Kibble Admin

Pupils and staff at Garnock Lodge Primary School have been celebrating being made a Silver ‘Eco-School.’ The school had previously been awarded Bronze but having impressed the judges, their efforts have been given greater recognition.

The Eco-Schools Awards is designed to encourage pupil-led, whole school action for the environment.  It is a recognised award scheme that accredits schools who make a commitment to continuously improve their environmental performance.

As part of the Silver Award, pupils formed an Eco Committee that looks at every aspect of how the school works. They are also responsible for coming up with ideas to help a school become more environmentally friendly.

Fiona Holmes, Service Manager at Garnock Lodge, said:

“The children have been working very hard and deserve huge credit for achieving this award. As part of the curriculum we have been learning about electricity, energy and sustainability.

“The kids have carried out an environmental review and as part of the action plan hey are helping the environment by reducing, reusing and recycling. This has made a real difference to the way in which we think about our local environment and how we can make it better.”

The Eco-Schools programme is managed in Scotland by Keep Scotland Beautiful. Keep Scotland Beautiful is the leading provider of sustainable development education initiatives in schools, encouraging action and behavioural change by young people which will leave an enduring legacy for Scotland; it is part of its work to help make Scotland clean and green, today and tomorrow.

Over 180 young people who have care experience or caring responsibilities took part in a Christmas artistic extravaganza in Paisley Town Hall this week (Tuesday, 13th December).  The creative youngsters were taking part in Care2Create, a showcase including an art exhibition, live music, jewellery making, Christmas decoration workshops, and even a chance to try “Free Running” also known as Parkour.

Care2Create was organised jointly by Kibble, Who Cares? Scotland and Renfrewshire Carers Centre with funding support from Creative Scotland’s CashBack for Creativity programme. Many of the young people had spent the previous few months at weekly workshops to prepare arts and crafts for display as well as rehearsing performances for the evening.

These workshops have given more than 70 young people the opportunity to learn new skills, improve their confidence and engage in the arts. Speaking after the event, Chief Executive of Kibble Education and Care Centre Graham Bell said:

“At Kibble, we know the importance of using expressive arts to help with the rehabilitation and educational opportunities of the young people that we care for. Whether it is the live performance of the Kibble Band, the amazing watercolours from our art class or the skill of the free runners, the ability and standards of our students never ceases to impress me.

“I have watched our young performer’s confidence flourish and they have relished the opportunity to perform in front of so many of their peers. I would like to thank Creative Scotland for their support for such an important project.”

Duncan Dunlop, Chief Executive of Who Cares? Scotland said;

“Care experienced young people have so much to offer. Care2Create shows us just how talented and passionate young people in care.

“We know that too often, young people in care feel judged and don’t have a voice. Society misunderstands their lives and labels them as bad. In reality, they have all the potential in the world and just need support to unlock it.

“When everyone gets behind care experienced people and celebrates their success, events like this happen. We’re looking forward to seeing how else Paisley, and the rest of Scotland, starts to champion our care experienced people.”

Laura Black, Arts Officer – Cashback for Creativity, Creative Scotland:

“The achievements of all the young people who have taken part in Care2Create, witnessed through the creative feast they provided at the Christmas Showcase event last night, highlights the power of arts and creativity in raising a young person’s aspirations and helping them realise their full potential.

“Taking part in artistic and creative experiences fosters a whole range of life skills, building communication, confidence and self-esteem. It’s inspiring to watch these young people, from often challenging and traumatic life experiences, learn and grow through creative experiences. Well done to all those who took part, and to all those who facilitated their creative learning.”

Staff and young people from across Kibble donned their white beards and red suits to take part in the annual Santa Dash Glasgow last week, Sunday 11th December. This is the fourth year in a row that Kibble has taken part in the event, raising money for a different good cause each year. The team raised £180 for The Beatson with members of Arran Villa, Maintenance, Health, Training, Education and Care braving the wet weather along with 7500 others.

The 5km course takes in the sites of Glasgow City Centre but all eyes were firmly fixed on the visually spectacular site of so many people running dressed as Santa Claus.

Claire Spence from Kibble’s Safe Centre said:

“It was great to see so many people from across the service come together for a great morning. The young people have worked hard on fundraising for such a worthwhile cause. But they also love their new Santa suits!

“Even the cold and wet weather couldn’t stop the smiles on their faces at the finish line.”

