Category Archives: Good news stories

Allenton Under 12s take part in the Manchester Cup

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aufcAllenton United Under 12s have received £1,000 of support from the Allenton Big Local Community Chest fund. They put the money towards a trip to Manchester with 15 young people to take part in the Manchester Cup.

The football tournament took place over the Easter weekend and we’re pleased to report that the Allenton United Under 12s team did Allenton proud and came runners up in the cup.

Ash Delaney from Allenton United FC said: “Well what a weekend! Thank you to Allenton Big Local for giving us the opportunity to play in the Manchester Cup. We did our very best against teams from around the world and we came runners up. Continue reading →

Help us to tell the Allenton Big Local story

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Communications Service Provider

20 flexible hours per month (employed or self-employed options considered)

We are looking for someone to work closely with the Allenton Big Local partnership, the Plan Co ordinator, and local delivery partners to promote and report on Big Local activities in Allenton.

The post holder will be responsible for key communication tasks such as:

  • writing news stories for the Allenton Big Local blog and newsletters
  • managing Allenton Big Local’s social media posts
  • maintaining the website using WordPress
  • designing newsletters, posters and promotional flyers
  • distributing regular news updates using MailChimp and
  • representing Allenton Big Local at local and national events.

We need someone with communications experience who can confidently put together news updates and blog posts (copywriting and proofreading skills are therefore essential). You will also need to know how to maintain a website using WordPress and have an understanding of design and print management.

We anticipate that this post will require around 20 hours work each month, but the hours will often need to be worked flexibly across each week.

You can read more information about this role by downloading the service description here.

To apply, please send your CV or service proposal with an email explaining why you are interested in the post to info@biglocalallenton.co.uk.

Application deadline is 5pm on Tuesday 3 April 2018

Your chance to work with Allenton Big Local

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ABLLogoPlan Co-ordinator – Allenton Big Local

8 hours per week – £15 per hour

We are looking for a flexible person to support Allenton Big Local in co-ordinating the Big Local plan for Allenton, including responsibility for administration and minute-taking at meetings.  Some previous experience in an administrative role is desirable.

Big Local is an exciting opportunity for local residents to use at least £1 million to make a massive and lasting positive difference to their communities.

The post holder will work a flexible 8 hours each week to support local residents, the local trusted organisation, delivery partners and community groups to act on the needs and priorities of the local community. This will include a mixture of attending events, meetings, promotional activities, networking, and providing administrative support to the Big Local partnership and other activities as necessary to make the project a success.

Click here to download a job description

For more information about the post, please email info@biglocalallenton.co.uk or call 01332 557122.

To apply, please email your CV along with an email summarising your skills and explaining why you are interested in the post.

Application deadline: Thursday 15 March 2018

Outreach sessions for young people

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skatingDuring the refurbishment of St Martin’s Community Centre, the Enthusiasm Trust delivered youth sessions in October, November and December at alternative outreach venues within the Allenton Big Local area.

This included theatre trips, workshops, and a visit to the ice-skating rink in Derby. 

Their aim was to engage local young people in street based sports and games such as football, basketball, invasion games and a Christmas treasure hunt. The activities were designed to continue to divert young people away from anti-social behaviour and risk-taking activities and ensure their continued engagement and communication with youth mentors in anticipation of the youth club re-opening at St Martin’s. As well as sports and games, young people had the chance to take part in: 

  • an anger management workshop
  • two theatre trips
  • a fireworks event, and 
  • two Christmas workshops Continue reading →

Interview success for Work Club members

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1934839The Work Club continues to offer support to an average of 12 people every Monday at Allen Park. The club is funded by Allenton Big Local and delivered by Derby Adult Learning and offers a range of support to job seekers and those looking to improve their career prospects.

Chris, who runs the Work Club, said: “Most of the people drop in and stay for around an hour. They take part in a mixture of self-directed job search, mediated help to apply for jobs and information and guidance.”

During the last quarter of 2017, some of the longer term job seekers managed to find employment, including a gentleman who had suffered anxiety and lack of confidence for some time. With help and perseverance he has managed to secure a permanent position at Derby County’s Pride Park Stadium.   Continue reading →

Family cooking during half term activity session

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Allenton Big Local continues to fund cookery courses delivered by Nacro Osmaston Family Project. The courses help parents to increase their knowledge of food and the health benefits of cooking simple meals that cost very little. The sessions increase parental confidence and healthy eating and encourage families to try new foods. The course also gives them the know-how to adapt recipes to suit their own family’s tastes.

