Updated: May 2024
This plan outlines how Your Trust will continue developing into a high-performing, sustainable organisation that delivers exciting and inclusive outcomes for the people of the borough of Rochdale.
your happy family
Welcome to our ambitious plan for how we will work with our community across the borough to help people live active, creative and healthy lives.
Over the last three years we have developed new ways of working and have challenged ourselves to be more collaborative with partners and communities, more environmentally sustainable and more diverse.
It has been a demanding time, but now is a great moment to grasp new opportunities to improve
our culture and leisure facilities, our specialist health skills and our work within the community.
The next two to three years will see considerable investment in facilities, particularly our culture related venues. These exciting projects will transform our offer and provide even more opportunities to engage people from all walks of life.
People are at the heart of what we do. We have committed more resources to developing
our people and achieved our ambition of paying the ‘Real Living Wage’.
I am delighted to be Chair of the Board of Trustees for Your Trust. Alongside my Board colleagues, we will support the delivery of this plan so that Your Trust, as a leading health and wellbeing charity in the borough, plays its part in delivering an active, creative and healthy future for the people of Rochdale borough.
David Gelsthorpe Chair of the Board of Trustees
I am incredibly proud to lead this amazing charity into the next phase of its journey.
Whilst the pandemic was an incredibly difficult period for ourselves and our customers, the current economic situation is, in many ways, even more challenging.
We have looked carefully at our role as a charity serving the people of the borough in the context of this unique time and have begun to make changes to how we work, how we develop our staff and
how we communicate and collaborate with our customers and partners.
We now know that following the pandemic, the needs of the community are different and more acute. Latest census data shows that the borough is changing, and whilst more people are becoming active and we are engaging with new and diverse communities through our work, health inequalities are still widening. This strengthens our purpose and drives our determination to help create
a place where everyone has access to an active and healthier lifestyle, and to meaningful creative experiences regardless of their circumstances in life and where they live.
We will deliver on that vision through our leisure centres, museum, local studies service, theatres and events, art gallery, outdoor activities, community outreach and specialist services for people with specific health needs. We cannot succeed alone and must work with partners across the system who share our passion and our vision.
We will work harder and smarter to reach people we haven’t managed to do so effectively before; adapting our products, our services and our approach generally to better understand how we should do so.
We will build on the ‘collaborative’ approach already well embedded in some parts of the charity and include more people in the decision making process and co-design of services. We will demonstrate our commitment to the
environment by expanding our focus on reducing carbon emissions and taking action on the wider issues around sustainability generally. We will promote active travel with partners and adapt our services to do so.
This strategy signals a step change in our transformation from a leisure and cultural trust to a ‘health and wellbeing’ charity that utilises all its assets to help people live active, creative and healthy lives.
We are in the midst of yet another challenging period, but I believe the rewards of getting closer to our customers and responding to their needs will be immense. I know the team who have performed so brilliantly during recent unprecedented times will rise yet again to these challenges.
Estelle Rowe CEO of Your Trust
The Borough’s population is growing. The current population of the borough of Rochdale is 224,100, a population growth of 5.76% since 2011 (2011 –211,900).1
The percentage of the borough population residing in the 10% most deprived nationally has increased with almost a third of the population–32.5% - living in areas amongst the 10% most deprived in the country. In contrast, only 10.8% people live in areas in the least deprived quartile (75%-100%).
The borough was ranked the 15th most deprived in England based on a rank of the average scores for the LSOAs in the area (out of all 326 authorities in England), and is the 7th most deprived out of the 36 Metropolitan Districts.
There are 11 LSOAs in the 3% most deprived nationally.(75%-100%
There are currently slightly more females than males in the borough – 51% of the total and 49% males. This mirrors life expectancy data. Women in the borough live on average to 80.9 and men to 76.7 years (average for all English authorities is 83.3 females, 79.6 males).
White people represent the largest ethnic group in the borough - 74.0% of the total population. Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh are the second largest ethnic group – 18.5% of the total population. Rochdale has a higher percentage of people who identified their ethnic group within the “Mixed or Multiple” category increased from 1.7% to 2.4% over the last 10 years.
There are 20.9% of people in Rochdale with a long term disability or health condition, compared to 17.6% in England and 19.43% in Greater Manchester.
In Rochdale, a large proportion of the population live in deprived areas. Compared to the rest of the North West and England, Rochdale as a whole has poorer health, life expectancy and healthy life expectancy but affluent people in Rochdale have similar health outcomes to elsewhere.
