01545 570 686 075252 06 252
RAY CEREDIGION Pengloyn, Tabernacle Street, Aberaeron CeredigionSA46 OBN gill.byrne@btconnect.com /rayceredigionadmin@btconnect.com /www.rayceredigion.org.uk
RAY Ceredigion Annual General Meeting Report 3-5pm Pengloyn, Aberaeron 9th April 2022
RAY Ceredigion Pengloyn, Tabernacle Street, Aberaeron SA46 0BN 01545 570 686
RAY Annual General Report 09.04.2022 Report contents Page
Contents
2
Introduction
3
People and Places Community Fund for RAY Intergenerational Community centre
4
Report from RAY Family Centre Coordinator
6
Report from RAY Actif Juniors leader
10
Report from RAY Actif 11-19’s leader
13
Report from RAY DYMA NI group leader
16
Report from RAY Volunteering Coordinator
18
Report from RAY Forget Me Knot dementia support group coordinator
23
West Wales is Kind Intergenerational project on play
27
Reopening after lockdowns and the Families First family play sessions 2020+
31
RAY Open access play sessions and playwork training
33
Hieritage Lottery Places for Nature Wildlife garden
35
Information on funders 2020 – 2022 and premises improvements
36
Social enterprise activities
40
RAY Craft & Chat group
42
RAY Volunteers
44
RAY Staff training 2020 – 2022
45
Numbers benefiting from RAY activities 2020 - 2022
46
Closing statement from RAY Chair
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RAY Ceredigion Report, Annual General Meeting – 1st February 2020 to 9th April 2022 Introduction The last RAY AGM took place just before lockdown on 1st February 2020 and due to the conditions during Covid lockdowns and restricted movements RAY Committee members kindly agreed to extend their tenure for an additional 12 months, therefore this AGM Report covers a period of 2 years, full of many challenges and successes. The decision was reached to forego an AGM in 2021 due to several reasons, including not wanting to bring people together indoors with the risk of transmission of infection, the difficulty of current committee members to engage online due to access to IT, thus an online AGM would disadvantage current trustees, and that this disadvantage could extend to new and prospective committee members and also the wider community who may wish to attend. So this report is an overview of RAY activities of the past 2+ years and a look forward to the next 12 months. RAY has come through a challenging period with Covid forcing working from home adjustment in mid-March 2020 which necessitated working with 9 different funders and 14 staff members to agree adaptations to our funded outcomes and activities to fit within the new reality of lockdown and restrictions. The following all were results of this new reality: • A need to equip staff with mobile phones and laptops to enable them to continue their role whilst working from home • Addressing the challenges for staff some of whom had just started in their roles and so did not have an established ‘client base’ to support during the lockdown periods • Staff whose normal role involved face to face support for vulnerable groups having to adapt at short notice to an isolated role at home with the majority of support being provided through phone and computers • The challenge of keeping up staff morale and a feeling of belonging whilst everyone was isolated, particularly those staff some of whom started days before the first Covid lockdown It is a tribute to the staff team that we managed to deliver on all but one of our activities (cooking for the dementia group had to stop) and that we retained a full quote of staff throughout the most challenging 12 months following March 2020. We also acknowledge the tremendous support provided by all our funders who worked with us to find ways for us to continue to deliver project outcomes throughout the period, and to those new funders including the Welsh Government who provided grants and finances to ensure we survived. RAY was fortunate to benefit from a Moondance Foundation grant of £5,000 which paid towards laptops, mobile phones and health and safety resources needed to start meeting with participants and resume premises-based activities. This Report outlines some of the main activities over one of the most challenging periods any of us have lived through and I would like to say a BIG THANK YOU to all the staff, volunteers, committee members and participants in our activities for making it such a positive and rewarding experience. Page 3 of 47
People and Places Intergeneration Community Centre project On the date of the last AGM on 1st February 2020 RAY was at the start of an exciting 3 year project funded by the lottery People and Places Community Fund. This funding was based on evidence collected by RAY Ceredigion and additional research, reports and statistics from local and national statutory and voluntary sector sources that demonstrated a need for services to support vulnerable and disadvantaged residents within Ceredigion. The People and Places project has 4 main aims: 1. To support children and families by opening the first Family Centre for the Aberaeron and mid county coastal area 2. Provide activities for vulnerable and disadvantaged children of primary school age to feed into our existing RAY Actif project for 11 – 19 year olds 3. To sustain provision for young adults with disabilities including developing small scale social enterprise activities 4. To recruit and support an increased number of volunteers to support and extend RAY activities thus benefiting the people we support and with a mutual benefit to the volunteers This Annual General Report will provide details of the progress made on these 4 People and Places outcomes, as well as information on existing activities that pre-date January 2020 and some new project delivered during this time period. This report contains an update on all our activities directly from the staff involved. Activities sustained that pre-date January 2020 • RAY Forget Me Knot Club for people with dementia and their carers • Craft & Chat group run by volunteers • RAY Actif sessions for 11 – 19 year olds • DYMA NI activities for young adults with disabilities • Agored Cymru accredited courses in a range of subject areas New projects started between January 2020 and March 2022 • A Wildlife Garden funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund Places for Nature scheme • An intergenerational project on play funded by West Wales is Kind • The opening of Aberaeron Repair Café We hope you will enjoy reading about our recent activities and our plans for the future as we look forward to the challenge and achievements of the next 12 months.