One of Kibble’s social enterprises has won the ‘Best Visitor Attraction’ at this year’s Scottish Thistle Awards. The Renfrewshire venue beat a host of other tourist hotspots from across the West of Scotland to be crowned the winners and will now compete with the other regional winners for a national Thistle Award next March.

Judges commented on the exceptional customer service as well as range of activities at the Renfrewshire venue. In addition to go-karting, customers can also access a fully equipped sensory room, Laser Tag, conference rooms, children’s party facilities and a restaurant.

Speaking after winning the title, General Manager at The Experience Lynsey McLean said:

“I want to thank all of our customers and staff team who have helped make this possible. What many of our visitors don’t realise is that we work extremely hard to provide employment and training opportunities to local youngsters in Renfrewshire.

“As a social enterprise, all our profits are reinvested into the business so when they use The Experience, they are helping create these opportunities.

“To win ‘Best Visitor Attraction’ is amazing and is down to the hard work of The Experience team. They can rightly and proudly be officially described as the best in the West.”

Described as the Oscars of the tourism industry, the Scottish Thistle Awards have been running for over 20 years. They recognise the excellence in a growing tourist market estimated to be worth over £11bn to the Scottish economy per year.

Rebecca Brooks, Chair of the Scottish Thistle Awards Industry Panel and VisitScotland Board member, said:

“A huge congratulations to all of the winners at the West Regional Final and I wish them the best of luck as they move forward to represent the region in the Scottish Thistle Awards National Final next year.

“It has been another record-breaking year of entries for the Scottish Thistle Awards and winners, and indeed all finalists, should be very proud of their achievements in such a highly competitive field.

“Tourism is the heartbeat of the Scottish economy – supporting communities and creating jobs throughout the year in every corner of the country.

“The Scottish tourism industry and hospitality sector prides itself on delivering a rewarding experience for visitors and success here is both recognition of excellence and innovation, and a sign of quality. It is their warm welcome, embodying the Spirit of Scotland, which makes the country a world-class destination for visitors.”

Paisley’s Kibble Education and Care Centre has been honoured alongside the Scottish procurement elite at the Government Opportunities (GO) Excellence in Public Procurement Awards Scotland 2016/17.

The GO Awards are the UK’s premier procurement awards. A national ceremony already takes place in England and October this year saw the launch of the inaugural GO Awards Wales, with the GO Awards Ireland launching in 2017. The GO Awards are recognised as the benchmark by which procurement excellence and progress in public sector commissioning is measured.

Kibble were the winners in the ‘Best Service Award’ for their consistently high quality of public service. Executive Director at Kibble Neil Govan said:

“This is a great achievement for everyone in the Kibble team. We work extremely hard to deliver excellence and value to the public sector so that the young people in our care get the best possible chance to succeed.

“We are proud of our history in Paisley both as an employer and as a social enterprise. We do not have shareholders or operate for a profit – every penny the public sector spends at Kibble is reinvested to create opportunities for our young people.”

Grahame Steed, managing editor of GO and chair of the judging panel, said:

“What a fantastic night it was! The Scottish public procurement community really embraced the GO Awards and the Procurex Scotland Live event earlier in the day and we’re absolutely delighted with the support. The finalists were behind some ground-breaking initiatives and were keen to benchmark themselves against the best in the country. So, thank you to all who entered and well done to all the winners and highly commended!”

Singing, dancing, film making and hip-hop were on the programme as the young people of Kibble Education and Care Centre performed in their annual ‘Kibble Allsorts’ revue show. They played to a packed audience of invited guests and members of the public at its Paisley campus.

‘Kibble Allsorts’ was run in conjunction with the Scottish Mental Health & Film Festival which puts on events throughout Scotland in October each year. The Festival was originally set up to celebrate the artistic achievements of people with experience of mental health issues and to promote positive mental health and wellbeing. The Kibble youngsters impressed with their versions of pop hits Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes, Beggin’ from Frankie Valli and Crazy In Love by Beyonce, amongst others. They were joined on stage with special guest appearances from the student dancers at West College Scotland and Glasgow-based actress Zoe Halliday with their own routines.

Speaking after the event, Principal Teacher of Expressive Arts Laura Cairns said:

“Everyone worked tirelessly to put on such a fantastic evening. The young people learn and develop new skills and confidence throughout the whole process of putting on the variety show.