The number of children (aged 0 - 15) and older adults (aged 65 and above) living in the borough in recent years has been rising. Children represent 21.78% of the total population and older adults 16.56%.
Over the next 10 years, it is predicted there will be a fall in those aged 15-29 and a small rise in those aged 30- 44. The biggest expected change is in the number of people over 65. It is predicted that the number of older people in the borough will rapidly grow. This will lead to a larger proportion of elderly residents compared with those of working age.
3.3% of Rochdale residents (aged 16 and over) are unemployed compared to 4.9% in GM and 4.0% in England. 7.5% of young people are Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) compared to 6.9% in GM and 6.0% in England.
Crucial to understanding population health in Rochdale is to recognise that many adults have health conditions or challenges such as being a carer or living in poverty. Multiple complex conditions are not rare and mild to moderate mental health disorders such as depression are common. In addition to the approach for improving healthy life expectancy and tackling early deaths, a whole population wellness and wellbeing approach is advocated. This wellbeing approach includes being safe and feeling secure and will recognise people’s life challenges and encourage achievable positive changes.3
We are a charity commissioned by our partner, Rochdale Borough Council, to deliver and provide a universal offer across the borough to support people to live active, creative, happy and healthy lives
The ‘universal offer’ means it’s open to everyone to access. We are proud to welcome our whole community into:
— High-quality, accessible sports and leisure facilities
- Heywood Sports Village
- Littleborough Sports Centre
- Middleton Arena
- Rochdale Leisure Centre
— Award-winning museum and gallery at Touchstones (currently closed for refurbishment)
— An extensive Arts and Heritage resource centre
— A fantastic Local Studies archive in the heart of the community at Sparth Community Centre
— The beautiful surroundings of Hollingworth Lake Country Park, including an exciting water activity centre
— Much-loved theatre venues at Middleton Arena and Heywood Civic (currently closed for refurbishment)
As a charity we work hard to bring in extra grants and contract funding to deliver a broad programme of activities that meet the specific needs and challenges of our community. Every year, we help thousands of people in the following ways:
Children and young people’s health and wellbeing
- Promoting good mental health
- PE and school sports
- Holiday Activity and Food programme
Adult health and wellbeing
- Functional fitness
- Specialist health and wellbeing interventions
- Healthy weight management and nutrition
Inclusive activities for individuals of all ages with additional needs or disabilities
A diverse programme of cultural and artistic opportunities - community events, workshops and activities aimed at people who are disadvantaged, marginalised or socially isolated
Rochdale borougha place where everyone has access to an active and healthier lifestyle, and to meaningful creative experiences regardless of their circumstances in life and where they live
We show our commitment to people and place through the care we take and the quality of our work
We are people focused and they are at the heart of what we do
We welcome all. We value diversity, act professionally and with integrity. We treat everyone with understanding, respect and dignity
We listen, learn and strive to be the best we can
Aims:
Opportunities are inclusive, relevant and reflective of the rich diversity of the borough
Objectives: Community led
Inclusive
Relevant & preventative
Aims:
The charity is thriving, sustainable and well equipped to respond to the challenges of the next decade
Objectives:
Skilled and Empowered People
Resilience and Effectiveness
Physical and Digital Assets
Governance
A place where everyone has access to an active and healthier lifestyle, and to meaningful creative experiences regardless of their circumstances in life and where they live
Aims:
The charity can evidence the impact of our work to help people across the borough live their best lives
Objectives:
o Social value and quality Telling Our Story Our Offer
Aims: We protect the natural environment and respond decisively to the climate emergency
Objectives:
Reducing our impact Inspiring change
The purpose of the Community Cornerstone is to ensure that everything we do is considered from the perspective of our customers and service users. It oversees the sustainability and success of Your Trust through reflecting on the value added to our communities. It gives assurance that the opportunities provided by Your Trust are inclusive, reflective of the diversity of the borough, informed by community involvement where possible and designed with ‘prevention’ in mind.
We aim to build a portfolio of services informed by data, information and insight –gathered through a close relationship with our partners, customers and service users.
We have a growing reputation for, and track-record of providing opportunities for people (particularly those in the community whose voices are not always heard) to engage in the design and delivery of services. This is sometimes called ‘co-production’ and we aim to broaden and deepen this approach across the charity.