Gill Byrne Executive Officer Page 4 of 47
RAY Ceredigion Activities between 1st February 2020 and 9th April 2022 RAY received People and Places funding to start the first Family Centre for the mid county coastal region and in February 2022 we appointed Megan Tomlins to be the new Family Centre Coordinator. Megan has a background in play and childcare and led on the RAY holiday playschemes before starting with us in this new role. Megan’s start to the role was challenging as as soon as she started and before Megan had time to arrange any family centre activities we went into the first lockdown. Other Family Centres were able to move their activities online and keep in touch with families by phone but Megan had not run a session and therefore had not had the opportunity to build relationships. Fortunately we were able to overcome this through a number of strategies – Kelly our Deputy Manager at the time set up regular online staff meetings to keep in touch with staff and to provide support, and the Family Centre Network, the Flying Start and Pathfinder programmes, which include the RAY Family Centre, were able to include Megan in activities such as a comprehensive online training programme on things such as how to provide speech and language support to parents, and to include Megan in online support sessions provided for parents. Although this was at time stressful and frustrating for Megan, who was keen to get some premises-based activities in place, it was also a good learning and networking opportunity which meant when we were finally able to start face to face activities, in July 2021, Megan hit the ground running. It is fair to say she has not looked back since, and the Family Centre is a huge success, with 38 new families starting just since January 2022 and XXX families in total registered. Megan runs sessions Monday to Wednesday and posts a full timetable to the Facebook page she set up and managers (link below). Canolfan Deulol RAY Family Centre Family Centre Coordinator Staff Report Name Megan Tomlins Job role Family Centre Coordinator Activity/ies you deliver or support at RAY? • RAY Stay and Play playgroup drop in sessions • Move and Groove for 2 – 4 year olds • Baby Massage • Baby Yoga • Baby Sensory play and baby sensory bags for parents • Nyth y Fron parent led breastfeeding support group • Cooking classes provided with creche • I have also supported RAY Actif 6-19 groups
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The difference you make to the people who attend Over the last 2 years I have created the Family Centre here at RAY Ceredigion, with the help of 2 assistants and my manager Gill Byrne. We have worked on preparing classes for parents to attend with their babies/ children. I have attended several courses to be trained in delivering courses to the parents. Parents who have attended our sessions are very pleased that we are running and open, as they have found it very difficult over lockdown and their children hadn’t been able to socialise with other children. The parents have also said how nice it is to be back in a social environment and are getting the support they need from trained staff and their peers. Parents have used some of our ideas and used then at home eg Homemade slime and gloop recipes; Links to online music videos and storytelling videos; Lava bottle recipes; Over lockdown I sent out 10 gift boxes to 10 different families to help them keep busy and active over the difficult time. Parents were very grateful.
Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Canolfan-Deuluol-RAY-Family-Centre-109018824129129
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RAY Actif Juniors Leaders Report In 2018 RAY received funding from BBC Children in Need for a 3 year project to work with vulnerable and disadvantaged 11 – 18 year olds and one of the first things we were told, by schools, the police, the Youth Offending team staff, was that the need for this kind of intervention started much earlier and from at least the age of 8. Local reports and statistics compiled by Ceredigion Social Services supported this response and so when identifying local need we were aware of the need for a ‘feeder’ group into the 11 – 18 RAY Actif activities. Fortunately, this need was supported by our People and Places funding and we were able to start a RAY Actif Juniors activity group for one night a week after school and one day a week during school holidays. Scarlett Sothis, a part time assistant on the Children in Need activities was successfully appointed to lead on the RAY Actif Juniors. Only two weeks of sessions had been delivered before the first lockdown hit and staff found themselves working from home, so we followed a similar programme as with Megan, some online training and regular staff online meetings to keep a team spirit alive within the RAY workforce. Just before lockdown Scarlett gained a Level One Playwork certificate through RAY and this was of benefit over the course of the first 12 – 18 months when the local authority Covid regulations allowed us to run some Family Play Days until eventually in 2021 we were allowed to start up regular after school and school holiday sessions. The RAY Actif Juniors has gone from strength to strength with a total of 27 children benefiting since we started and with overwhelmingly positive responses from parents and children. Name: Scarlett Sothis Job role: Project leader for RAY Actif Juniors
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Activity/ies you deliver or support at RAY I run a project within RAY Ceredigion aimed at children ages between 6yrs old to 11yrs old, this project it’s based on a Wednesday 3.30 -6pm in term time and Wednesday 10am-3pm during the school holidays. Co-workers and I provide a range of varied activities pre-planned and based around the children that we work with making sure that they are age appropriate and suited to the level of their individual ability. Some of these activities include arts and crafts aiming at crafts that the individual children can be proud of and take home for themselves or as gifts for their parents/guardians. We also encourage physical activities such as outdoor play and team games, river walks and free play, while also providing environmental activities such as rock pooling, beach cleans and litter picking. I provide structured activities to help develop team building skills as well as help build confidence and social development within the group. I lead on the 6 – 11’s group and assist with the RAY Actif older 11-19 group which is aimed at supporting the young people and targeting areas of development that may be useful to the individual. We also provide short courses run through Agored Cymru that help build the young people’s educative credits The difference you make to the people who attend The project is aimed to help families that may need extra support, many of our group attendees have extra supportive and additional needs, ranging from children with behavioural issues, ADHD, epilepsy, and autism. This project was set up to give these children the opportunity to be included and involved in activities that may not have been available to them within school or at home and for the children to not be singled out because of their extra support needs. This project was also set up to help these children engage and interact with others of similar ages from different local schools as well as to meet others in similar situations and back grounds. We provide a safe environment that allows these children to be themselves and comfortable within the group and help build confidence and friendships. From the start of this project to the current day I have noticed dramatic changes in several attendees of the group going from shy and disengaged to now confident and have developed large friendship groups within our group as well as in school, I also feel I have built a rapport and trusting relationship with these children being able to help guide them and provide non-judgmental advice when needed. We also provide support for the families, giving them the opportunity of some respite and support throughout difficulties, during the latter stages of Covid I kept in contact with families offering support and providing activity packs and craft equipment when needed helping the families that may have financial difficulties. During the summer 2021 once we returned back to running premises based activities we were able to provide 4 weeks over the summer holidays, with additional therapeutic art activities funded by Welsh Government Summer of Fun funds. We received a lot of fantastic feedback from the children and young people but also from the parents and guardians.