“From the ICT Class making the short film, the Art Class preparing for the exhibition, or the many hours of practice that our musicians dedicated to making the live performances such a success – I want to pay tribute to all of them.”

Chief Executive Designate of Kibble Jim Gillespie said:

“Yet another fantastic evening showcasing the talent this school has to offer. I thought the performances were outstanding – the sheer quality shone through. What’s less easy to appreciate is the skilful, thoughtful support that brings the youngsters to this point.

“The confident, capable performances don’t just happen and weeks of hard work allow the boys and girls to conquer their nerves and deliver in front of a packed audience. When it all comes together like it did this evening one can’t help but feel incredibly proud of this school.”

Kibble is hosting the spectacular Allsorts show as part of the Mental Health Arts and Film Festival. Please come along and support this great event!

When: Thursday 27 October 2016, 7.00pm
Where: Gannochy Trust Centre for Expressive Arts, Goudie Street, Paisley, PA3 2LG (Kibble Campus)

The stage is set for another dazzling show as pupils get ready to showcase their creative talents on stage alongside community groups. Now in its 5th year, get ready to be entertained by; the Kibble Band, West College Dancers, musical theatre, Strictly Come Dancing, films, and arts and crafts stalls. A delicious buffet will also be served, courtesy of our Home Economics department.

The Mental Health Arts and Film Festival is one of Scotland’s most diverse cultural events. Attended by over 20,000 people, the Festival takes place in venues across Scotland and features; music, film, visual art, theatre, dance and literature. Now in its ninth year, the Festival supports the arts, and challenges preconceived ideas about mental health. It celebrates the artistic achievements of those with experience of mental health, the link between creativity and the mind, and promotes positive mental health and well-being.

Prepare to sing, dance and tap your feet at this year’s Allsorts Show! Please bring along friends and family and let’s make this a night to remember!

How Do I Attend?
Register your attendance by emailing Nicole Hastie (please click link).

MPs from across the UK got the chance to see how social enterprises like Kibbleworks are helping give young people the chance of training and employment. The cross party Work and Pensions Committee were on a fact finding trip to The Experience in Hillington to hear first-hand about Kibble’s Youth Employment Support Programme.

The programme gives real life work experience in the hospitality sector as well as supporting young people in their search for longer term employment. Members of the committee heard about the concerns young people had with getting a job, changes to the welfare system and opportunities to fulfil their potential.

Paisley and Renfrewshire South MP Mhairi Black, who is a member of the committee, had been keen to organise a visit to Renfrewshire as part of the inquiry into the barriers young people face in getting a job. As a Young Workforce Development Centre, The Experience was an ideal venue to find out more.

The Work and Pensions Committee will use the evidence that they have gathered as part of their inquiry to report on the problems young people face in gaining employment and to form recommendations for the Department of Work and Pensions.

We caught up with Karen Gilligan, Manager at Oskars, to find out more about the social enterprise and the services it provides:

What does your business do?
Opened in 2010, Oskars is a social enterprise based in the heart of Paisley that provides a range of second-hand furniture, white goods, and other household items at affordable prices. Our services also include; painting and decorating, gardening, bulk uplift services, and home and office clearances.

As a social enterprise, Oskars is a business that supports those on low incomes by providing low cost, clean, safe, donated furniture. In addition, we offer youth employment, education and skills training to young people furthest removed from the job market, helping open up greater employment opportunities.

Located at 55 Clark Street, Paisley, Oskars is open to the public and provides an eclectic mix of preloved sofas, bedroom furniture, dining tables and chairs, wardrobes, vintage furniture, shabby chic items and more – ideal for upcycling projects. Selling quality items at affordable prices, Oskars is perfect if you’re looking to update your home on a budget, or on a low income.

In partnership with Zero Waste Scotland we offer free upcycling workshops to local residents.  Workshops can take place either at a community group meeting or in Oskars showroom in Paisley. For customers referred to Oskars from housing organisations or local authorities, we can provide generously discounted prices.

We employ young people who face barriers to employment.  They spend six months with us in a real job environment. Training is provided and support is given to find full-time permanent positions at the end of the six month period.  City & Guilds and SVQ qualifications can be worked towards together with Fork Lift Truck training.  To date we have successfully supported over 30 young people into full-time permanent jobs.

