Red2Green's Stepping Stones project

At the tail end of 2006, Red2Green had the opportunity to bid for some project funding under EEDA's Investing in Community (IiC) programme, administered through the Greater Cambridge Partnership. IiC was developed to help tackle deprivation and social exclusion, and the delivery partners it funds support a variety of disadvantaged groups.

"The IiC's programme for 2007 to 2011 centres around a range of interventions that will:

• provide opportunities for disadvantaged people to improve and enhance their skills through developing 'progression pathways'. This will include a focus on assisting young people in the transition from school to further education, employment or training, and develop adult skills and training for the economically inactive;
• assist the most disadvantaged to enhance their employability;
• encourage enterprise through work with disadvantaged groups and in the most deprived communities."

Source: Business Plan 2007-2011, Investing in Communities, Cambridgeshire. 'Building approaches to mainstreaming through sharing good practice and innovation'

To help in planning its strategic intervention, the Greater Cambridge Partnership funded a mapping exercise, looking at the county's demographics. It highlighted need among many of the groups that Red2Green has expertise in supporting. For example:

• [there are] "5,500 people across the county [Cambridgeshire] receiving Job Seekers Allowance and a more significant number receive Incapacity Benefit or Severe Disablement Allowance;
• In LSC's Cambridgeshire area, 46% of 16-18s with learning difficulties/disabilities are in employment, education or training - this is low compared to the English average of 59%;
• The average rate of young adults in Cambridgeshire identified as not in employment, education or training stands at 5.5%. Rates in Fenland are above the average at over 8%, and in South Cambridgeshire rates are the lowest at 2.5%."

Source: 'Developing the evidence base for the Cambridgeshire Investing in Communities programme', September 2006, Oxford Consultants for Social Inclusion and Roger Tym and Partners

We produced a 'how we did it' report after the 2 ½ month project. The report has two main focuses. The first is the Stepping Stones learning path we devised, along with the motivational workshops we ran to progress our clients along them. Secondly, the report looks at the process we went through in strengthening our monitoring systems so we can better record our clients' non-accredited achievement.

Click here to download a copy of the Report (as a PDF).

Our key IiC Stepping Stones outcomes were to:

1. begin working with participants on personal development plans (25 clients)
2. support people with CV development and interview skills training (25 clients)
3. assist people starting formal qualifications (15 clients)
4. secure appropriate volunteer placements (17 clients)
5. secure work taster sessions (12 clients)
6. secure jobs or apprenticeships (2 clients)
7. enhance Red2Green's website with Stepping Stones programmes and 'how we did it' report.

Our key outputs were to:

1. assist 13 people to a job, primarily through CV development and interview skills
2. assist 15 people in skills development, largely through starting new qualifications or other educational courses.

Stepping Stones proved useful in involving additional clients, as well as offering exciting new opportunities to existing ones. In addition Red2Green's staff began training to become fully qualified NVQ assessors which will provide opportunities for the future and sustainability. Three times in February and March 2007 we ran 10 different motivation and self esteem training sessions, with in total at least 50 participants. The sessions proved so popular that Red2Green is integrating the activities into future programmes. The tutor guidance notes and activity sheets can be downloaded free of charge, and are copyright free.

Click here to go to the downloads page.

Click here to download a copy of the Report (as a PDF).