Plant a Pot event at Edward Court

Sheltered Housing Scheme gardening event ‘Plant a Pot event celebrating the Queens Diamond Jubilee’ Edward Court 23 May 2012

The Queen celebrated 60 years as Monarch in 2012.

And Edward Court celebrated too!

Contents Page 3 Seniors United working group Page 3 Letter to tenants & Independent Living Managers Page 4 Invite sent to tenants Page 4 Who was in attendance on the day?

Page 5 Meeting to discuss the event Page 5 Risk assessments Page 5 The event itself Page 6 Post event responses from the questionnaire Page 6 Was it worth it and will we be doing another one?

Page 7 Comments made by residents after the event.

Page 8 Thank you Pages 9-13 The event in pictures Page 14 How to contact us

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‘Seniors United’ working group Seniors United is a group of sheltered scheme residents who meet at Marmion House or at various schemes to discuss housing issues relevant to sheltered accommodation and the community they live in.

The group suggested that a gardening event involving the schemes was held.

However, this would have been too big an event and too costly for us to manage. After further discussions with the group it was suggested that the event became a ‘Plant a Pot’ as sheltered housing tenants have varying degrees of mobility difficulties. The pots could be planted inside or outside of the schemes and within easy reach of those people taking part to give everyone the opportunity to join in.

It was agreed that a letter should be sent to all sheltered housing residents to inform and encourage residents of the forthcoming event and to tie it into the Queens Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

Letter to tenants & Independent Living Managers Previously a questionnaire was sent to all sheltered scheme tenants to see if they would like to take part in an event at their scheme. When all the responses were collected, the three schemes who said they would like an event were put forward to the next stage of planning.

Tenants were told that anyone could become involved in a way that suits them from planting a pot or trough or just enjoying the company of other people. They were not required to make a commitment to help and could change their mind later if their circumstances changed.

Following on from the success of this the ‘Seniors United Group’ suggested that this year we looked at completing two more ‘Plant a Pot events’ at the sheltered schemes. It was agreed that Oakendale and Thomas Hardy Court would be approached to have an event at their schemes.

Diane Hughes (Tenant Involvement Assistant) visited Edward Court to discuss the proposed ‘Handyperson Service’ for sheltered schemes and it was requested that Edward Court was included in a ‘plant a pot’ event for this year. Lorraine Tickner (Independent Living Manager) felt that it would boost morale and bring the community together at this scheme. After further discussions it was agreed that an event could go ahead.

After the meeting the Diane contacted the Independent Living Manager and requested that she attended a coffee morning/ afternoon to discuss whether they were happy for the event to take place and if they would all get involved.

Edward Court was very keen to have an event at their sheltered scheme and discussed the following ideas with Diane: Concerns were raised on how some residents would join in and lift the pots. Diane confirmed that there would be plenty of assistance on the day with the tenant involvement and caretaking teams.

Residents requested red, white and blue flowers / plants to pot

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As some residents are housebound it was agreed that their neighbours or families could plant a pot on their behalf and the caretakers would deliver them to the residents or hang the baskets up on the day.

Residents agreed to get into the spirit of the day and to get dressed up in red, white and blue on the day.

Instead of a prize for the ‘best dressed’ tenant it was agreed that extra jubilee paraphernalia would be purchased for their forthcoming diamond jubilee party at the scheme.

Invitation sent to tenants

Who was in attendance on the day?

Diane Hughes Tenant participation assistant Helen Rich Tenant participation- administration support Robert Dyer Caretaker Alan Marshall Caretaker Stuart Jackson Caretaker Trevor Wylie Estates Manager Lorraine Tickner Independent Living Manager John Coombes Independent Living Coordinator 4

Meeting to discuss the event A meeting was held between the tenant participation team and the caretaking team to consider what could be achieved on the day. It was decided: Tenants would be encouraged to plant a pot, trough or hanging basket Pots to be purchased by the Tenant Involvement Team Flowers /plants in red, white and blue & jubilee paraphernalia would be provided by the tenant participation team.

Bunting was donated by the Tenant Involvement Team Support would be offered to less mobile tenants on the day.

No large work would be carried out at this small event, for example, hedges or trees.

Caretaking team would be on hand to assist with hanging baskets and delivering pots to resident’s doors.