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RAY Aberarth Summer project 2021 funded by Families First, People and Places with additional funding from Welsh Government Summer of Fun
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RAY Actif for 11 – 19 year olds RAY Actif started in May 2018 with a 3 year grant from BBC Children in Need to support children and young people who are particularly vulnerable, isolated, discriminated against or disadvantaged. The need for this project was identified by members of the GUS group which RAY has supported since 2011 and is a group that meets once a month after school and is based on Article 12 of the United Nation Convention on the Rights of the Child, that all children and young people have the right to be heard on matters that affect them.
GUS group members wanted more of what we provided, they wanted more sessions for ‘people like them’ and to increase numbers (GUS was limited to around 12 members per session) so based in their feedback we applied for and were successful Children in Need. The project employed two youth workers and enabled RAY to deliver 3 sessions a week after school and three days a week during school holidays, all with a home cooked meal included, and plenty of activities designed to build skills and confidence and inspire new interests. Despite the success of this project and continued support from the BBC Children in Need coordinator for Wales we were not awarded a further grant and the Children in Need funding came to an end at the end of August 2021. Fortunately we received a 2 year grant from the Waterloo Foundation for the same age range but with an additional requirement that we focus on learning both accredited and informal. This project now runs for two nights a week after school and two days a week during school holidays and is led by staff member Nikki Hunter. Page 11 of 47
Name Nikki Hunter Job role Youth leader Activity/ies you deliver or support at RAY I am the youth leader for a group of young people aged 11-19, within this group we support young people who are struggling to engage socially and with education. We deliver Agored Cymru units, the aim of this is to give young people the opportunity to gain confidence in their abilities and earn points to enable them to go on to further education. if they wish, we also provide them with volunteering opportunities within the community, something that we feel is important to show young people in the positive light they deserve to be seen in I also help and support Scarlett with the younger group aged 6-10 this is a complicated group with many different needs and abilities the objective of this group is to help them to form friendships and expand their social circle. The difference you make to the people who attend Young people that are not academically minded are often disengage with education, the difference that I make to these young people is to allow them the time and space they need to learn at their own pace to gain confidence in their abilities and to show them that they are not “stupid” or “lazy” that they are so often labelled as. I support the young people to make friendships in our social group but the most important difference I think I make to these young people is to empower them to use their voices and to enable them to have their voices heard.
Funded by
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During lockdown the two youth workers, Steve and Nikki kept in regular contact with all the young people online, the Moondance Foundation paid for a RAY phone for the project and young people and parents and carers could keep in touch and vice versa. Additionally the staff wrote up case studies on each young person based on the Signs of Safety model identifying strengths and skills and next steps for further development. This information was used them to create an individual Memory Book for each young person, with photos of their time in the RAY Actif group and lots of positive messages on their abilities and skills. Our aims was to help them feel supported and connected throughout a stressful and for some a lonely period. We conducted a survey of how they were feeling during lockdown and with no schools and it was really heart-breaking, with the major concerns being for the health of their loved ones, and the feat that by returning to school they might bring the virus home and lose people the loved. For some young people this loss would lead to a frightening and uncertain future and it was obvious stress levels were high amongst the group. Children in Need provided us with emergency funds which allowed the staff to purchase individualised packs for each child to post home, and as soon as regulations allowed staff arranged one to one outdoor walks and talks with the most vulnerable in the group.
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Funded by
& In 2012 RAY Ceredigion moved from premises in the Aberaeron Craft Centre to the current premises in Pengloyn, Tabernacle Street. We needed office space, vehicle parking, storage space and some room for meetings and courses, but this left a lot of potential for other groups to make use of our facilities. We held a series of open meetings to discuss potential use and out of this Social Services identified a need for activities for young adults with disabilities who have completed full time education usually around the age of 21 – 21. It was decided that RAY was a suitable organisation to apply for funding to meet this need, DASH were involved in the meetings and at the time did not want to widen their remit, and others present were in the statutory sector and not in a position to apply for grant funding. A subgroup was set up and a successful application made to the Lloyds Foundation, for monthly evening meetings for young adults with disabilities aged 17-30 – we decided on 17 to allow access to the group for young people transitioning from child to adult services. The Social Club opened in 2014 and was immediately a big success, we had funds to provide some free transport along certain routes, and the group was open to any disability with no restrictions. Over the years the group were consulted regularly on their needs and they expressed a need for more activities than one evening a month, and this was back up by parents and carers with one parents saying ‘Since leaving college he stays in bed until 2pm, he sees no point in getting up.’ After a lot of work we were successful with an application to Cynnal y Cardi Leader programme for 12 months (extended to 15 month) pilot project for activities 2 days a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays with a focus on gardening, cooking, arts and crafts and carpentry. The project was a fantastic success with a really positive external evaluation report completed in November 2020 by Wavehill (copies available on request)
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Knowing the pilot phase funded by Cynnal y Cardi was coming to an end we were able to include an element of the DYMA NI project into the People and Places Intergenerational Community Centre project which since January 2020 has funded one day a week of activities, with Cynnal y Cardi extension funding in place until the end of March 2020 and then Awards for All covering one day a week from April 2020 to end of December 2021 (funding period extended due to impact of Covid). We have now recently been successful with a further 12 months of Awards for All funding to fund a one day a week project based around gardening and involving cooperative work with the Tyglyn Walled Garden and gardener. DYMA NI staff wrote Case Studies on each member of the group identifying strengths and areas for continued support and development and turned much of this information into individualised booklets – 3 copies were printed and posted home plus one copy on a usb. Our aim was to remind each young adult that they remained a member of a social group, and also to showcase all the things they had achieved and for them to share this information with others in the family, focusing on what they CAN DO whereas so much of life for a person with a disability can become about what they CANNOT DO.
