It’s been another action packed week here at Medtia Square, starting with a huge event over at The Atrium Café. On Monday evening, we hosted the retirement party of Cath Green, chief executive of First Choice Homes. Our amazing students and staff spent the day preparing a buffet for 150 guests and then Jack and Chloe volunteered to stay until 7pm to serve up the food. They really did us proud and as a result of their hard work and dedication, I have awarded them both my ‘Worker of the Week Award’. Well done, Chloe and Jack!

On Wednesday our entrepreneurs from the Digit4ll and Pre-Internship pathways went over to Manchester to set up their own stalls at the Christmas Markets. Our pre-interns were selling handmade wine glass charms and the Digit4ll guys were selling a range of goods including personalised mobile phone cases. In addition to this, the Digit4ll team were commissioned (and paid) by Young Enterprise to make a documentary of the day which I will share in this blog when it is ready! Mr Bright was with the team..

Wow! What a day we had! The two Digit4ll enterprises, New Bridge Productions and New Bridge Printers, worked hard at the Manchester Christmas Markets in Piccadilly Gardens. From packing the stock to setting up the stall and being paid to film the event, it was an action-packed day! Mitchell logged the sales..

..while Hasnain, Lewis and Luke interviewed the different enterprises for their film..

The success of a day like today is seeing all our students in the heart of the city centre interacting with the public. Every student worked really hard to promote their products. They handed out flyers, interacted with customers and managed the float of money..

On the day we sold around 20 different items making a profit of around £50. It may not be much money at the Manchester markets but it was an experience each of the students relished. Massive thanks to Mr Slater and Mr Handrick!

The students have also now successfully sold all the shares in their new enterprise, UnITe..

Yesterday I woke up to a headline that shocked and appalled me.. ‘Disabled people are to blame for sluggish economy’. In the article which you can read here, Philip Hammond, Chancellor of the Exchequer, blames the increase of employment for disabled workers for the decrease in UK productivity. These comments are massively discriminatory and hugely offensive. I urge the Chancellor to come to Oldham, a town that embraces its disabled work force and provides equal opportunities for all. I’d like to draw Mr Hammond’s attention to the contributions that our past and present students with disabilities and learning difficulties make to their employers and to their community. This week alone, Mr Hammond….

• Reece is working full time as classroom support assistant in a local primary school
• Keiffer has cared for abused animals at the local RSPCA shelter
• Aisha has provided administrative support for a local plastics factory
• Nathan has worked hard as a caretaker at a local secondary school
• Abdul has worked 20 hours as a kitchen porter at the local Beefeater pub
• David has served hundreds of customers with a friendly smile at Tesco
• Kyle has networked computers at Manchester Metropolitan University
• Stephen and Chloe have prepared and served food at a local café
• Tony and Dylan have assisted customers at our local Leisure Centre
• Niamh has read many stories and played lots of games in her role as a nursery nurse
• Terry has assisted local people to find books at the library
• Elizabeth has sterilised and prepared equipment packs for surgeons at our local hospital
• Humayan has made beds and cleaned rooms at our local Premier Inn Hotel

I really could go on and on and on… all of these students and many more, past and present have a disability or learning difficulty and more importantly, they have a job. They are valued members of staff, they are hardworking and tenacious, they are determined and driven and they are truly inspirational. They are not now, nor will they ever be, the cause of reduced productivity. Our students have the best attendance records at work, they are reliable and have a charisma and charm that makes their colleagues want to come to work each day and their customers want to come back time and time again. Mr Hammond….read our blogs, visit our schools, see our students at work and take back your comments!

Now, back to the real world and more inspiration from Daniel who is in his final week down at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) in his role as a Mail Room Assistant, over to you Daniel to give us an insight into your working day..

A day in the life of Daniel
Mail Services, Manchester Metropolitan University

I start my day by catching two buses independently to MMU and I normally arrive at about 9am. I start work between then and 9.30am..

My manager tells me what he wants me to do this morning so I start collecting the mail and think about what equipment I need to carry it..

There’s lots of parcels that need to be delivered to one of the students halls of residence so I need to take the trolley with me..

It’s over to the John Dalton Post Room next, there’s lots of pigeon holes to sort mail into!!

Then I call by the Student Union to see if they have any mail they need picking up..

After dinner I need to pick up some empty mail boxes from the Business School and bring them back to the post room..

Now I’m on my way to building number 70 and the North West Film Archives down Oxford Road to pick up post – it’s quite a walk! 

My day finishes at 2.30pm and I make my way home with my job coach. All in a day’s work!

Next week we have our Christmas dinner on Monday over at First Choice Homes and students can leave their uniforms at home and wear their own choice of clothes. On Friday 15th we have our Christmas Jumper Day which I am particularly looking forward to.

This weekend we are forecast heavy snow – please do check the school website and our Facebook and Twitter pages for up to date information on all of our sites before you set off for school.

Have a wonderful weekend,

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

You can view our previous blog entries here

Click here for this week’s news from Graham