At the end of the course each parent receives a booklet that has been put together with some of the recipes from the course and some handy tips on cooking and staying healthy. Continue reading →

Helping families to set goals

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AdobeStock_136223569Allenton Big Local funds support for local families which is delivered by the Nacro Osmaston Family Project. You can read their latest update report here on our website.

The last quarter of the year is traditionally very busy for the team at Nacro, particularly in the run up to Christmas, which can be a very stressful time for families. It can be an especially difficult time for families with children where the parents have separated. Continue reading →

How our Bursary Scheme is helping local residents

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BursarySchemeWebImageThe Allenton Big Local Bursary Scheme was launched in August 2015 and, since then, we have approved 37 funding applications. The scheme offers up to £500 of support for course fees for people over the age of 16 who live in the Allenton Big Local area. For those who need support with childcare or other caring costs as a direct result of attending their course, there is also up to £500 of additional funding available. Continue reading →

2018 Community Event and AGM

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AGMAllenton Big Local held its annual community event and AGM at St Martin’s Community Centre on 9 January. The event was well attended by local residents, delivery partners, St Martin’s Church members, and representatives from local groups and organisations.

Allenton Big Local Chair, Edith Lang, presented an overview of the Big Local funded activities that had been running in Allenton in 2017. Attendees to the event received a copy of the latest Allenton Big Local newsletter and an update on how much of the £1m Big Lottery money has been spent so far and the partnership members for 2018. Continue reading →

Our partnership members

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JoinUs (2)We are holding our annual community event/AGM at St Martin’s Community Centre on Flint Street on 9 January at 6.30pm. You are welcome to come along to find out the latest from Allenton Big Local. Free refreshments will be served.

As part of the event, we will be voting on the proposed membership of the Allenton Big Local partnership, which currently includes the following people: Continue reading →

2017 survey results

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SurveyResults2017We completed our annual survey during 2017 and, this year, managed to speak to 135 people to get their views on Allenton and how they feel about the area. We have now published the results of the survey alongside the feedback from 2016 and 2015.

You can download a PDF of the results using this link.

The number of people who said that they were either ‘very happy’ or ‘happy’ living in the Allenton Big Local area was 71%. Whilst this is a very pleasing result, the figure is down a little from 2016 (when the figure was 79%), 2015 (77%) and 2014 (76%). Does this mean that people are less happy living in the area? Possibly, but there are other factors that may have influenced this change. Continue reading →

Would you like to join our partnership group?

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JoinUsSmallAt the community event that will take place on 9 January at St Martin’s Community Centre, we will be hold our AGM and confirm the Allenton Big Local partnership for 2018.

If you are a resident of Allenton Big Local and you are interested in joining our partnership group, we would love to hear from you. 

You don’t need any qualifications or special skills to be a member of the partnership group. All we ask is that you  live in the Allenton Big Local area and are passionate about improving your neighbourhood. Continue reading →

Come along to our community event for 2018

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ABLAGMPostcardPrintReadyAllenton Big Local is holding a community event at St Martin’s Community Centre on Flint Street in Allenton on 9 January 2018 at 6.30pm.

Residents and friends of the Allenton Big Local area are welcome to attend the event, which will include free food, an opportunity to share your views and ideas on local issues and an update on Allenton Big Local activities over the last year.

Attending the event will also give you a chance to learn more about what’s been happening at St Martin’s Church over the last few months. The community centre is currently being transformed by St Martins Church & Community Centre Charity Makeover in partnership with local organisations including Derby Homes, Derby City Council and Allenton Big Local. Come along and get a sneak peek of what will be on offer at the Community Centre once the work is completed.

We hope to see you on 9 January. Everyone is welcome.

Santa and his reindeers are on their way!

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MarketThe popular Allenton Big Local Christmas event will be back at Allenton Market again this year, on Saturday 16 December between 10am and 2pm. 500 tickets will be available to the free event, which will host Santa and his reindeers in the grotto on the market.

As usual there will be free hot drinks and cookies, photo opportunities, Christmas songs, plus a free gift for the children who see Santa Claus. Entry to the grotto is by ticket only and the tickets can be collected at the following times:

Monday 4 December - 3.15pm to 3.45pm at Allenton Community Primary School.

Tuesday 5 December  – 3pm to 3.30pm at Landau Forte Academy Moorhead

Wednesday 6 December  – 10am to 12noon at Nacro, 28-30 Varley Street

Thursday 7 December  – 2pm to 4pm at Nacro, 28-30 Varley Street

Saturday 9 December - 10am to 12noon at Allenton Market

We hope to see you there. Merry Christmas from Allenton Big Local!