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DYMA NI Leader Staff Report for AGM Name VIKKI FORBES Activity/ies you deliver or support at RAY Sessions of varying activities delivered to adults aged 17 -35 living with physical/intellectual challenges The difference you make to the people who attend • Facilitate social interactions and the development of friendships that are maintained away from Ray Ceredigion • Develop and consolidate fine motor skills such as knife use • Provide stability, support and a platform from which each member is heard, valued and appreciated • Encourage integration into larger society • Acknowledge and celebrate achievements and successes • Facilitate and empower individual growth by developing self- esteem, confidence and selfworth • Develop life skills enabling self-care
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Volunteering with RAY Funded by A review of our purpose and aims and objectives in 2019, supported by a consultant from the Institute of Fundraisers, it was identified that we could maximise the benefits of all our activities through the recruitment of volunteers. RAY has always had a small band of reliable volunteers, and at times this has increased to include eg students looking for valuable experience for education or employment purposes, but we did not have a dedicated staff role that supported volunteering. Based on evidence on the value this would add to our activities we were able to include a new post of Volunteering Coordinator into the intergenerational community centre project funded by People and Places. Our aims to recruit and support a large number of volunteers has been delayed by Covid, when bring large amounts of people, or even any individuals together, without an essential purpose has been difficult, plus we had two changes of staff within a 12+ month period. ~We have been glad to welcome Ellie Guiver to the role who started in June 2021, and has successfully supported our existing volunteers, recruited new volunteers, taken the lead on us achieving the Investors in Volunteers award, and set up the Aberaeron Repair Cafe, led and managed completely by volunteers. Ellie is about to start on her next challenge of increasing the number of RAY volunteers particularly those willing to support our children and young people age range of 6 – 19’s.
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RAY Staff Report for AGM Name Ellie Guiver Job role: Volunteer Coordinator
Activity/ies you deliver or support at RAY I am responsible for all the volunteers at RAY Ceredigion. The recruitment, induction and continual support a volunteer needs. Since starting at RAY Ceredigion I have been implementing the new recruitment process set up by Gill and Kelly during lockdown. I have been developing data bases collating the information on our volunteers, some of which collect relevant information so that their hours can be more formally recognised. I have also been updating our volunteer records. I have helped set up the Aberaeron Repair café group which is running once a month. Volunteers are giving up their time to fix members of the public’s broken household items such as electricals, bikes and textiles. We have liaised closely with repair café wales throughout this process. I am working towards RAY Ceredigion gaining the Investors in Volunteers Award. The difference you make to the people who attend I am providing a consistent point of contact for all the volunteers on their volunteering Journeys. I aim to be an approachable person that can ease a new volunteer into the most suitable role for them. I am able to liaise with other organisations to develop best practice in terms of volunteering for RAY Ceredigion.
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Funded by
The RAY Forget Me Knot club was established in 2017 after meetings with the local GP surgery who identified a lot of work had been done in Aberaeron to create a dementia friendly town but there was nowhere for people with dementia and their carers to meet - RAY offered to meet that need and a small account of funding was provided by the Aberaeron Dementia project for us to start a monthly group. In 2018 we were fortunate to be funded by the Carers Innovation fund to increase the meetings to weekly which helped to increase attendance, and what that funding came to an end we were recommended to apply to the Potter Trust, a local foundation established to support people in Ceredigion suffering with or affected by dementia. Since then the Potter Trust has kindly paid for the Coordinator post and some additional funds towards admin and running costs. The group has gone from strength to strength and has new members joining on a regular basis. Jenny the group coordinator adapted to the Covid restrictions and kept in regular phone contact with group members and as soon as regulations allowed organised outdoor meetings and picnics often at Llanerchaeron.