We aim to create services that are truly inclusive. This means that we will take account of the ‘protected characteristics’ in Equalities legislation, but go further to
consider how other social or economic factors can affect how people access our services.
We will tell our story clearly and regularly, so that the community and our partners understand what we do.
We will collaborate with local public and voluntary sector partners so that the services we provide are relevant, and provided at the right time and in the right place.
Health inequalities in our borough are still worse than national averages. We aim to provide a range of services that have a ‘preventative’ focus. Our aim is to help people to stay healthy, happy and independent for as long as possible.
– To use engagement, insight and intelligence to shape our wider understanding of the place and innovate our services
– To grow our understanding of co-design and to increase the use of this where we can
– To grow and protect our offer around targeted prevention work
– Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
– To collaborate with key local partners and to share expertise to ensure Your Trust services are high quality and visible to those residents who require them
– To tell our stories clearly and effectively to service users stakeholders and partners
– To provide high quality safe and affordable facilities for all adults, children and families across the Borough
– To provide opportunities for children and young people to move more though a universal and targeted offer
– To ensure people living with long term condition benefit from a structures and targeted exercise programme
– To have an understanding of the Boroughs All Age Prevention Strategy and how our work responds to this
The purpose of the Impact Cornerstone is to ensure that we properly evaluate and measure the impact of our work. It will search for new ways to demonstrate the social value we add as a result of being a charity. The Impact Cornerstone will oversee the way that we tell our story as a charity – in terms of facts, figures, words and pictures. Using the information and insight we gather about our customers, service users and partners, it will ensure that the products and services we offer are fit for purpose both now and in the future.
We are committed to continually improving the quality and impact of what we do. We aim to build a cohesive framework for evaluating the quality and impact of our work on the communities we serve.
We aim to be recognised as a valued charity offering a vital contribution to local communities through sharing the many individual and collective stories of our customers, audiences and communities.
Our Offer
Our services (whether offered to all, or specifically tailored to certain groups or places) will be designed to meet the needs of the communities and places we work in.
With respect to the leisure and health development services, we will understand our place in the wider system and be recognised as offering an integrated portfolio of health, social care and wellbeing services.
Social Value and Quality
– To embed Continuous Improvement Action Plans across all services and facilities using intelligence, data and information from the Quality Assurance frameworks
– To develop a robust, monitoring framework to allow for a culture of data driven decision making
– To scope, develop and implement a consistent and regular monitoring and evaluation framework that is relevant and applies to all parts of the trust
– To develop a suite of user friendly reporting tools that are appropriate across the range of
the trust and that showcases to stakeholders, staff and end users how the trust is progressing
– To understand our audience, have an annual plan of stories to tell through appropriate channels and frequency of communication
– To develop and promote a vibrant charitable identity focused on empowering residents to lead active, creative, happy, and healthy lives through accessible programmes, engaging events, and community partnerships, ultimately fostering a culture of
well-being and inclusivity.
– To establish mechanisms to understand the impact and value of the communications and stories
– To ensure that the leisure and active health & wellbeing programmes are agile, appropriate, match the communities we serve and cover the full range of activity from specialist to general
– To create a venues programming board to ensure that our cultural venues provide a rich programme of cultural opportunities and experiences
to a more diverse audience
– To develop innovative and relevant leisure facilities products and services via the delivery of the fitness strategy and continuous improvement plans
– To formalise a plan for the future and sustainability of the Active Health and Wellbeing specialist services
– To complete the delivery of activity within our NPO business plan
– To plan, mobilise and deliver the opening of two new cultural venues in 2025
The purpose of the Resources Cornerstone is to ensure that Your Trust is thriving, and sustainable. It provides advice and assurance to the Board on governance and risk matters. The Resources Cornerstone oversees the planning and performance of our human and financial resources and safeguards the charity’s assets. It also considers our physical and digital assets and how they are used to best effect. It ensures that the charity fulfils its legal obligations and is accountable to all stakeholders.
We will build (develop or create or support?) a workforce where our peoples’ knowledge, skills and potential is recognised and valued, they are supported to develop, their well-being is protected, and every individual thrives.
As a charity, our people will reflect the diversity of the communities we work within. We aim to create more local jobs and develop talented people to become leaders of the future.
We aim to consolidate our financial resilience through maintaining good financial planning and control, and a prudent levels of reserves. Our financial success will benefit the local economy through employment of local people and procurement of services.