We work to a triple bottom line of ‘planet, people and prosperity’.

What are you most proud of when it comes to Oskars?
I am most proud of the young people that we work with who come to us labelled as ‘furthest from the job market’.  Those young people who are willing to work hard and undertake training can turn their lives around as our aim is to offer six months of real life work experience, and support our trainees into mainstream employment.  Our team leaders do this by role modelling, training, coaching and nurturing.  We have had success in this area and the majority of our trainees come back to visit us to let us know how they are getting on.

What do you find most enjoyable in day-to-day business life?
I enjoy seeing the wide variety of items that come into the showroom on a daily basis.  We cannot predict what furniture we will have in stock at any given time.  I also enjoy the fact that we respond to need.  We work two weeks ahead in our planning of jobs but are proud that we have a reputation for reacting quickly to opportunities that arise and carry out jobs in an efficient and timely manner.  This is only possible with the flexibility of our wonderful staff team.

What are your ambitions for the future?
To develop our goods and services so that we can assist more young people into work, support those wishing to make a house a home which has shown to be a major factor in sustaining tenancies and protect our local environment by sending less to landfill.

How has the business changed over the years?
The business has developed over the years as we initially started out as simply a furniture reuse organisation.  However it soon became clear that there was a demand for other services and we responded to this by providing painting and decorating, gardening and the clearing out and cleaning of void properties.

What are your top three priorities?
1.      To provide employment and training to young people aged 16-29
2.      To offer quality furniture and services to householders and
organisations
3.      To expand what we do

Can you offer three tips to new-start businesses?
1.      Believe in yourself, your staff and what you are setting out to do
2.      Take advice from others who have previously worked in the
sector
3.      Work your socks off to make it a success

Why is Renfrewshire a great place to run a business?
It’s a great time to be working in the Renfrewshire area with talk of the regeneration of the town centre and all the excitement around the Paisley 2021 bid.  There is a plethora of fantastic community groups in Renfrewshire that we have worked with and supported in the past and hope to continue doing this in the future.

Has anything weird or wonderful happened in your working life?
One of the most wonderful things that happened to us was back in 2011 when we had an impromptu visit from Robin Gibb when he was in Paisley with the research team from the BBC’s Who Do You Think You Are?  He spent some time talking to our young trainees and asked a lot of questions about what we were doing and what we wanted to achieve.   Those of us who grew up listening to the Bee Gees, (the older members of staff), were overawed!

What is the main thing you have learned since being involved with Oskars?
The main thing I have learned is that you have to work hard to achieve success but in the words of Simon Sinek, the leadership and management author, “working hard for something we don’t care about is called stress; working hard for something we love is called passion.”

THE Presiding Officer of The Scottish Parliament Ken Macintosh MSP took time last week to see how Kibble’s social enterprise OSKARS is giving new life to old furniture. Mr Macintosh was visiting the OSKARS showroom in Clark Street, where he also heard about work and training opportunities for local youngsters.

Starting in 2010, OSKARS refurbishes and resells household items at an affordable cost through a process known as ‘upcycling’. As a social enterprise, the money from every sale is reinvested back into the business and aims to stop as much furniture as possible being sent to landfill.

Ken Macintosh MSP said:

“I am delighted to have had the chance to see first-hand some of the work that OSKARS does locally. It was humbling to hear one of the trainees, Ryan, tell me about no matter how hard he tried, no one was willing to give him a chance to prove himself in the workplace until he started in OSKARS.

“It is a very simple idea but also very effective. We can stop unnecessary waste going to landfill and support training and work opportunities for young people in Renfrewshire.

“The scale and the scope of work is impressive and I know that both OSKARS, and trainees like Ryan, will continue to flourish.”

Karen Gilligan, Manager at OSKARS, said:

“I appreciate Ken taking the time to visit our showroom and to see some of the exciting work going on here.

“We are aiming to provide as many training opportunities as possible for local young people and our range of services now include painting and decorating, gardening, bulk uplift services, and home and office clearances.

“Our young people work incredibly hard every day to be ready for the world of work. The skills they gain here help them achieve that goal.”

OSKARS, part of KibbleWorks, provides training and employment opportunities open to 16-24 year olds who are currently unemployed. There are also opportunities specifically for those who have care experience. For more information about these opportunities, or to find out more about the services OSKARS provide, contact us on 0141 847 6626 or visit our website.