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RAY Staff Report Co-ordinator RAY Ceredigion Forget-me-knot Club Name Jenny Higgins Co-ordinator RAY Forget-me-knot Club Activity/ies you deliver or support at RAY I facilitate a socially interactive environment for those living with dementia and their carers. We provide tea, coffee and cake to the group every Friday from 10.30 until 12.30. Members have access to three rooms at RAY as well as use of the kitchen. Workshops are provided in the studio for those who wish to join in and include craft sessions, chair yoga and more recently chocolate making in the kitchen. Another room is used for playing simple golf and board games such as dominos and cards. Sometimes we invite people in to entertain and this has included the Carmarthen Ukulele Band and Jez Danks, singer and violinist The main room is used mainly for socialising or just sitting and being comfortable if a group member wishes some quiet time. The main aim of the group is to provide a warm, safe and friendly environment for those with dementia. This means that the carers feel confident to take a ‘step away’, be it just in the next room and the opportunity to socialise with other carers experiencing the same challenges. It also means that both carers (and those with dementia if they want to) can take part in workshops that normally would be difficult for them to access. The group provides a focal point for information exchange and this may be provided by myself and volunteers, professionals such as visiting Admiral nurses, community police officers etc and may also come from the carers themselves. One of our aims is to ensure the carers always feel supported and not isolated. This may come in the form of providing information but also opportunities to offload following a challenging week by simply listening. RAY use to provide lunch for the group pre-covid but this currently isn’t happening. The group like to extend the session with a social lunch together so currently we organise a weekly takeaway from the local fish and fish shop. We also organise once a month trips in the minibus to places of interest and this tends to be from spring through to the autumn. During periods of covid lockdown, support was provided to the group through weekly individual phone calls and via WhatsApp. When people were eventually allowed to meet outside, the group met for a weekly picnic at Llanerchaeron. A reflection of how important the group is to individual members.
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The difference you make to the people who attend Some of the group have been coming for nearly four years, since we started meeting on a regular weekly basis. I have heard on many occasions that the group is “like a family” and we regularly have 20+ dementia sufferers and their carers attending. Most have told me that without the group, the challenges of being a 24-hour carer would be much more difficult. Having developed strong friendships within the group, members have developed their own support network as well as knowing that they can also ring me at home. Many of the group live in rural and remote areas and can experience isolation. At the group, members with dementia can interact with each other and make friendships that would otherwise not be happening. I believe this social stimulation benefits their condition increasing confidence. One new member with dementia likes to help set the table for lunch and washing up. His help is encouraged and he feels valued. Another new member is an artist and taking part in craft workshops encourages him to use his creative skills. The nature of dementia means that we see a transition in our members ability to communicate verbally as well as a deterioration in physical mobility over time. Some are now less able to join in with activities but happy to sit and observe. They feel comfortable and safe and I’m told by their carers that they regularly ask at home when they are coming to Forget-me-knot club. TRIP TO DENMARK FARM MARCH 2022
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In 2021 the RAY Forget Me Knot Club received 3 kind donations totalling over £4,000 Two in memory of group members and one from a local family whose mother died with dementia and who wanted to support a local charity. A purchase of 5 medical grade armchairs have been purchased to assist group members with mobility
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Ding the past two years we were fortunate to have a West Wales is Kind project running (more details below) and this once adapted for Covid was able to involve many members of the Forget Me Knot club both at our premises and at home, and as well as creating a lovely mosaic helped people to feel more connected during what was a stressful and isolating time. Here is the activity timetable for the past 3 months, Jenny is careful to involve all members in the decisions on activities and always produces a wonderful mix of fun, friendship, information and support. Since 2021 we have received funding from the Carers Innovation fund to provide regular activities aimed at supporting the health and wellbeing of carers.
This month (April 2022) we are pleased to welcome the return of Credu.
Credu staff attend the Forget Me Knot club once a month to provide a listening ear for carers and help to connect them with further sources of advice and support.
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West Wales is Kind RAY Play project Project Lead Steph Glover February 2020 to June 2021 WEST WALES IS KIND – INVESTMENT FUND
RAY Ceredigion successfully applied for funding to deliver a 12 month project designed to bring generations together through the theme of play. We appointed a project leader, Steph Glover, who started her post at the end of February 2020. The project aimed to bring together all the different age and ability groups involved in the RAY intergenerational community centre and get them discussing play, in particular how they play today and how they played in the past. The idea was to draw themes out of these discussions, including what was different between play now and in the past, and what remained the same – for example hide and seek. However only weeks after Steph started we found ourselves in lockdown. Fortunately we were able to redesign the project to work with a mix of online and at home activities and as soon as restrictions allowed we were able to work with groups at the RAY premises. The results of the fantastic work achieved by Steph, all the participants and mosaic artist Pod Clare, are demonstrated in this short film … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73eEhP5MLyE
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…. And in this wonderful digital newspaper (paper copies available on request) found here at this link – Steph did a fantastic job and was a pleasure to work with and we hope there may be future projects we can collaborate on once Steph completes her Masters. Link to the digital newspaper which records this intergenerational project on play … https://issuu.com/rayceredigion/docs/ray_play_project_newspaper The West Wales is Kind project managed to involve many different groups in what was an isolating time, both at the RAY premises and at home … Members of the Forget Me Knot club who worked on the mosaic at home
Community artist Pod Clare and Glyn pointing to the mosaic he helped to create
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DYMA NI members RAY Actif 11 – 19’s
RAY Actif Juniors 6 – 11’s
Family Centre
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Community Group
In July we have a grand opening of the completed mosaic opened by Deputy Mayor Daryl Roberts and our Forget Me Knot Coordinator Jenny
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Reopening the premises for Families First funded Family Play sessions Summer 2020 Over the past two years we have been fortunate to continue to receive funding from Families Frist which enabled RAY to maintain a play service. During lockdown we supported families by posting low cost / no cost play ideas online, and posting out play packs for Halloween, Xmas and Easter. During summer 2020 we provided Family Fun Days working with staff from Families, First, Flying Start and Social Services and benefited many families including settled Syrian children and parents. These sessions were really well received at a time when families were feeling the strain of the first lockdown and school closures. In order to restart premises based activities in summer 2020 we had to work closely with the local authority and have our plans approved by Gold Command – Gill the Executive officer worked a total of 98 additional hours during one month and the additional resources needed to meet hygiene requirements were funded by the Moondance Foundation - photo below – additionally a new set of staff and volunteer policies and procedures and risk assessments were drawn up and adopted with the support the local authority environmental health officer Mike Garner and Ann Lloyd.