The proportion of resources resulting from winning additional contracts and grant funding has
increased dramatically since the charity was formed and we aim to increase this proportion further still.
We aim to maximise the number of people accessing our services. Our facilities, digital channels and systems will be developed to align with growing and changing expectations around customer service, innovation and ease of access.
Our portfolio of physical assets will be immaculately presented, well-maintained and safe.
Our Board of trustees will be a diverse group of people reflecting our community. Our systems of reporting and accountability will be high quality and transparent so that stakeholders are well-informed and have access to information and assurance demonstrating that Your Trust is a well-run charity.
– Map the needs of our future workforce and establish development pathways supported by appropriate skills training, professional development and qualifications
– Become recognised as a good employer through our approach to fair pay, good working conditions, flexible working, communications and effective leadership & management
– Demonstrate that our workforce is reflective of our local communities by embedding multiple access points and adopting new approaches to recruitment, selection and induction
– Safeguard the assets of the charity through robust planning, strong financial control and maintenance of sufficient reserves
– Explore and adopt customer focused systems e.g. in our new culture venues
– Put our resources to the best possible use in the borough, by increasing the amount spent within the local economy
– Implement our fundraising strategy
– Develop and begin the implementation of a customer focused digital strategy
– Maintain and safeguard our buildings portfolio though strong planning and delivery of the asset management partnership with Rochdale Borough Council relevant and applies to all parts of the trust
– Plan and moblilise for the opening of new culture venues
– Achieve a truly diverse board on which people from all walks of life are represented
– Develop reporting tools, both informal and statutory, that are more informative and accessible
The Environment Cornerstone’s purpose is to champion the preservation and protection of the environment for current and future generations. It will ensure that Your Trust makes significant progress towards the goals of having near-zero waste operations by 2030 and being carbon neutral by 2038. The Cornerstone will work creatively and in collaboration with partners, staff and communities to set an ambition beyond legal and regulatory requirements and moral obligations. It will act as a pioneer, helping Your Trust to achieve wider industry recognition for its environmental credentials.
We aim to reduce our impact on the environment by reducing waste consumption and managing its disposal, and optimising energy and water consumption across our facilities and programmes.
Our future decision-making will be guided by sustainability principles.
Our staff, senior management and Trustees will be equipped
to contribute actively to our environmental aims through education, training and resources.
Our ‘green story’ will be readily understood by and shared with partners, customers and communities.
We will work closely and equitably with stakeholders (especially our diverse local communities) to find collaborative solutions to environmental challenges.
– Devise and implement a sustainable procurement policy (to include waste, energy, transport & carbon missions)
– Devise and implement a sustainable procurement policy (to include waste, energy, transport & carbon missions)
– Implement an Environment and Energy Management Plan
– Establish a baseline position with respect to sustainable travel and waste management and take actions to reduce our impact
– Deliver hybrid training programmes for staff, senior management and Trustees
– Formulate and implement a communications strategy and action plan
– Enhance our package of support and install facilities at our sites to incentivise and encourage staff and customers to take ‘green’ travel options
– Devise, co-design and deliver climate-themed creative programming (workshops, exhibitions, performances, talks etc.) across all our cultural venues/sites
National Partnerships include
Regional Partnerships include Local Partnerships include Your Trust is an advocate of collaboration at a local, regional and national level in order to assist us to deliver our local, place based goals.
Partner
We work hand in hand with Rochdale Borough Council in a partnership approach that is a model of best practise according to both Arts Council England and Sport England.
We will work closely with the Rochdale Cultural Board to lead delivery of ‘Lets Create’, (ACE 10 year strategy) and are part of the Culture Co-op consortium delivering the Creative People and Places programme in the borough.
We will work together with partners and other GM leisure trusts to support delivery of ‘Uniting the Movement’ (Sport England 10 year strategy) to help to transform lives and communities through sport and physical activity, and working with local partners will lead the delivery of the Local Pilot to build a healthier, more active community in Rochdale.
And, we work with many other organisations that share the same ethos as us to support people in the borough to live their best lives.
your little hero
Arts Council England –
Lets Create
DCMS - Culture White Paper
Levelling Up
Sport England –
Uniting the Movement
GM Moving
Levelling Up
Local Industrial Strategy
Our People Our Place
Strategy for Culture and Creativity
Built Facilities Strategy
Creative Strategy (Pioneering Creativity)
Cultural Asset Strategy
Playing Pitch Strategy
Prosperous People and Places (Corp’ Plan)