MPP Project Meeting Notes Meeting 01 March 2015

MPP Project Meeting Notes Meeting 01 March 2015

Attending: Tania Stephens, Greg Brooks, Kamal Hamadan, Mousa Al-Mukattash, Mohamad Bassar

Apologies: Brendan D’Cruz

1/ Introductions.

2/ Background

a)History Trinity Child and Family Centre CIC – Tania Stephens

Trinity started as a large community project ~20 years ago.
Worked with Aberfan Presbyterian Chapel
Direction was to get children off the street, taught car mechanics, had 4 garages as workshops.
Direction Changed, built care centre on top of garages
Tania joined 1998 as Nursery Nurse, changed to management in 2004 to expand services offered. New services
After school club, (seen as a single thing).
Joined partnerships, (Welsh Coop and other local initiatives)
2009 new business plan.
Found current site, (purpose built nursery school), spent £25k on repairs, (3 years funding gone in 4 months!).
Moved from previous site to this one 2010-2011 as planned move keeping partnership with chapel going. Unfortunately partnership failed.
Went to a new ‘programme7 of regeneration and local authority funding. Business plan updated.
Moved in Oct 2011 with 30 children and 12 staff.
Daycare and Pre-School added, extra 18 children and 4 staff.
Added Flying Start for children 2-3 years old child care/pre-school.
Added Parents & Toddler.
Jan 2012 extended opening hours to 07:30 to 18:00 Monday to Friday, (closed Sat, Sun & Bank Holidays).
Now 28 staff full and part time.
Pre School
Breakfast Club
P
Wraparound
Saturday workshops
Open access playgroups
Mobile crèche
Separated from Aberfan Project Jan 2013 and became CIC
Not certain that this was the right direction to go
Problems with locals concept of a company as originated as a charity.
Partners
Coop
Coalfields
Local authority
Aim is a ‘Sustainable Family Centre’
Note. For each new child need more adult staff as regulated ratios.
Babies (0-2), 1 to 3 per adult
Children (2-8), 1-4 per adult, (depending on needs).
Therefore largest outgoing is staff salaries.
Bulding currently allows in :
Room 1 28 children
Room 2 20 children
Total 48 children
Increase inchildren with learning needs who require 1 to 1 attention.
3 autistic
Epilepsy
Downs syndrome
Plus others with complex needs
Current structure of finance through grants coming to end in March 2015, looking for new ways of raising money, web/digital presence will be used to help facilitate these.

b)Where you see Trinity in 5 years?

Financially sustainable
Full to capacity, (whatever that becomes)
New developed services
Currently most parents/guardians find out about TC&FC through word of mouthor from recommendations wcith partner organizations such as health teams, (DMissability Services etc).
Develop an ‘Mobile Creche’

a)Risk assess room at hirers site

b)Put childcare in

c)Support whilst ‘event’ takes place.

d)Can take up to 7 weeks to do from start to finnish!

e)Each age group has different needs and requirements.

Barrier to commercial company is workforce stability is childcare. E.g. in holidays TC&FC put staff into businesses to run day-care/holiday clubs so parents can continue to work.
Staff development
TC&FC puts lot of effort into training and upskilling its staff.
Secured some more for parents and toddler for children. Saturday morning and parents get 1st aid training as part of the package.
Have very good staff retention figures for industry, but it is limiting as also inflexible, (TC&FC don’t use agency staff for fill-in staff).
Have 3 now at Level 5.

c)How/why will Web/Digital presence help Trinity?

“It’s a digital wcorld”.
Have 3 domain names
Had website in past but lost it wher separated from Aberfan programme.
Quality Expectations
“Don’t want website/digital presence to be too ‘fluffy’”
Require ‘partially separated’ email accounts(could be better to have one for each service/club).
Are on twitter but just learning.
Are on Facebook which has changed recently to have closed groups below main portal.
Have looked at reducing members on ‘Trinity Families’ but it is seen as a good hub for community news.
Tania has been on Youtube when receiving a local award.
Data Protection Act.
Have some special DPA Children attending.
Currently do leaflet drops, but can’t put too much on 1 side of A5.
“Photos speak louder than words”
Other view – “hard headed packages for business to buy services in e.g. holiday clubs to raise revenue.
Get some donations through “Friends of Trinity”.
Can’t apply for grants now as seen too successful at this in the past.
Partnerships. Went to see new ‘soft play centre’ and gave them sopme leaflets, they put posters for TC&FC up on the walls, laminated the A5 as ‘menus’ on the cafeteria area tables, put “Trinty” on their lavyards. They have a big footfall, gained 3 new enquiries from families that saw Trinty advertised there. Want to develop more partnerships such as these.
Note
from GB. “Trinity” is a very common name for similar offerings around the country, (28.6M hits for ‘Trinity Family’ on google).
Tania – this is because roots were religious in nature. “child and family centre ‘ sounds likeo social services, which is not wanrted.
Directors want to keep the “Trinty” name.
Trinity unique selling point is ‘Look at whole family’ don’t just take child for a set time for straight financial exchange.
Question.
GB. What happens if web presence & marketing campaign brings in demand to accommodate an extra 40 to 50 children?
Tania. Always have a turnover every year as older children go up to main school.
After School and Holiday Club are not full.
Pre-School 1 x am and 1 x pm spaces.
Trinity would like to see a waiting list, as long as it does not get too long.
Also do have a turnover of children in year as panent’s circumstances change.
Plan to develop space at back of site as a new block.
Bungalow across road can also be used as an overflow facility.

3/ Quality Expectations/Budget

Want a £0, £150, £300, £aspirational set of options in Business Case.
Style& Coherence accross web, twitter etc.
Seen as a possibility of a real business killer.
Like picturesof staff
Like picturesof children
Like picturesof facilities
Don’t want a ‘dead look’.
Keen on promoting ‘Aberfan’
Like & ties in with centre use of primary colours, particularly Yellow then Green then Red.
Use of Teddy in daffodils as logo?
Like use of photos n frames such as display boards in entrance
Want IIP & FIS, Care Standards etc. with links to those organizations.
Like idea of a ‘service list’ down left hand side of pages.
Want a ‘what’s on page’ that can be constantly updated.
Would like to look at ability of parents/guardians to make on line payments, (currently Trinty do have an card payment facilityon site).
Interested on having on line booking
Interested in on line evaluation facility.
Want to include things like “Healthy Snacks” etc.
Note. Local mobile signal coverage is not good
Currently Facebook is how the parents & staff communicate. Advantage of this is has version control built into messaging. Tania uses this for taking bookings & at weekends for emergency bookings.
Online booking? Tania not certain about this, feels it may be a step too far and would disenfranchise ‘Role Leaders’ who currently manage staff.
Would like Anti Virus and Adblocker as part of package.
Brendan is doing an IT Audit.
Need to update “FIS”, (Family Information Service” fo Merthyr.gov.uk early in the year each year or if add a service. Can this be automated and published to their website?
Use the 3 web addresses for
Families
Friends
Business

4/ .Managing of the Project

“Waterfall vs Agile”
GB gave potted explanation of PRINCE2 and DSDM. Tania understands difference and happy with agile approach, but not up on terminology so project will need to make sure communications as jargon free as.possible.
Tania likes bullet points, doesn’t have time for essays.
Microsoft Office documents are OK.
Board meetings to be held at Trinity Aberfan.
Tania contact details – 07821 487330 or 01443 693777.

Actions

GB. Email student contact details to Tania

TS. Email brochures and other information to project team.