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Children and families really benefited from the Summer 2020 RAY premises based play sessions and funding covered the cost of taxis for those who did not have access to a car.
The Summer of 2020, when many restrictions were still in place we worked closely with a range of organisations with families referred to us for family play sessions. This enabled us to support 9 different families and a total of 46 individuals, 17 adults, 11 in the 0 – 6 age group, 10 in the 7 – 12 age group and 5 aged 12 and over. The total number of referrals received were 7 with 2 selfreferrals, from Social Services, Flying Start, Red Cross who were supporting families settled her from Syria. Page 29 of 47
7 of the 9 families reported enjoying the sessions and commented on the benefits of attending to their own wellbeing and that of the children. In particular they valued somewhere to come that was open, safe, welcoming and that enable children to play freely outdoors. The playwork staff team received praise for their welcoming manner and the choice of play opportunities provided, plus the fact that many or low/no cost so providing ideas for families to use at home. The provision of a picnic lunch was valued by all who attended. In order to support the Syrian families the local authority translated our parents information booklet on our play sessions into Arabic, and we got some amazing feedback via the Red Cross – our whole playwork team really enjoyed working with the children and parents who attended. Hiya Gill, First of all, I’d like to say thanks from the heart for giving the families such an enjoyable day yesterday! Both families say they want to come to future sessions. I asked them, ‘What did you enjoy most about the day?’ Well, one of the dads asked ‘Are we going back tomorrow?’ so I’d say that’s clearly a sign that they enjoyed it . His wife had done the arranging, so I gave both families the session dates again, just to be sure. The other family (with the younger children) said ‘It was a very wonderful day.’ Nice, eh? They just sent pictures in answer, of the kids playing with the go-kart and big bouncy ball in the outside space, so I’m assuming that’s what they liked best Regards, Alison Dunnette Gweithiwr Achos Ffoaduriaid, Ceredigion / Refugee Caseworker, Ceredigion
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Gemma our playworker made up and sent out a range of play packs to families, based on the number of children in each home, for Halloween and Xmas 2020 and Spring 2021.
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Outdoor Open Access Play Sessions back in action February 2022 Gemma Knith, RAY Play Leader Gema has recently completed her Level 3 Playwork qualification which has combined with the deicsion by Ceredigion local atuhtoriyt to allow outdoor play sessions to go ahead. Over February half term we delivered play sessions in 5 communities, Cardigan, Llandysul, Penparcau, Llaon and Lampeter and had a total of 287 attendees, with over 50 attenidng a session in Cardigan.
287 People attended RAY play sessions over February half term where RAY play staff carried out a survey of children’s responses to the Play and Childcare Sufficiency assessment
LAMPETER FEBRUARY HALF TERM 2022
LLANDYSUL FEBRUARY 2022
CARDIGAN FEBRUARY 2022 Page 32 of 47
As part of the Families First contract, which ended 31st March 2022, RAY has delivered open access play sessions and playwork training for the local authority since 2009. This funding has now transferred to the Ceredigion Actif Sports and Leisure team and we hope to build excellent relationships with them to continue to partner in delivering play to children and families in Ceredigion. As part of the Families First programme we delivered two recent Level One Playwork courses with a free crèche, and have recruited one new playworker to the staff team and generated interested in learners progression to Level Two and beyond. Level One Playwork courses (funded by Families First)
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Heritage Lottery Wildlife Garden For the last few years RAY has identified the need for green space for use with our groups, for the benefit of health and wellbeing. We teach a lot of outdoors based courses, our open access play is wholly based outdoors, we are members of the Outdoor Learning Network and Outdoor Training Network for Wales, and we know the benefit the outdoors brings to health and wellbeing of everyone, irrespective of age and ability. To that end we made contact with a number of locations to see if we could fine a bit of green space we could develop and use on a regular basis but without success. We tried the Town Council for Allt y Graig, the Town Improvement Committee, Llanerchaeron and the Wales Garden at Tyglyn, looking for the opportunity to install wooden bench seating in a circle, so that we could walk or drive groups to these locations and have a group chat at the start and end of our sessions. Eventually the only option seemed to be to create the space on our own doorstep, and luckily with assistance for Alison Heal and the Nature Partnership we identified funds to assist us in our plans the Heritage Lottery Places for Nature fund. This has allowed us to turn what used to be a car park, and then the location for our storage shed into a wonderful wildlife garden, with the aim to provide a food stop for insects, amphibians, small mammals and birds, and planted with a range of native and appropriate planting. As part of this initiative, we wil have a greenhouse and a children’s play area, and a large area of social seating. This new project will open up so many new opportunities to share skills in growing food, cooking that food, composting and re-using the soil, and how to garden to support wildlife. We intend to recruit volunteers specifically interested in wildlife and sustainable gardening, and to engage the community in finding out more about how to do this and learning alongside our staff and activity participants. WE have been lucky to engage local permacultures Angie Polkey on the plaiting and design side and local landscape designers and installers Elemental Adventures for the build. We started with a consultation with participants – ideally this would have included much more the local community and have been large community events, but Covid and local restrictions on us as a multigenerational community centre made this impossible. So we consulted with the participants attending our sessions include the RAY Family Centre and the RAY Forget Me Knot club members, and they all voted for the garden design that included those maximum area of social seating, combined with planting for wildlife. We are now coming to the end of the build process and are planning the grand opening for the end of April. Climate Action Boos funding We are very fortunate to be awarded Climate Action Boos funding, which helped us get the Aberaeron Repair care up and running, but also has funds to training the core staff team and volunteers in three areas – how to compost, how to grow using a greenhouse, and training on all the plants that are in our wildlife garden, so that staff and volunteers will be able to be a source of information to participants in activities and the wider community. We are purchasing information boards to display this information in an attractive and visual way.
