore, the bond is expected to qualify for a further £280,000 of matched funding from Big Society Capital managed by Ethex.

Simon Hankins, CEO of SCDA, said: “Our values as an organisation have always focused on what’s best for our local community. The exciting thing about this bond is that Triodos found a way to allow our community members to invest in something that will directly benefit them in return, in respect to both our shared community and our financial wellbeing. I like to think of it as a form of crowdfunding for BS3.”

Dan Hird, head of Triodos Bank Corporate Finance, comments: “It’s not often that investors get the chance to support a well-known charity on their own doorstep and actually see the positive change their investment can have. We’re confident that local investors will want to support the SCDA as they address the growing local childcare need and improve the lives of area residents.”

For more information please visit the SCDA website.

 

* The SCDA has received advance assurance from HMRC that the bond offer should be eligible for Social Investment Tax Relief (SITR). SITR encourages individuals to support charities and social enterprises and in turn helps those charities and social enterprises to access new sources of finance. Individuals making an investment in the bonds can, depending on their circumstances, benefit from income tax relief at 30% of the amount invested. The availability of SITR can increase the total return over the full term of the bond to an estimated 10.3% gross per year for a higher rate (40%) taxpayer. The ability to benefit from SITR depends on an investor’s personal circumstances, current tax legislation and the company’s compliance with the rules.

Investment decisions must only be made on the basis of the offer document and not on any information provided in this news release. Investing in the SCDA bonds is not the same as depositing your money in a bank account as your capital is at risk and you may not get back the full amount that you invested. An investment in the SCDA bonds is not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

SCDA get go ahead for new community centre and nursery

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Work will start next week on a new community centre in Bedminster, Bristol, which will house a 54 place nursery, offices for the management charity and a new community centre.

southville-centreThe site on Chessel Street was purchased by Social Enterprise Mark holder Southville Community Development Association (SCDA), the team behind the successful Southville Centre, 18 months ago after several years of searching for a suitable location to open additional nursery provision in the area. The SCDA currently has a waiting list of around 250 children with many families having to wait up to two years for a place.

Following a long period of consultation, planning permission was granted by Bristol City Council earlier this month to demolish the present building and construct a new structure to provide the much-needed facilities. Bristol-based Helm Construction has been appointed by SCDA to carry out the works. Demolition works will commence on Monday 21st November and the new building, which will be named the Chessel Centre is due to be open in autumn 2017.

The building on the corner of Chessel Street and Garnet Street was the site of the former Boy’s Brigade and known locally as the John Millard Memorial Hall. The SCDA carried out viability studies on converting the existing building but it was not viable to do so given the inefficiency of the current building.

Tim Clark, head of family services at the SCDA commented: “There is huge demand in the Bedminster and Southville area for quality childcare provision so we’ve now been looking for a suitable site for several years. Chessel Street is a great location and the plans are to build a space that will provide an additional 54 nursery places for local children.”

“It’s incredibly important to us that we work closely with the community to deliver a centre that suits their needs and also grows the local economy by providing new jobs and using local contractors to carry out the works.”

The £1.12 million project is being funded through a combination of the charity’s reserves, capital grants and repayable finance. Early next year the community will have the opportunity to invest in the centre as the final part of funding required will be financed by a bond issued by the SCDA and promoted by Triodos Bank. Details of the bond offer will be announced in January 2017.

For more information please visit www.southvillecentre.org.uk