Assistance would be offered to less mobile tenants and participation encouraged in a way that suits the individual needs of the tenants.

Risk assessments A risk assessment and health and safety concerns were discussed between the Estates Manager and the Tenant Involvement Team The event The event was held at Edward Court on Tuesday 29 May 2012. The event itself was very well attended with more than 16 tenants taking part on the day.

Everyone involved was dressed in red, white and blue to celebrate the Queens Diamond Jubilee celebrations and everyone really entered into the spirit on the day.

Everyone was encouraged to plant a pot, trough or hanging basket with colourful plants and flowers. Many residents joined in and there was a lot of laughter on the day. The Independent Living Manager, Lorraine Tickner encouraged participation and assisted on the day.

Residents getting into the spirit of the event

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Post event responses from questionnaire 11 residents completed the post event questionnaire and over 16 residents joined in on the day How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the completed Sheltered Housing garden event?

9 (82%) of respondents stated that they are very satisfied with the completed sheltered housing scheme gardening event that they were involved in.

2 (18%) of respondents stated that they are fairly satisfied with the completed sheltered housing scheme gardening event that they were involved in.

How satisfied or dissatisfied were you with how we kept you informed about the project?

9 (82%) of respondents stated that they are very satisfied with how they were kept informed about the project.

2 (18%) of respondents stated that they are fairly satisfied with how they were kept informed about the project.

How satisfied or dissatisfied were you that your views were taken into account during planning?

9 (82%) of respondents stated that they are very satisfied that their views were taken into account during the planning of the project.

2 (18%) of respondents stated that they are very satisfied that their views were taken into account during the planning of the project.

Tenants were asked what they felt the key benefits of the project are. The following responses were noted;• 91% of respondents stated that it ‘Encouraged a group of residents to work together on a project’.

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91% of respondents stated that it ‘Promoted a positive image of Sheltered Schemes in Tamworth’.

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82% of respondents stated that it ‘Encouraged local community action amongst tenants and residents’.

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91% of respondents stated ‘Everyone had a chance to participate in a way that suited them’.

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91% of respondents stated that it ‘improved the local environment’

Was it worth it and will we be doing another one?

The event was very successful for all concerned and will be considered for other sheltered schemes in the borough.

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Comments made after the event “I enjoyed the day. It was lovely”.

Cynthia Beale “Good day and the weather was great. We all enjoyed it”.

Mr N. Smith “My neighbour planted a pot for me as I am blind and housebound”.

Mrs K Butler “I really appreciated the baskets that my neighbour planted for me as I’m housebound.”

Mrs E Sadler “I have really enjoyed the day and my flowers look great. Bob helped to carry them round to everyone’s doors” Ann Harborne (Robert Dyer works in the caretaking team and assisted on the day) “Really enjoyed the day and getting involved”. Rosemary Wood “It was a shame that more of the residents didn’t gather. The team of people who helped are very good. Thank you”.

Mrs B Lawrence “The feedback from the residents has been very good and they all enjoyed the day” Tony Head (Independent Living Manager) “Thank you to the tenant involvement team for holding this event as requested from the residents of Edward Court. The weather was great and so many residents got involved and planted pots of hanging baskets or joined us for refreshments afterwards. A fun packed event.”

Lorraine Tickner (Independent Living Manager)

John Coombes, preparing the area for the event.

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Thank you The tenant participation team would like to say a special thank you to all involved in making the event a success: To all the wonderful tenants and their families who were involved in making the event successful and a real pleasure to work alongside.

Lorraine Tickner, Independent Living Manager at Edward Court, was an excellent support both before the event, encouraging participation, and on the day.

John Coombes, Independent Living Coordinator Councillor Michael Greatorex The Caretaking team: Bob, Alan and Stuart and their Estates Manager, Trevor for all their hard work and dedication to the event.

Bob hanging baskets for residents on the day

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The event in pictures

Having great fun and a little dance before we started planting

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If you would like a copy of this document then please contact the tenant participation team on:

Telephone: 01827 709448 Freephone: 0800 183 0454 Tenant Participation Team Tamworth Borough Council Marmion House Lichfield Street Tamworth Staffordshire B79 7BZ Alternatively visit our website

http://www.tamworth.gov.uk/housing/tenant_participation.aspx

Drawn by 10-year-old Katherine Dewar, from Chester.

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