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Wildlife garden photos Angie supplied some images that were inspirational for the final design
This design suited our site, with a social seating are and the opportunity to plant up behind the seating against our stone walls that surround the yard. Stone was too pricey an option so instead we went for timeber and Elmenetal Adventures sources some attractive reclaimed wood that has been perfect for the seating, planters and potting table.
This is our version of the social seating area which is the process of being planted up. Additionally, we have a small pond on one corner
The garden has a compost bin ready to go, and green roofed bin store and a greenhouse about to be installed – we look forward to seeing the garden develop over the summer and become more established. It is already leading to new opportunities with a planned course to be delivered her by Tir Coed and opportunities for some small scale social enterprise selling seedlings and salad crops Below green roof bin store, potting bench, compost bin.
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Grant funding current and in past 24 months
Improvements to premises As well as funding for delivering projects in order to maintain the premises in the past 2 years RAY has received grant income of £25,000 from the Welsh Government Community Facilities programme plus £995 from Ceredigion Community Facilities grant to improve premises safety. This funding put in new fire proofing between the ground and first floor, installed new emergency lighting and fire alarm system, and opened up a doorway to make the whole of the ground floor able to be used as one space. Heritage Lottery Places for Nature Wildlife Garden We have also received over £30,000 from the Heritage Lottery fund Places for Nature to create a wildlife garden that will have health and wellbeing benefits for participants in RAY projects and the wider community. Climate Action Boost We have received £15,000 from the lottery Climate Action Boost programme to undertake activities that mitigate against climate change. Welsh Government Business Grants We received £25,000 to assist with the impact of Covid on our income and activities. Page 36 of 47
Social Enterprise Income sources In order to increase financial sustainability RAY has developed social enterprise income streams over the years and these currently include delivering g accredited training courses and room hire to other organisations. Over the past 24 months we have delivered Forest School course, Coastal School courses and course in Playwork. Coastal School Leader course
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Coastal School Practical Skills Days
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Forest School Leader courses RAY has delivered 4 Leading a Forest School courses over the past 24 months with learners qualifying who are teachers, nursery staff, youth workers and teachers.
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Forest School Practical Skills Days
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RAY Craft & Chat group Chatting to WWiK project officer Steph about childhood memories of play
Craft & Chat members tell us the value of the group to them for wellbeing
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Investing in RAY Volunteers RAY currently receives amazing support on a weekly basis from a number of reliable volunteers, who currently mainly support the RAY Forget Me Knot Club and the separate group RAY Social Club, plus a number of excellent fixers volunteering for the Repair Café. Linda our loyal volunteer (In pink) at RAY Social Club
Repair Café Volunteers
Volunteer Sue, Abi and Caroline (on left) RAY Forget Me Knot Club
Our volunteering age range goes from 17 to 80+ and many have provided excellent feedback on their experiences as part of Investors in Volunteers award process. All are supported and kept informed by Volunteering Coordinator Ellie Guiver. Page 43 of 47
Ellie asked our volunteers what difference they felt they make to the people they support and the benefits to health and wellbeing of being a volunteer – here are some of the responses C a working health professional who volunteers one evening a month for RAY Social Club C said she takes the time to speak to everyone in the group individually. She is approachable and has got to know everyone. C helps with the group leader on this project. C volunteers on the minibus as well which means that those adults who live further afield can attend. Personally, C enjoys the social aspect of the group and getting to meet new people. She has been working from home so it is nice to have the face to face contact. She enjoys the different activities. A is a retired textile artist in her 80’s volunteers with the Forget Me Knot club and says …. Forget-Me-Knot meetings are all about the sharing of friendship and the enjoyment of simply being together with others. Carers gain a lot of support from conversation with others, and those experiencing dementia can enjoy a relaxed, enjoyable environment that encourages them to extend their abilities. I enjoy sharing precious time and valuable, positive conversation and encouraging everyone there to do the same. W is a retired engineer and volunteers for the Repair Café W said it is nice for people to be able to have things fixed and hopefully save them some money if they do not have to buy a new item. For W volunteering gets him out of the house and he is pleased to keep using his skills that might otherwise be forgotten. S undertook her MIDAS minibus training to be able to driver the RAY minibus on trips S said the difference she makes to the people who attend is by getting people to smile and enjoy activities whilst playing games. Due to her attendance the carers are given a break from looking after their loved ones. S spends time to build relationships with people with dementia to gain some life enjoyment. S said she personally gains companionship from attending, it gives her a sense of purpose and Sue feels she is doing some good. S is a volunteer mum who co-runs the RAY Nyth y Fron breastfeeding group S said she feels volunteering is a really positive experience. They are a nice group that get on well and as a result they can offer peer support and information. S has been advertising the group and reaching out to parents over social media to help encourage them to join. S likes volunteering as it provides her with some structure and her daughter loves attending the group. It provides her with a social activity, a sense of responsibility and it is rewarding giving her time to a good cause. She also enjoyed the RAY funded ABM course and learning and updating my skill set in this area. L our longest serving volunteer who has won CAVO Volunteer of the Year award previously L said she helps the members of the group feel safe and able to talk to her if they need to. L loves being silly and having fun which engages the group members to join in on activities and enjoy themselves. L feels part of the team and helps with all the activities, she is sociable and enjoys problem solving so contributes a lot to the group. L says it gives her great pleasure to see the change in the participants from when they start with the group to how they are now. L loves giving something back to the community especially as these are amazing youngsters. It makes her happy to see them happy. L said she really enjoys attending so much so that it’s the highlight of her month.
