Well, it’s a rainy, miserable day here at Medtia but still one of my favourite days of the term, coffee morning! It gives us all an excuse to have a cake for breakfast….I’m already on my second! It was lovely to see so many parents and friends here at Medtia this morning. A huge thank you to those who donated cakes and to Sam at Horizons who raffled off some of his amazing art work to raise more money for Macmillan..

This week has seen another milestone here at New Bridge, as we celebrated our one year anniversary over at The Atrium Café, at First Choice Homes. Over 60 young people from across the Group have now accessed long term work placements at The Atrium and we are busier than ever!

Even on Wednesday, on their birthday, the team were busy preparing home made pies for a buffet for 60 of the First Choice Homes staff over lunch time. We continue to serve over 100 customers a day and still provide 30+ hot meals to the young people over at Medtia Square each lunch time..

The young people on placement have gained valuable skills in customer service, food preparation and hospitality, leading one of our young people into full time paid employment! Abdul, who had a full time placement in the Atrium last year, gained so many skills that he was successfully employed as a kitchen assistant at The Whitegate pub..

The Atrium has had a huge impact on our Group and we would like to take this opportunity to thank our staff Becki, Sammy and Toni along with our team of job coaches for their continued hard work..

Also, a huge congratulations to all of our young people who continue to provide a professional service to our customers each and every day! Happy Birthday, The Atrium!

Whilst talking about The Atrium, I will now announce our latest ‘Worker of the Week’. The award goes to Helal in our pre-internship group. Helal has been at The Atrium now for just two weeks and is already working independently in preparing food. This week, he prepped a buffet for ten people all by himself! He has a really positive attitude towards his work and is always asking the staff for jobs to do. Well done Helal… could you be our next student to move into paid employment in a kitchen? I would bet money on it!

This week’s ‘A Day in the Life of……’ features David who is on our Future Finders course. You may recall me talking about David last year, he was one of our first students to get a placement at Tesco. He is back there full time and there are already conversations with managers about a paid job, again I think it is just a matter of time as he continues to make a BIG impression on the staff. So here it is, a day in the life of our checkout star David…

A day in the life of David

Tesco, Greenfield

I start the day by travelling independently to Tesco Greenfield from my home via the 159 to Oldham bus station and then I get on the 180 which takes me straight to Tesco Greenfield..

I then arrive at Tesco for around 9am..

I sign in at Customer Services so that Tesco know I have arrived for work and at what time..

I then hang up my coat and put away my bag so I’m ready for my shift..

At 9:10am I start work on the tills for the morning. I make pleasant conversation with the customers, scan their items, take payment and even use the card machine and scan club cards. I am also starting to get used to people using coupons..

At 12:30pm I have my lunch in the staff canteen..

At 1:00pm I return to work on the tills serving customers. Afternoons are often busier than mornings..

At 2pm I finish work, collect my coat and bag and sign out at Customer Services again..

I then catch the 180 bus back to Oldham independently.

All in a day’s work!

Now over to Activ8 who this week have prepared a film to show just what it is like to spend a week on the Sports pathway. Thank you Mr Greenway for putting this together, enjoy!

To finish this week, I would like to thank Gemma Woolley who sadly leaves the organisation today. Gemma has been our Senior Job Coach on Future Finders for the past year and has done an exceptional job in supporting our young people into employment and independent volunteering opportunities. On behalf of all of those young people your support has had a life changing impact on, thank you. Gemma is going on to set up her own business in animal care! We wish you every success for the future and if I ever get a dog, I will get in touch when I need a holiday! From Monday, Anne-Marie Thompson will take over as senior job coach for Future Finders and will be the point of contact for families of Future Finders students.

Have a wonderful weekend, let’s hope this rain stops as I am at my best friend’s wedding and we need the sunshine to make an appearance!

Daniel
Director of Employment & Co Head of Site at Medtia Square

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