 

 

 

Young people at the heart of Big Local

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On 24 October Allenton Big Local welcomed a group of Big Local people to an event that focussed on how to make young people a part of Big Local. Throughout the day, delegates discussed and shared their ideas and experiences of getting young people involved in Big Local.

The day was organised and delivered by Bill Badham from Practical Participation, hosted at St Martin’s Community Centre and supported by the Enthusiasm Trust and Big Kirk Hallam. Catering was provided by the Chatterbox Café.

BKHThank you to everyone who attended the event and our gratitude to the people involved in delivering a session. Special appreciation goes to all the young people who took part in the event with a big shout out for Sylvie and Matt from Big Kirk Hallam, the excellent roving reporters Courtney, Angel and Katie, and a superb performance from the dance group. In all, 54 people took part, including the three roving reporters and 15 young dancers. Links to the resource materials used on the day are posted at the foot of this page.

Supported by Jane Bettany, Courtney, Angel and Katie worked hard throughout the day to record activities using photography and filmed interviews. They also helped to create a newsletter that served as a written record of the day. Copies of the newsletter were printed out and handed to the delegates to take away with them as the event drew to a close.

You can watch the video interviews that took place during the day below:

It was fantastic to meet people from so many different Big Local areas and share information and ideas about involving young people in Big Local.

Links to resources

Event report by Bill Badham

Storify story

Powerpoint slides as a PDF

Newsletter as a PDF

Allenton Big Local Facebook page

St Martin’s Church and Community Centre Makeover Facebook page

Big Kirk Hallam Facebook page

Here’s the Dance Performance video

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See how much you could save with RAM Energy

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RAM Energy, working in partnership with the energy supplier Robin Hood Energy, is a not-for-profit brand created by Derby City Council to help tackle fuel poverty and rising energy bills. The scheme offers anyone in Derby and the Midlands low cost gas and electricity and help making the switch.

RAM Energy’s biggest aim is to save people money on their energy bills. As a not-for-profit provider they don’t have shareholders or director bonuses to pay, this means they can keep the prices down for everyone. They have tariffs ranging from Fixed Plus to Pre-payment so you can pick the best for you. Continue reading →

Learning some moves

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dance2Every week up to 20 young people from Allenton take part in a fantastic dance project which is funded by Allenton Big Local and delivered by the Enthusiasm Trust, supported by Trinity Warriors.

The young people taking part in the sessions benefit from the guidance of a professional dance teacher and a professional youth mentor. They learn and develop new dance moves and techniques and build their confidence and self-esteem with the aim of performing at events across the community.

Paco from Trinity Warriors teaches the dance sessions and choreographs performance pieces. Trinity Warriors is the Derby based dance academy that became famous when they reached the semi-finals of Sky One’s ‘Got to Dance’ show in 2011.  The combination of professional dance sessions supported by specialist youth workers gives local young people the opportunity to access something creative, fresh and fun in a safe and welcoming environment. Continue reading →

Changing lives through youth engagement

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The Enthusiasm Trust has continued to deliver a packed schedule of activities throughout the summer, many of which have been funded by Allenton Big Local. Enthusiasm provided seven open access youth provisions through weekly youth club sessions at St Martin’s Community Centre and throughout the ABL area through the Summer Splash programme.

54 young people participated through these clubs and activities with 100 engagements in total. The sessions included football, games, CV workshops and girl-only sessions, including piloting a new girl only club called ‘Girl Code’ which was launched with a girls sleepover.  Continue reading →

Support where it’s needed

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In their latest update on Allenton Big Local funded activities, the Nacro Osmaston Family Project reports that this quarter has seen another significant increase in families with complex needs and children who are subject to safeguarding plans. In the last quarter, there have also been two referrals to Social Care for safeguarding.

Nacro offers support on a weekly basis to the families who need it – both in the family home and through telephone calls or text messages of support in between visits. Continue reading →

A helping hand for job seekers

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AllenParkCentreAllenton Big Local funds a Job Club at the Allen Park Centre in Allenton, which is run by Derby Adult Learning Service and held every Monday between 9.30am and 4pm (except for Bank Holidays).

Since September 2016, the club has been run by Chris who is a fully, qualified Careers Advisor and part of the Careers@Derby team with many year’s experience of working with job seekers in community settings and job centres, as well as at the Careers@Derby Centre in Curzon Street.   Continue reading →

Transformation of St Martin’s Community Centre continues

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If you’ve been anywhere near Flint Street in Allenton recently you can’t fail to have noticed the work taking place at St Martin’s Church and Community Centre. The huge #allentonbigbuild project is now well underway, run by Hodgkinson’s Builders and Derby Homes, in partnership with St Martin’s Church, Derby City Council and Allenton Big Local. Continue reading →