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Investing in RAY Staff RAY is committed to the personal development of participants, volunteers and the members of the staff team. Over the past 24 months the following courses and qualifications have been followed and completed by staff members> • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Playwork Level One Playwork Level Three Transition in Playwork Level Three Agored Cymru Tutoring course (to deliver courses to others) The Award in Education and Training Level 3 – to deliver accredited units to young people and other participants Level Two Youth Work Level 3 Youth Work Coastal School Level Three Leading Forest School Level Three Emergency First Aid in the Outdoors Paediatric First Aid Fire Marshall training ELKLAN speech and language support for children training Welcome to the World parenting supporting Family Links parenting support Talk Learn and Do training on financial management for parents and others Adult and Child Safeguarding Level Two Baby Massage training Language and Play training Organisational response to Covid training How to teach online training How to support and manage volunteers Internal Quality Assessors Level 4 qualification Level 2 Nutrition course MIDAS minibus training Nation of Sanctuary and supporting refugees PREVENT training Food Allergen training Equality and Diversity training
More courses are planned for 2022 – 2023 including equipping more staff to be part of the RAY training team.
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Primary beneficiaries of RAY Activities These numbers are much lower than anticipated at this state of the People and Places Community fund grant for our Intergenerational Community Centre and we would expect them to be four or five times as much in years without Covid. However we are pleased with the progress we have made and the difference we continue to make to the lives of some of those most in need within the county. An example of the success of our approach is we have had 38 new families attending the RAY Family Centre since Xmas 2021. These figures represent primary beneficiaries, ie those that have directly benefited from attending a RAY activity. Behind these figures are many more secondary beneficiaries, for example parents and carers of young adults with disabilities, whose lives are improved by their family member being engaged in activities that are inclusive, that are adding to their skills and interests and friendships on a weekly basis. Partners of parents who attend family centre and the wider family are benefiting of the parent who attends has felt supported, less isolated, has made new friends or been cheered up by the social interaction, and parents are made happier and less stressed if their child or children have had a fun and enjoyable time at RAY. Teenagers and young children who attend RAY Actif are made more resilient by the fun time they have had at RAY – and we know our activities are valued because people come back again and again and they tell us how much our provision means to them. Primary beneficiary numbers between January 2020 and March 2022 Children RAY Family Centre RAY Actif Juniors aged 6 - 11 RAY Actif seniors aged 11 - 19 Families Firs Family Sessions Summer 2020 Outdoor open access play sessions DYMA NI Volunteers Forget Me Knot members
141 23 27 31 690 17 With Dementia 44
Learners attending RAY courses s
Parents Total 98 239 12 35 23 50 17 48 96 786 17 28 28 Carers 52 96
30 30 TOTAL 1,329
The RAY team hope we can continue to develop our activities for the benefit of the community – there is an identified need that we are meeting and new areas to support appear on a regular basis. We are proud of what we have achieved and hope to continue our presence in the community.
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Closing statement from the Chair, Mike Allman I could not have imagine when I wrote my last closing statement just how much things would have changed before I wrote the next statement. It is just over two years since we went into the first Covid lockdown and in the intervening time we have all had to adapt our lives to face a new reality in the face of changed circumstances. This has not been an easy time, we have all experienced a sense of loss: of our freedom, of contact with other; the small details of what appeared insignificant details of our everyday lives that Covid restrictions required us to abide by. Sadly some of us have also lost loved ones during this time. Now it is spring 2022 and we stand poised for the start of a new cycle of growth as we come out of the Covid restrictions. In the intervening time RAY has not been idle, we had to adapt quickly to the new circumstances and it is a testament to the flexibility and adaptability of the staff that they responded so quickly to the restrictions and continued to reach out to support those who used our services in novel ways. This could not have been possible without the generosity of our funders who provided additional funding to help with the changes required to ensure infection control requirements were adhered to. Reflecting on what has happened in the last two years I can but hope that it will make everyone value more the small things in life, the time to sit and talk with family and friends, the sound of laughter as children play; the importance of in person contact, sharing food, a smile a hug. It is these things that lift the human spirit, and will hopefully help heal some of the hurt that Covid has inflicted upon us all. It is these ‘small’ things that RAY is so good at delivering, that may not appear important in themselves but as we have all learnt mean so much and are so important to our wellbeing. So today let us come together to celebrate the small things that enrich our lives. RAY may be a relatively small organisation but I hope you will agree that it is the small things that they do and the moments they help create that will make the big changes that we all need to embrace to make our communities and lives better in the future. Finally can I thank all out staff for their dedication over the last two years we recognise it has not been easy for you and we are grateful for all that you have done to support RAY. Also a special thanks to my fellow trustees for your assistance and we owe a debt of gratitude to Judy Hutchins who will be stepping down as a Trustee, thank you for all that you have done to support RAY and we wish you well in the future.
Mike Allman Chair, RAY Ceredigion
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